John Deere Model R History (First JD Diesel)

[@jasonbeecher509]

I have driven an R before. Such a pleasure and an honor to be trusted with one of these tractors

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Awesome tractors! Thank you for watching👍🏻

[@jasonbeecher509]

@@LocustMotorWorks thank you very much

[@DrEVIL-og4qv]

IMAGINE my shock when I slide the machine shed door open a couple days before Christmas of 1964 and there's that huge green grill facing me. Dad's in the shop working so I go ask him what's up with the green tractor, our farm had two FARMALL M'S and an H. Dad informed me the Deere was MY fieldwork tractor for the coming spring. It wasn't real cold, He decided we should start it. The 2 cylinder Pony motor was barely able to crank the big diesel over. We ran the Pony out of gas TWICE, never did get a pop out of the diesel but filled the shed full of smoke that made our eyes water and lungs burn. Dad bought a 4-14 Deere plow that we only pulled with the R for 2 days, plowed 40 acres of alfalfa sod, could only run in 2nd gear except for one clay hill I had to stop and shift to low gear. Salesman had told Dad to never lug the engine down, the crankshaft had no center main bearing and broken crankshafts were the result of lugging. The model 70 & 80 Deere diesel used a 3 main bearing crankshaft and a 4 cylinder Pony motor, much faster starts. After we got the 40 acres of sod plowed we parked the 4 bottom plow and I pulled one of our IH #8 3-14 plows and still could only manage to run 3rd gear, and had to stop and downshift on some hills. Our 1954 Super M-TA FARMALL had a Torque Amplifier, I could downshift on the go decreasing speed 33% and increasing pull 45%, a great productivity booster. Dad did install a Char-Lynn power Aassisted steering system on the R, even with the huge steering wheel Me being only 10 years old and about 75-80 pounds I could barely steer the R even with power steering. We never hooked a single thing to the R's PTO stub shaft but ran the pto constantly because it drove the live hydraulic system. I will admit it was creepy sitting so far back on the operator's platform, the back of the seat extended behind the back edge of the floor, I could barely reach the steering wheel & throttle, I had to get out of the seat and step closer to whichever brake pedal I needed to push. All these things I didn't have to do on a FARMALL M or Super M-TA. We still had 16 acres left to plow when the Township road Commissioner bought it from Dad to drag and rototill torn- up oiled dirt roads. I plowed those 16 acres with the 4 bottom plow & SM- TA in an afternoon. I worked a couple summers for the road Commissioner when I was in college. The PTO drivetrain was too fragile for the rototiller and they tore the pto out FOUR TIMES IN FOUR YEARS. The R was traded for an Oliver 770 diesel that pulled everything the R did without any breakdowns, it's probably still being used 50 years later. A neighbor a quarter mile east of our farm, down-wind by the way, had a 730 diesel as his main big fieldwork tractor. V-4 Pony motor, 3 main bearing. crankshaft and 6 forward speeds. But that 730 may have well been sitting in our yard you could hear the pony and big diesel so clearly. That 730 appeared to outperform our R by a great deal, and performed on a par with our 4010 diesel until we had a local diesel shop rebuild the injection pump and set it for 100-105 HP., then we blew the headgasket after about 40 hours of running. A complete M&W overhaul of the 4010 fixed a healthy appetite for 15W-40 engine oil, 4-5 quarts per tank of fuel plowing, less when cultivating, like 1-2 quarts per day before rebuild, no oil burning after, started better too. Thing with the R and neighbor's 730 was the noise, my ears would ring for 8 to 10 hours after running the R for 7-8 hours. My ears still ring constantly, hearing protection was unheard of in 1964, plus I drove some semi-trucks that the Detroit Diesel engine seemed to sit INSIDE the cab they were so loud and irritating to drive. Most of my miles were with V-8 Cummins 903 Cid engines, surprisingly quiet as long as somebody else bought the fuel. I hate to be a " Downer" on the R, but my personal experience with them was poor, very poor. Deere quickly found the weakness in their first diesel and fixed the problems, but they were still noisey. Very noisey.

[@djhilman9767]

Dad bought a new R in July of 1951. Had a lot of trouble keeping coolant out of the crankcase. I was only six years old but I remember dad and the John Deere blockman having a few words one day. The blockman had suggested that dad might not be treating the tractor properly, so dad had the local dealer bring the blockman out one morning. They changed the oil and topped the coolant. Then after dad had the blockman to show him how to start the main engine, they hooked the tractor to a 12' cultivator. That's when things got interesting. Dad pointed to the seat and told the blockman to show him how the tractor should be operated. The blockman didn't think that would be necessary and turned to walk away. He shouldn't have done that. Dad spun him around and told the chap something to effect that; John Deere has been turning its back on the issue long enough and be darned if he was going to allow some know-it-all do the same. Now get up there and don't come off until noon or he'd be dealing with more that just words. So the guy did. He ran the tractor until noon. When they checked the oil it was obvious that coolant had gotten into the crankcase. The tractor was then taken to the dealers shop. They found a flaw where the face of the injector sleeves mated with the head. A new head was installed. Problem solved. That tractor did all the farm work on three quarters of land and ran a sawmill in the winter for 22 years after that.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Nah.

[@Aussie_Witchy_Woman71]

John Deere R was the first tractor that I ever drove. I loved it.

[@tangydiesel1886]

My grandfather and great uncle had a pair of R's they used in western Kansas to "suitcase" farm 800 acres. My dad always said a pair of R's with 15ft one way Krause disks could work a half section in 24 hours. Even when two cylinders fell out of favor, they still used them well into the 70s. We still have one R and my great uncle and cousin have the other. They were very fuel efficient and broke the fuel economy record when deere tested them at Nebraska.

[@churchparkfarm3178]

As a Massey and Ford fanatic in Ireland I find these videos really interesting

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Awesome glad you enjoy! Thank you for the support

[@stevemench786]

The very first tractor I ever drove was a R , Drove it in a hay field picking up bales, I was probably 7or8 very fond memories of that tractor one of my favorites still today.

[@deernutOO]

Story presented rings very true. My father hired onto Deere in the Waterloo factory as an experimental engineer in 1936. He was on the Model R team and stayed with that team during its design, development, testing and production. As a kid born in 1939, I heard many of the developing stories of testing and experimenting with different fuel injection pumps and companies such as Roosa Master and Stanadyne. Father was not one to talk much, but one interesting test was at the sheep farm NE side of Waterloo. The Model R was buried in a sand pit lined with railroad ties on the sides and overhead. The test was to find out what RPM the engine would tolerate before it exploded. Fed with the controls to run the rpm higher and higher, it finally erupted and blew its cave apart. Dad was told many times in those 13 years before production that Deere would never make a diesel tractor to sell. The R holds a soft part in my heart. Thank you for the video and history on the Model R.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Awesome story, thank you for sharing! Getting to hear stories like this is one of the main reasons I enjoy making videos. I'm curious now what RPMS the Model R got to before it flew apart? Thanks for watching, have a good one👍

[@gerrygebel3318]

Spent a lot of hours on an R back in the day, mostly doing various kinds of tillage. It was super reliable, sturdy, and loved the torque that these engines produced

[@joemeathook-rb2nx]

This was the best. You could run this all day and not have your ears ringing. I always used it even when we had newer fancier tractors

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching👍🏻

[@BillTheTractorMan]

My grandpa had an R he bought on a foreclosure auction in the 60's. The tractor was known to be problematic and had been frequently serviced by the local dealer. The tractor stayed problematic until my grandpa was tired of fixing it in the early 80's. The tractor to my knowledge is still in the shed, in the same spot that it has occupied since my grandpa parked it.

[@davidkimmel4216]

Neighbor had a R. Did get to work some ground with it with the swing drawer bar was a nice for a 12 year old to run. Was neat to watch it jumping up and when it was sitting still. Wonderful memory

[@Mr9501]

When I was a young fellow, about 7-8 years old, my older brother helped out a farmer across the road that had an R...although it wasn’t the first tractor I got to ride on, it was the first John Deere....won’t forget

[@LocustMotorWorks]

👍🏻👍🏻thank you for watching!

[@gregmcmillan8347]

I have a model R in Australia. Love it

[@anthonyhengst2908]

We had a R that Dad used for chopping silage. He too got tired of trying to steer it so he bought a 3020 and we put the R on the blower. It worked awesome. The neighbors could hear us from 2 miles away when it was under load . Eventually it was traded in for a 2940 (John Deere). We were fortunate, other than it was so hard to steer we never had a lick of trouble with it.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Bet it sounded good on the blower! thank you for watching!

[@merlin767]

My father had one great tractor I remember sawing wood with it ran all day long not a problem . Sold in 1997

[@kevinwittstruck8764]

I love the John Deere R you are right about one thing it didn't have power steering I always have trouble steering it

[@joescheller6680]

Ran a R for few different guys. They were very cheap running could run all day on less than 20 gallons of diesel. They were a clumsy sort of tractor not usable in row crop work but did well pulling plows disks chisels or one way plows. Few I knew did plowing and pony drill in same operation worked very well before chemical farming as plowing and pony drilling was generally cleaner of weeds in crops. Only one pass farming. Plow packer and press drill .😊

[@buckaroooftheRockies]

I inherited my dads 1949 R. I have fun pulling with it and having it in parades. Poeple get a kick out of the poney motor. One of my friends says the R has its own heart beat that is loud and clear(Referring to the 2 cylinder sound). It is easy to start and where I live it gets -30 degrees in the winter. I decided to start it one winter. At 15 degrees I was able to start it. I let the poney turn the diesel for about 10 minutes and it fired right up. For being a 1949 tractor it is a "hoss".

[@marklafayette6948]

My uncle but a new R in 54. Cosine still has it. Great tractor to grow up on. My other uncle buy a used 830 direct start. I got the 830 from my late uncle. My opinion, the 830 in the best ever put put JD ever made 👨‍🌾

[@clydeschwartz]

Excellent video my grandmother had a R John Deere years ago on their farm I was to young to drive it ever they used it a lot until they got a 4020 diesel side console model I drove that one a lot until my uncle took over the farm

[@rodneybalog4605]

This R s are a good dependable tractor good on fuel pull good never break down I have 5 of them love them old tractors

[@tireballastserviceofflorid7771]

A guy in Webster County Missouri had one back in the 80s. He owned the pulling sled that made the local circuit. He used an R with some huge wide tires in the back to pull the sled back. Crowed just loved it. One night a bunch of us bugged and bribed him enough to pull the sled with his beloved R. Only a few people knew what kind of power an R made back then. People just assumed with the big tires and pulling the sled backwards it was a monster. Anyway he hooked on the sled and made a for real full pull. 300 feet. It took him probably 10 or 12 minutes to do it. He put it in first gear and let the calcium chloride in those big tires just creep along. People actually booed him for going so slow. Hilarious it was. He bought a new sled for the next season that was self propelled.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

That would have been awesome to see and hear it make the full pull. Thats a super cool story, thank you for sharing!

[@billbrown6889]

My Dad had 2 model r's, he used in his dirt construction business.they usually pulled rollers. The horsepower rating was low enough he didn't have to pay the higher operators union wage. This was in the 1950's

[@brucejohnson4462]

I grew up on an R. An amazing tractor for sure.

[@MathewBooker-ny8ch]

Love the John Deere Rs! Great video thank you for making these videos

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

The R,80,820 and 830 always do well at the antique tractor pulls...

[@Corvacar]

Yes, that They can do. This is likely because the Motor sits so far to the rear in the chassis in all of the Two Whoopers shifting the weight onto the rear axle.

[@stevemccoy8138]

I never ran an R , but have lots of history with the 830

[@ericvogel1126]

It was the first diesel that I was ever exposed to. Plowed with one in the fall of 1963, it had power steering and I loved it. Pulling 4 - 14's.

[@WilliamMarshall-c4l]

Well now, about an R. We bought a 1949 model in the spring of1962. I had just graduated from Highschool and this was the main tractor I used. Talk about an upgrade. My big tractor to that date was a 29 model D. The next three years were mine. I left home, got some reports of the tractor. Dad never really understood why it needed to be warmed up before putting it to work. So some leakage occured around the injector tubes and eventually a head replace. Then the starter motor blew up, govener didn't work, over rev'ed itself. I eventually bought the tractor in about 1995, the transmission oil pump had sheard off and things had worn so bad that it would not stay in gear. 49 models had to have tractor broken apart to fix and replace. $5000. in parts later it was fine. 1950 models had made changes to fix this repair. Over the years this tractor has been in parades,(im not a farmer) but i've done my share of plowing as an exhibiter. I just turned 79 and it's hard to get on most tractors, espically this one, so I donated it to my niece. Hope she takes care of it. Lots of memories. Takk

[@jhanlarosh6620]

Grew up on 2 bangers manly 80 and 730 still have dads 730 great video

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Those are both awesome tractors, glad you still have the 730. Thank you for watching

[@thekat9593]

My dad bought a new one in 53, the dealer told him it would make a new farm out of the place because it could plow 2 inches deeper than a “A”, my first memory was of him plopping me on the fuel tank and plowing up a garden spot in the yard, I still remember the sounds it made 70 yrs later. Traded in 58 for a 730 row crop as a 4 row cultivator could be mounted on it, R couldn’t fit that.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Super cool to hear stories like this! Thanks for sharing👍

[@gregtessmer1849]

Have my grandpas R and have driven it in the 1970s Was a great old unit in its day. Lots of traction

[@LocustMotorWorks]

It sure is! Thanks for watching

[@bradymarx3461]

I own one! Beast of a tractor, but definitely a pain to find parts for, and a workout to drive with no power steering

[@arthurdewith7608]

International larger tractors came with power steering as standard and took off in sales as well as manufacturing 6 cylinder diesel engines that out pulled the deere

[@DrEVIL-og4qv]

Dad bought me an R diesel as my 10th birthday present to do fieldwork spring of 1964. He got the Deere 4-14 plow the salesman said it would pull, but the salesman's idea of pulling a plow was different than our's. First 40 acre field of old alfalfa hay ground we pulled into Dad was running 3rd gear, 5 mph with an IH #8 3-14 and the R struggled in 2nd gear with 4-14's, on one hill I had to stop and shift into first gear to climb the hill. After that Dad had me pull our other IH #8 3-14, could run 3rd gear, and even in old corn ground I had to stop on some hills and shift to 2nd. I'd never heard anywhere before that the live pto on the R was only rated for 15 hp, but I believe it. I needed hydraulics for everything I did with the R, first thing I did was engage the pto to get those " Live hydraulics" Township road commissioner bought our R before we were even done plowing that spring, I plowed 16 acres of old corn ground with the FARMALL Super M-TA and the 4-14 Deere plow. A Deere 80 or 830 would have been a huge improvemment over the R. The Road Commissioner tore up the R's pto gear train FOUR TIMES running a 4 or 5 ft rototiller chewing up pieces of scarified oiled dirt roads to rebuild them every couple years. Once a year the R was laid up a couple weeks. 4th time the R was sold, replaced with an OLIVER 770 diesel. 15 hp is NOTHING, WE had a 1939 FARMALL H that made about 30 pto hp. Our FARMALL M made 48 hp on the dyno one spring, the SMT-A did 47. The pounding of the exhaust from the R was terrible, the muffler was terrible, after an hour running the R my ears would ring for 5-6 hours even after I parked it for the day. Had a neighbor with a 730 diesel, lived a quarter mile away, I could hear that 730 idling in HIS yard like it was in OUR yard. Part of my Birthday present was the Char-Lynn power assist steering Dad added onto our R. It helped but not enough. Dad bought a FARMALL 450 the following spring, it was a REAL 4 bottom tractor. It did burn a lot of gas, but did a LOT of work every day in spring. Dad replaced the 450 with a 4010 diesel he bought at auction. Any day I ran it to a field AND RAN IT HOME afterwards was a good day. I worked enough for neighbors to know the 4020's were a completely different animal, they still had some bugs left but not the number that the 4010 had.

[@pete1342]

A friend of mine once bought a used 830 with low hours. That thing was nothing but trouble until the day he got rid of it. Had John Deere not come out with the 10 series when they did, John Deere would be a memory today. They hung onto technology that was 20 years past its prime to the point that their market share was fast disappearing.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Nah

[@Corvacar]

I couldn’t agree more. Deere should’ve come out in 1940 what They did in 1960. They were antiquated not too long after They originally came out.

[@rickwaters5267]

I was born in 1958. My Grandpa had bought a new R in 1952, and my earliest memories are going to the field with my Daddy in the evenings. He would put his old coat between his feet for me to lay on, and I'd go to sleep with the sound of the old 2 cylinder keeping me company.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Great memories! Thank you for watching👍🏻👍🏻

[@robertmorrow7525]

I farmed with one in the early 80s was a good tractor but a little slow. But I loved it 👍

[@burryhulbertjr1429]

My dad remembered this tractor. I m jr. He sr. Ɓut still knows historical ñ facts . N uall spot on. Thankyou all so much. Great videeo!!

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching👍🏻

[@christopherkinney7357]

My Dad had a R when I was growing up in the 70s. I thought it was cool. The biggest problem he had with it was the pony motor.

[@davidmicalizio824]

Thank you! 🚜

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching!👍🏻

[@joescheller6680]

Never heard of anyone having mechanical issues with them i guess. And i grew up around the two banger had a 52 model G R later a 720 which basically did same work as the R but it was row crop friendly i later purchased an 830 which was basically a overgrown R same economical running engine with little more power

[@dangerjensen285]

You must have been at a tractor show in Yankton? That's my dad's R! How cool!

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thats awesome! small world👍👍

[@michaelbaker826]

Interesting video. Well done!! I really enjoyed it.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you very much! Appreciate you watching

[@Steventhedieseltechapprentice]

I can't imagine what a pain it is to steer that beast with no power steering. I also heard that John Deere actually paid Caterpillar to design the pony motor for them. Thanks for the video - very interesting!

[@timbulthouse7961]

Same pony as the one on the D2s and d4s

[@jimmesc]

I barely remember a D. I remember the R. I was born with a brand new 4010 in the machine shed. I've driven/owned more than a few JDs ever since.

[@davesaletzki1193]

I just purchased a 1952 R yesterday.

[@danielmckeown8369]

I like the JD -R.

[@TheHistoricalFarmer]

Great work!

[@JDMAN-gu8zl]

I own one! it is my favorite tractor I own. I even was able to find the factor cab for it. The sound of this tractor is the best!!

[@LocustMotorWorks]

That’s awesome!! How hard was the cab to find?

[@ericjensen-k1t]

That is my R. Wild.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Great looking machine!

[@davidkimmel5153]

Wonderful tractor. A real hard to steer.

[@darrelschulte6214]

I grew up on a John deere R.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Nice! Thank you for watching👍🏻👍🏻

[@elephantcompany6061]

Great video

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching

[@elk5445]

How about making a video about the 730. A very popular tractor with a history starting with the G.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Definitely will have one of those coming up! I need to find a 730 to take some videos of. Thanks for watching👍🏻

[@larryturner4417]

Didnt the R crankshaft bend under heavy loads and was improved to having a center main bearing in the 80 to address this?

[@marklafayette6948]

Do the same history vedeo on the 830 jd 👨‍🌾

[@garyvornhagen4656]

The first of the ground pounders. Nothing Runs Like A Deere

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Yes sir! American power

[@farmerbill6855]

Or smells like a john.

[@lynwoodreed9032]

The "R" always reminded me of a bulldog!

[@stans2493]

My brother in law had an R and an 80 when I was in my teens. I did get to operate them a few times and I always thought they were pretty cool but crude compared to the tractors on my dad's farm.

[@timwoodruff5998]

50 series video request. I have a 1985ish model 2150.

[@realemonful]

I wanted to hear it run! Why didn't you run it?

[@russjordan3996]

The R was only made for pulling and belt work as the pto was only rated for 15 horse power

[@davidkimmel4216]

Thanks

[@bernardniesen8694]

I had heard that JD was upset to discover that IH, had a diesel tractor already. The McCormick Deering diesel was introduced in 1935. So, JD took 14 years to catch up to MD aka IH.

[@robertweber1291]

Deere was always behind the times when it came to the old two-cylinder tractors. When Deere finally came out with the 4 and 6 cylinder tractors, Oliver's advertising was promoting the fact that they have been using 4 and 6 cylinders for the past 25 years. LOL.

[@farmerbill6855]

@@robertweber1291 well I'll just go buy a new Oliver then. Oh wait...nevermind...

[@farmerbill6855]

Our FFA chapter had a MD, what a pile of crap. That thing needed at least 14 more years of development. I can't remember a MD or a 400 diesel that wasn't a pile of crap.

[@wademills1616]

And surpassed them. Deere had gas tractors that would pull what an IH diesel would.

[@MidwestFarmToys]

If you want to call that catching up , sure. Being the first doesn't mean being the best

[@AnthonyOrmandy]

R very good

[@Blazefork]

I bleed red but this would definitely be a green model I'd want.

[@Jimsranch]

Drove one - and an 830 -- never really got to understand the difference---

[@r6343]

Just over the halfway mark and twice I have heard "equivilates". Where did this come from?

[@covo12virginia20]

Equivalates Definition Meanings Source Verb verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of equivalate.

[@chrisheffernan6600]

My dad said it was a solid tractor, but the pony engine was problematic.

[@danfisher7856]

In your research, did you find anything to support the mythical claim that there were diesel D's while in development?

[@robertweber1291]

Deere did think about it for the 2 digit series. 50 & 60 models.

[@russthomson6168]

8" stroke,,,,,wow

[@bigham1jb]

Some of earliest pictures of me farming were on my dad's R. I may have still been wearing diapers! 🤣 I can't remember. He actually bought it the day I was born. It was traded for a 720D, I do have memories of it. And the 930 Case that replaced it was pretty much "my" tractor while my father's was a 4020 with a cab. Seniority I guess.

[@randyneirynck5517]

As the story goes, my grandpa bought a R brand new and within a year the crankshaft broke and for some reason they didn't warranty it. He sold it and every piece of JD equipment and started buying Oliver and bad mouthed JD for the rest of his life.

[@robertweber1291]

The reason for the crankshaft failure was because Deere did not incorporate a center main bearing. Diesels need a main between each crank. The 80 had a center main. A Oliver super 99 with the GM diesel would drag an R all around the farm.

[@andrewlambert1639]

Weird piece of junk!

[@MidwestFarmToys]

Lol.

[@blainephipps972]

I probably did about a 1000 hours on my Uncle's are over the summers of 3 or 4 years. Yet of course brings back a lot of nostalgia. And I came back one summer and he'd replaced it with a 2010 John. D

[@Corvacar]

@@robertweber1291. True for the Super 99 but, do You want to listen to that Scream all day? The uneven beat of the J D was bad enough but, that scream of the G M was worse.

[@saamilarson]

Hey man! Love the information in your videos. One tip, run your scripts through grammarly before you record. It’s free and would really help the fluidity of your scrips. :)

[@JeffHanson-he1bl]

Grampa had 2 Rs memory s 0f that tractor

[@thomasbritten7216]

Pretty sure you mean "equates" when you say "equivaluates"

[@paulhunt598]

I don't think that equivalates is a word, but I found some internet suggestions of what it would mean if it was a word...