2013 - Volume #37, Issue #6, Page #43
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Home-Built 2/3-Scale Deere High Crop G Tractor
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“Being a collector of Deere tractors and memorabilia, I knew I never would be able to add one of the company’s rare High Crop tractor models to my collection because these tractors are expensive. So I decided to build a 2/3-scale model. It drives and sounds just like a real Deere High Crop G and is a lot of fun to drive at shows and parades.”
He started with the burned-out frame and pedestal from a Deere H tractor that he found at a wrecking yard. He shortened the frame and bent the frame rails to match a real G, which has a big 600 cu. in. engine. He installed the LUC engine from a Deere combine “because it has almost the same sound as the Deere tractor.” He laid the engine down on its side instead of upright, with the spark plugs now facing the front and the oil pan facing the back.
With the engine laid flat, Carey had to make several changes. He built a new oil pan and a new pickup tube to the oil pump, drilling holes in the engine block to install the oil pan. He replaced the original carburetor with one off a garden tractor and made a fake valve cover for the engine. The radiator is from a model H. He cut a hole in the top of the engine head and installed a pipe adapter and ran it back up to the radiator. He also welded in an elbow to make a new connector from the water hose to the radiator.
“I mounted an electric fan behind the radiator, but have never had to use it because the tractor never heats up. Most of the time I’m just driving the tractor on and off a trailer,” says Carey.
The transmission and final drives are off a junked Deere 45 self-propelled combine. Deere. He shortened up the final drive and rear end from the combine. The rear wheel rims came from a front wheel assist combine of some other brand. The front axle and wheels came from a Cub International tractor. The tie rod on a High Crop G tractor is located behind the front axle but the tie rod on the Cub tractor is located in front of the axle, so Carey turned the axle and wheels around backward.
In the middle of the build Carey was able to purchase a full-size G High Crop in poor condition. “My work on the 2/3 scale model stopped for 2 years while I restored the full-size G, but when I finished I had a tractor to compare my scale model with,” says Carey. “A photo of the full-size tractor appeared in the official 2009 John Deere Vintage calendar.”
He made hydraulic outlets by hand and mounted them on back of the tractor. The pto shaft is from the input shaft off an old Chevy car transmission, and the pto shield is made from sheet metal. The muffler and air intake are cut down from a model B Deere tractor. The hood and grill are from a model H.
The tractor has working lights. The battery is located under the seat. The hand clutch operates off a belt tightener.
Both of the tractors have appeared at many John Deere 2-cyl. expos.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dick Carey, 33636 290th St., Shell Rock, Iowa 50670 (ph 319 987-2610).
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