John Deere 520: An Overshadowed Gem?

[@keithkuckler2551]

I had a 530, I bought it from the original owner in 1976, it had low hours and was in perfect shape. I loved that, and used it for my chore tractor, to rake hay, pull wagons and on the grain auger. It had the roll a matic front end. It was a terrific tractor, too bad they do not still make them like this today.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Hey that’s awesome! Do you still have it?

[@TomButler-g9z]

My uncle had a 530 from 59 til 66. Pulled 3 14s

[@daveinidaho7970]

I was there when they delivered a new 1957 JD 520 to my Grandpa's place. It originally had a rollamatic front, yellow float ride seat, and no 3 point. Later on my dad added a 3 point and square tube wide front. I spent many hours driving it.

[@marygee8900]

Dad bought a green dash 520 in 1957 - it became my tractor when he decided I was old enough to help on the farm. Spent my summers cultivating beans and corn and I still have it. In the early 70's it received a set of 45 over M&W pistons - still runs pretty good but now needs a new radiator.

[@ronaldgodden4490]

Just put a new radiator core in mine ,got it from Steiner tractor parts and installed it myself. It went well easier than I thought.

[@Christian_Fuhrman]

My dad bought a 520 back in 1990 off a fellow farmer in the area. He passed away back in 2014 in a car accident since then I inherited it at this point I never plan to sell that thing till the day I die and hopefully my son can take it Lord willing.

[@parrisgeorge9708]

Thanks for the video. We had 2 50s, a 520, and a 530 that we used primarily on cultivator duty. We grew green beans, peas, and corn. The size of these were perfe t for our use. I'll say that the first cultivating of the season would just about put you to sleep due to how slow we had to go combined with the distinctive exhaust sound.

[@tractortalkwithgary1271]

I have 2 1958 520’s. They are both still in use on this farm today. Thank you for doing this.

[@CoinCommunityCollectors]

My grandpa has a John Deere 520 and it is a very nice workhorse with better hydraulics and a good reliable pto, perfect for our rotary mower. We use it for log splitting now and it works well. It runs a lot nicer with the improved 3 point hitch. A nice machine and that nice two cylinder “Johnny popper” engine.

[@andyadams8257]

We were tenant farmers in the 1950's until my dad died in 1969. Mr. Riddle bought a 520 in 1956 with a single front wheel and we used it until Dad died. It would pull a 3 bottom plow. It was easy on gas. Dad bought a 3010 in 1961 or 62. We used it for most of the heavy work.

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

The first John Deere our family friend had.... When he traded it on the 4000 he traded for it he had a tear in his eye...

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

Our family friend also had a 620 as a hobby tractor after he sold out for a while..

[@kerryprice4571]

Enjoyed the video. I have restored the 1958 520 my father purchased used in 1965, that was the main tractor on our farm, along with a 1949 "B". The 520 is a little unique, as it has the power shift rear wheels. I use it to plow snow on our driveway in the winter.

[@Thatsheepguy]

This is a great series. I would love to see a John Deere H vid! Keep up the great work.

[@ramshackleshack751]

We have my grandpas 1939 H. Super handy little guy.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Sounds good! Thank you for watching

[@Thatsheepguy]

@@LocustMotorWorks you have some of the most quality tractor videos on KZbin . Love the vids.

[@jacoblandis4535]

Dad had a 520, it saw use through the 80s. My brother is working to get it restored for use around the farm again.

[@DrEVIL-og4qv]

Neighbor I worked for had a 520, it was the ONLY tractor of his I never ran, but I plowed all afternoon, evening, and night with his brand new 4320 with ROPS cab with heat & AC, in fact, that was the ONLY time the AC ever worked. His 520 pulled his 494 planter, anyone heard of a 690 planter? Was home-made from two 490's for planting 6 30" soybean rows. Plus he had a 4 row mounted cultivator AND a 6 row, That 6 row really made that 520 bark. I chopped haylage for him, and he pulled the two big Chuck Wagons back to the silos with the 520. There was a terrible exhaust leak somewhere under the hood, I could hear it 1-1/2 miles Upwind pulling something, yep, I never really wanted to run it. But I got to run his wore-out 60 way more than I liked, and he had an A that was way worse than the 60. Our farm was an IH farm, I first started doing hog chores with a 1939 H, and occasionally the '51 M with Char-Lynn power steering and a Stan-Hoist loader, in winter I'd pile up mountains of snow to climb around on with our St Bernard dog. I did my first fieldwork with a Super M-TA, also had Char-Lynn PS, live pto, Torque-Amplifier, you guys that have never run a tractor with TA, like an IH, and a few Minny-Mo's, the Allis-Chalmers D-series Power Director was similar except it DID have a break in power, and the Oliver Over-Under Hydral-Drive. May have been one or two more, the Deere Power-Shift wasn't the same, it had a break in power. They were NOT popular where I grew up 20 miles from Moline. Ohhh and one afternoon a week all summer I spent on our Cub Cadet #70 that's out in my shop with Dad's '51 M and my '54 Super H. I lost track of the SM-TA spring of 1965 when it was traded for a 450 Farmall. Some day the RIGHT SM-TA will come along and I'll have one. DAD bought me a Deere R Diesel before Christmas 1963, I was 9 years old, it was supposed to be MY tractor for spring fieldwork, but it wouldn't come close to pulling the 4 bottom plow the dealer sold Dad, I pulled an IH #8 3-14 most of the spring with the R. I did pull the 4-14 Deere plow with the SM-TA on the last 16 acres we had to plow. The township Road Commissioner bought the R to rototill dirt roads he scarified and to drag them before oiling them. He tore the pto out of the R FOUR TIMES IN 4 years, He traded the R for an Oliver 770 diesel that the road Commissioner is still using.

[@johnburns9950]

Thanks for the video. I am still using grandpa's 520 with a finishing mower every week. Great JD 2 cylinder.

[@wilsonfutrell1833]

Yes, I would like to see a John Deere H video. My grandfather was one of the first two to buy an H model in his county.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Sounds good! Thank you for watching

[@jhosk]

My father still has his 520, hasn't pulled a plow since I was a child, have no doubt with some tinkering it will fire up again. So want to rebuild it for him one day.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

That’d be a fun project for ya! Thanks for watching

[@taylorsunderlage5176]

Love my 57 520!

[@bernardniesen8694]

Great narrating voice! I would love to know more about the John Deere D! How come it was so popular? Why did it manage to not go through a number change!

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Hey that’s a great idea!! I’ll put it on the list👍🏻 thank you for watching and supporting

[@russwabuda1556]

a 520 is the big tractor on our farm. it pulls the haybine and new holland baler in style. tedding is done by our 1939 b, bought new to the farm, and in use for 84 years. i must admit, however that when we use the new holland 77 baler the tractor of choice is our 1939 f-20. i think things last longer in connecticut. best wishes

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching!👍🏻

[@m.cornblacksmith3372]

I bought a 56 520 when I was 12 and it runs great. I have packed corrugated grain with it a lot and am next yeAr going to start planting sugar beets with it. I also have a 29 GP Great video

[@ih1440]

I've got a 530, the 520's slightly younger brother, and I love it. We own machines of another shade of green and red as well. Your videos are great!

[@covo12virginia20]

Another great video Locust motor works!

[@timdex91]

Loving the series... Keep up the great work.... Stay safe, Tim

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thanks for the support!👍🏻

[@Steventhedieseltechapprentice]

Awesome video! Currently cleaning up our 1949 B.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Nice!! Thank you for watching👍🏻

[@noelstractors-firewood57]

Great video. Do you do videos on Garden Tractors.? I have a 1970 John Deere 140H3 tractor.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Working on doing a video of those older garden tractors, They where some sweet machines with alot of attachment options. Thank you for watching!

[@MaclearieFarms]

I’m a red guy and I still love your videos

[@BenLewandowski-n3c]

My great Uncle bought a 1958 John Deere, 520 brand new from the john deere dealership in Milaca Minnesota. My grandfather drove it home from the dealership to his farm, where he used it until 2007. He decided to sell it to my dad who had asked him for years if he could buy it and my grandfather once again drove it home to the farm we live on now. The tractor has never been restored. It is in original condition and dad and I will keep the tractor forever.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

That’s pretty cool you where able to keep it in the family, Thanks for sharing!👍🏻

[@tlm3574]

You mentioned trouble keeping the timing in sync. How difficult could it be to keep 2 CYLINDERS IN TIME? Very nice video. We had a dozen Farmall dealers within 20 miles of our farm but Deeres were scarce in the 50's.

[@Oldways52]

My Daughter has a 57 520 on her little farm. One of it's jobs is pulling a 2 16inch bottom plow for a 32inch cut 10 inches deep in second gear.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Awesome! Glad to hear its still working, thanks for watching

[@jerrywalker2699]

I had a 520 it was a good tractor..

[@BillTheTractorMan]

This is one of my "Bucket list" tractors. I'm not brand specific, I have specific models from each manufacturer I really like. For instance I have a Fordson Major, Oliver 770, Minneapolis Moline ZB, and a Case VAC. I really would like to add a John Deere 520, Farmall 460, and a few others eventually. Great video, thank you for sharing.

[@garyvornhagen4656]

Our neighbor had a 520, heard it almost everyday hard working tractor Nothing Runs Like A Deere

[@marchindy]

Good video, I really enjoy my 530 on the square baler.

[@justinschmitz8034]

my great uncle had a couple of these; grandpa had a 530 and 730

[@scottrayhons2537]

Another great video, with nice narration. Thank you!

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Thank you for watching! glad you enjoyed👍🏻

[@scottrayhons2537]

@@LocustMotorWorks you put out great videos! The BEST!

[@jessesyfie7244]

One comment about the 520 and 530s I didn't care for was the smaller 12.4 -36 rubber on the back from the 12.4-38s of the 50. Gave them more torque but little slower gears.

[@johnbroederdorf1389]

Thank you for another great video I really enjoy them.. I'm wondering if you could do a video on the 1969 John Deere 4520 ? It's one of my favorite take care and God bless

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Definitely will make one on the 4520! Thank you for watching👍🏻

[@johnbroederdorf1389]

Your welcome

[@NorbertoRoger]

Spectacular!!!.."John Deere"!!!!👍👏💪💚💛🇺🇸

[@LocustMotorWorks]

thank you for watching!

[@drewhahn5710]

I would love to see a video on the 730 series

[@LocustMotorWorks]

👍🏻👍🏻

[@mikehagan4320]

A video on the John Deere GP would be interesting. Best Wishes from Montana! M.H.

[@LocustMotorWorks]

I’ll add that to the list!👍🏻thank you for watching and the great suggestion

[@mikehagan4320]

Thank you!

[@davidkimmel4216]

Thanks

[@jimwoidyla5139]

My dad has a 2510, I would like to know more about how it came to be.

[@larrycurran8036]

Great video. How about the JD 40?

[@stevengodwin7772]

Video on the 6030

[@johannesandersson3617]

Could you make a video on the 5020

[@travisdean8794]

Great video. Do one on the Case 930 Diesel.

[@AndresMunoz-rc4ry]

I had a John Deere 50 but broke down and I can't have anymore cuz it cost a lot of money

[@raywhite1442]

Sure like to get info on the 2440

[@sallysilva3121]

Can you do one on the allis challmers wc

[@jefffirefighter12106]

The Yellow strip was a Decal not paint with Decals put on.

[@garyrawlings3209]

How about the John Deere 60?

[@LocustMotorWorks]

Definitely will do one soon👍🏻👍🏻

[@docpalazola491]

I believe there was a small bump in horsepower over the 50 sereis.

[@ronwilson3555]

Actually going from the 50 to the 520 gave you about a 20% increase in power, going from around 30.5 to around 38.5 horsepower.

[@sodbuster518able]

How about the 1520

[@nailbender7223]

Neighbor had a 1530,nice tractor. In the end kinda gave it away at auction for under 1000,sad

[@wademizelle3433]

Do a 4020

[@StephenHenningIII]

I have a John deer 40

[@paulwilton735]

John deere has been using Yanmar diesel engines out of Osaka Japan since 1970. American my behind....

[@raywhite1442]

Would sure appreciate dubuque 2440 info

[@voidgeometry794]

6 = ?