Restored 830 Deere Has A V-8 Diesel
“The comment I get most often when people see my tractor is ‘I didn’t know Deere built an 830 with an 8-cylinder V-8’,” says Elmer Friesen, a Deere tractor collector and restorer from Rosenort, Man. “After they walk around and ask a few more questions, I usually tell them there’s only one Deere 830 with a V-8, because I had it built.”
Friesen’s fully restored 830 has a longer frame, a mirror-smooth paint job, a chrome stack and authentic looking Deere numerals that read 83208. “My 830 has a Caterpillar 3208 Diesel in it, so I decided to give it a special name,” Friesen says. The original tractor was one of 6,900 that Deere built between August, 1958 and July, 1960.
When he acquired the tractor, Friesen’s 830 had its original 75 hp, 2-cyl. diesel engine and rode on well-worn rubber tires. The engine turned about 1,400 rpm’s and its top road speed was about 14 mph. “It had worked hard and that hard work showed,” Friesen says. “It was greasy, rusted, bent and needed help.”
The restoration became nearly a full time project for a mechanic friend over one winter. “I’m sure he put in well over 1,000 hours,” Friesen says, “but they were very productive hours because he was meticulous with everything. It took a lot of designing, testing and reconfiguration. He did most of the design work on the computer, so that really helped. The biggest obstacle was to design the new crown gear and shafts to mate the engine to the gearbox. We had a founder make a special casting, then it went to machining, and that part alone cost $4,500.”
The cast iron frame and hood were extended 9 in. to make room for the larger engine. “He cut the frame apart, designed special steel extension pieces, welded them in place, then put a special coating on those small pieces so that after they were painted the finish was exactly like cast iron,” Friesen says. The whole tractor was sandblasted, cleaned, primed and repainted with two coats of automotive show-quality paint plus a urethane clear coat.
When it’s not working, the Big Daddy or Mr. Mighty, as the 830 was known back in its hey day, takes its place alongside Friesen’s other restored 30 series Deere tractors, including a “normal” 830 diesel. He also has a 330, 430, 530, 630 and 730, all restored to showroom quality. “It’s quite a lineup,” Friesen says, “and I wouldn’t advise the casual collector to start something like this because it gets in your blood and it gets expensive.” Friesen says he probably has more than $70,000 into the repowered 830, but he thinks it’s worth every penny.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Elmer Friesen, 42 Brandt St., Rosenort, Man., Canada R0G 1W0 (ph 204 746-5300).
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Restored 830 Deere Has A V-8 Diesel ENGINES “The comment I get most often when people see my tractor is ‘I didn’t know Deere built an 830 with an 8-cylinder V-8’ ” says Elmer Friesen a Deere tractor collector and restorer from Rosenort Man “After they walk around and ask a few more questions I usually tell them there’s only one Deere 830 with a V-8 because I had it built ” Friesen’s fully restored 830 has a longer frame a mirror-smooth paint job a chrome stack and authentic looking Deere numerals that read 83208 “My 830 has a Caterpillar 3208 Diesel in it so I decided to give it a special name ” Friesen says The original tractor was one of 6 900 that Deere built between August 1958 and July 1960 When he acquired the tractor Friesen’s 830 had its original 75 hp 2-cyl diesel engine and rode on well-worn rubber tires The engine turned about 1 400 rpm’s and its top road speed was about 14 mph “It had worked hard and that hard work showed ” Friesen says “It was greasy rusted bent and needed help ” The restoration became nearly a full time project for a mechanic friend over one winter “I’m sure he put in well over 1 000 hours ” Friesen says “but they were very productive hours because he was meticulous with everything It took a lot of designing testing and reconfiguration He did most of the design work on the computer so that really helped The biggest obstacle was to design the new crown gear and shafts to mate the engine to the gearbox We had a founder make a special casting then it went to machining and that part alone cost $4 500 ” The cast iron frame and hood were extended 9 in to make room for the larger engine “He cut the frame apart designed special steel extension pieces welded them in place then put a special coating on those small pieces so that after they were painted the finish was exactly like cast iron ” Friesen says The whole tractor was sandblasted cleaned primed and repainted with two coats of automotive show-quality paint plus a urethane clear coat When it’s not working the Big Daddy or Mr Mighty as the 830 was known back in its hey day takes its place alongside Friesen’s other restored 30 series Deere tractors including a “normal” 830 diesel He also has a 330 430 530 630 and 730 all restored to showroom quality “It’s quite a lineup ” Friesen says “and I wouldn’t advise the casual collector to start something like this because it gets in your blood and it gets expensive ” Friesen says he probably has more than $70 000 into the repowered 830 but he thinks it’s worth every penny Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Elmer Friesen 42 Brandt St Rosenort Man Canada R0G 1W0 ph 204 746-5300
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