This 93-Year Old Deere Is Still Working Hard
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Marvin Wilson says every tractor, if it could talk, has a story to tell. And the 93-year-old John Deere ‘D’ that Wilson still uses is no exception. The story started when Marvin’s grandfather Alex, along with his wife and 4 children, bought the iconic tractor sight-unseen from brochure pictures. Marvin’s dad Floyd and Uncle Alton were two of the kids along on the trip to the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo when they bought it. The serial number (30446) shows it was the 46th of 50 built that year. The dealer in Greene, Iowa drove the new tractor 18 miles to Alex’s farm.
Over the years the D worked hard on the Wilson farm, then continued its service on Floyd’s farm, and to this day still manages a few odd jobs on Marvin’s farm. At 93, the tractor has seen agriculture change dramatically, and had its share of growing pains along the way. Marvin Wilson, now in his late 80’s, shares many of those stories at old machinery gatherings in Northern Iowa.
Wilson says after his grandfather put the tractor in service, two men from Deere would stop out to the farm to see how the tractor was working. They discovered an oil leak here and there, which they fixed, and asked Alex to record any mechanical problems. Spindles broke off, the parking brake handle broke, corn stalks jammed the radiator core and the engine started clicking. Floyd Wilson and his brother Alton were able to repair most of the problems and keep the tractor running.
Marvin recalls that when he was 11 years old he literally ‘cut his teeth’ on the D. He was using the D to pull his father, who was driving a Deere B pulling a corn picker in deep snow, when the D lurched. Wilson face-planted into the metal steering wheel, chipping one of his front teeth. He still has that chipped tooth more than 75 years later, and is happy to tell the story of how it happened.
Wilson recalls that his father acquired the D in 1937 when his grandfather’s estate was settled. Over the years his dad and uncle repaired the front axles, fixed the main bearing, put in a new crankshaft, installed new rods and pistons, and a new block. They also rebuilt the carburetor, put in a new set of reduction gears, and replaced the magneto. When it was below zero cold, Wilson says his dad and uncle would light a fire under the crankcase to warm the oil so they could start the tractor, which they did with a hand crank. With the engine barely warm they’d add water to the radiator, then drain it at night.
The Wilsons used the tractor for plowing, filling silo, powering a wood frame corn sheller and an Altman Taylor threshing machine. It also pulled a corn picker, a grain binder and tillage equipment. They even used the D to pull a slip scraper and dig a basement for a new house. Wilson says that for a long time the D was their only source of power on 460 acres of land, including a quarter section where the tractor and implements had to be trucked rather than driven. Running that size farm required running the D from dawn to dusk, with several people behind the wheel during the day, Wilson recalls.
Now in its ninth decade of operation, Wilson says the old D, which sports a weathered and worn metal exterior, is still eager to work. He says that even though the tractor has many thousand hours of operation to its credit, it’s still able to pull a few implements every summer.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Marvin Wilson, 1263 260th St., Rockford, Iowa 50468.
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This 93-Year Old Deere Is Still Working Hard TRACTORS Antiques Marvin Wilson says every tractor if it could talk has a story to tell And the 93-year-old John Deere ‘D’ that Wilson still uses is no exception The story started when Marvin’s grandfather Alex along with his wife and 4 children bought the iconic tractor sight-unseen from brochure pictures Marvin’s dad Floyd and Uncle Alton were two of the kids along on the trip to the National Cattle Congress in Waterloo when they bought it The serial number 30446 shows it was the 46th of 50 built that year The dealer in Greene Iowa drove the new tractor 18 miles to Alex’s farm Over the years the D worked hard on the Wilson farm then continued its service on Floyd’s farm and to this day still manages a few odd jobs on Marvin’s farm At 93 the tractor has seen agriculture change dramatically and had its share of growing pains along the way Marvin Wilson now in his late 80’s shares many of those stories at old machinery gatherings in Northern Iowa Wilson says after his grandfather put the tractor in service two men from Deere would stop out to the farm to see how the tractor was working They discovered an oil leak here and there which they fixed and asked Alex to record any mechanical problems Spindles broke off the parking brake handle broke corn stalks jammed the radiator core and the engine started clicking Floyd Wilson and his brother Alton were able to repair most of the problems and keep the tractor running Marvin recalls that when he was 11 years old he literally ‘cut his teeth’ on the D He was using the D to pull his father who was driving a Deere B pulling a corn picker in deep snow when the D lurched Wilson face-planted into the metal steering wheel chipping one of his front teeth He still has that chipped tooth more than 75 years later and is happy to tell the story of how it happened Wilson recalls that his father acquired the D in 1937 when his grandfather’s estate was settled Over the years his dad and uncle repaired the front axles fixed the main bearing put in a new crankshaft installed new rods and pistons and a new block They also rebuilt the carburetor put in a new set of reduction gears and replaced the magneto When it was below zero cold Wilson says his dad and uncle would light a fire under the crankcase to warm the oil so they could start the tractor which they did with a hand crank With the engine barely warm they’d add water to the radiator then drain it at night The Wilsons used the tractor for plowing filling silo powering a wood frame corn sheller and an Altman Taylor threshing machine It also pulled a corn picker a grain binder and tillage equipment They even used the D to pull a slip scraper and dig a basement for a new house Wilson says that for a long time the D was their only source of power on 460 acres of land including a quarter section where the tractor and implements had to be trucked rather than driven Running that size farm required running the D from dawn to dusk with several people behind the wheel during the day Wilson recalls Now in its ninth decade of operation Wilson says the old D which sports a weathered and worn metal exterior is still eager to work He says that even though the tractor has many thousand hours of operation to its credit it’s still able to pull a few implements every summer Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Marvin Wilson 1263 260th St Rockford Iowa 50468
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