Deere B Fitted With Rare "Cable Lift Loader"

Deere B Fitted With Rare "Cable Lift Loader" AG WORLD 32-1-22 One of the showstoppers at a recent tractor show was this 1937 Deere "B" tractor equipped with a model 25 "cable lift loader". It's owned by Dave Badger of Polk, Ohio. "The seller's father bought the tractor new in 1937 and it had always been owned by the same family. The tractor had little wear in the fan drive and steering gears. The owner thought the engine valves had been ground once - when he was just a ælittle fellow'. The tractor is on its third set of rear tires." Badger says the tractor is in amazingly good shape for being 69 years old. "So far I've only done cosmetic work on the tractor such as painting the rear wheels, freeing up the radiator shutter, and installing a new seal for the fuel control valve." The loader itself was built in 1946. "This was Deere's first version of a front-end loader," says Badger. "The loader is raised with wire cable that's wound around a windlass under the tractor's rear axle. The windlass is driven directly from the engine flywheel through a clutch/brake. A single foot pedal on the left side operates the clutch/brake to raise and lower the loader bucket. I took the bucket to our neighborhood welder and had some straightening done and then painted it." Included with the tractor was a pto-driven "mechanical power lift" that fits on back of the tractor to raise or lower implements. "Apparently only a small number were ever made. I've called various people but the history on this power lift is scant. Previously, I had only seen two of these power lifts - at the big Deere Expo in Iowa." Badger says he'd like to know if any readers know about other No. 25 cable lift loaders and/or mechanical power lifts. "I'd like to make a list of known preserved or workable units," he says. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dave Badger, 285 State Route 604, Polk, Ohio 44866 (ph 419 869-9022; greenbarn285 @cs.com).

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