Do you recall any diesel swaps on older JD crawlers ?

[BigV]

I happened to see a modified 440 over in TN this morning.

It sort of surprised me, as it had a 3 cylinder Perkins diesel engine. Nothing was obviously amiss until you got up close.

The tractor had Caterpillar style grill guard on it, and right behind that was an aluminum aftermarket radiator like Summit sells.

The bellhousing adapter was a bit flimsy, but it did the job.

I've seen another JD that was converted to diesel.

It was a thrown together 420/440 that someone had repowered with an Isuzu/Iseki 4 cylinder diesel engine. Found out the engine came from a re-badged White tractor.

I was wondering if these are just representative of the kind of isolation and poverty in the mountains, where nothing got thrown away for a long time- instead repaired, refitted, repurposed.

I've been told by an older gentleman that in the north, it was not entirely uncommon to repower the gas 2 cylinder crawlers to get more low end torque.

Anyone else remember any repowers ?

[Lavoy]

Seems odd to me that you would repower from a torque standpoint, they are pretty hard to beat the way it is. Stock 440 gas is only about 10% under the diesel as far as torque to start with.
Lavoy

[BigV]

I live an area that was historically very poor(still is) and very isolated.

I don't think anyone did the swaps they did to necessarily try to "improve" the crawlers. Instead, I think you would find it's more they did it to keep a piece of equipment going.

When I saw the one with the C220 engine in it, that one had been done because the farmer's White tractor had suffered a catastrophic rear end and transmission failure.

I bought the Bush Hog 4220 Loader off of his White. I remember the devastation.

[Lavoy]

That makes more sense.
Lavoy

[jtrichard]

NOT diesel but years ago i saw a 440 with a Buick V6 in it the guy said it ran great but had some cooling issues

[Lavoy]

Deere actually made some 440's with Perkins diesels in them. The Deere-Lanz 440's made in Europe were built this way. You don't see them here unless they have been brought back, but have customers in Australia with them.
Lavoy

[gus]

Saw a 40 with a Wisconsin in it up north. It was along the road I traveled and it was used for years. Mostly pushing snow in the winter I think. Not much else they could have used it for.

[BigV]

I did not know about the Perkins diesels in Euro-Spec 440's. That's pretty far out. I doubt John Deere would have used a bellhousing adapter, but this one could have been a factory conversion. Other than using that doggone Summit aluminum radiator nothing looked amiss. It had been done so long ago and had weathered with the tractor so that as far as a person could tell, it almost looked like it belonged there. Surely this wasn't a Euro-Spec crawler, but now I'm scratching my head.

Believe it or not, I've seen the 225 Buick V6 in a bunch of repowered tractors, that and Jeep flathead 4 cylinders.

There is a Cletrac I thought about buying that is in the TN/VA border area that I had thought had to have a Continental engine in it, I got to looking though, and someone had swapped in a Go Devil engine.

Buick 225's, especially the ones that were used in the Jeepster Commandos, ended up in a lot of tractors down here. I've seen them replace kerosene Ferguson engines, seen them in 8N(also seen a flathead Ford V8 in an 8N), I've seen them in at least 2 Major's that had been powered by a kerosene spec engine.

This is so strange to have seen two gasoline John Deere crawlers with engine swaps in the last 4 days.

I went to antique tractor club meeting and I got to talking to a guy who knew where a 420C was. I called the owner and asked to come see it. It was not a 420C, it was actually 4 roller 40C. Someone had repowered it with a Hercules 4 cylinder engine out of a Oliver. The funny thing was, the owner was not taking any credit for putting it in there(I kind of wonder if he was testing to see if I knew my arse from a hole in the ground). As we left his enclosed building to look at his parts tractors, there was the poor old Oliver crawler he had robbed the engine out of. His comment was that he didn't like an Oliver because it had brakes only steering(with no clutches obviously), and he had just junked it. It had been an excellent crawler.

I hate, hate, hate, hate, hate to see a usable antique rotting, but there was nothing I could do about it.

At least with my John Deere stuff, you have Lavoy who is helping us keep our old John Deere's alive.

[Lavoy]

If you see the 440 again, look at the dash, the dash is quite different from the US models, and the hood has the air cleaner inlet in a different location.
Serial number tag might say Deere-Lanz on it as well.
Lavoy

[BigV]

The owner is apparently a Mopar guy. I offered him my Superbee or his choice of a couple engines or any other goodies he wanted for the 440. He is thinking on it.

According to him it was brought over by a German guy who started a LARGE chicken egg corporation in my area. I figured out who he was talking about, and according to the son of the German man, he brought over 2 or 3 different Diesel 440's in the very early 60's.

He said they were all sold some time ago.

I'm curious if it is actually a Deere Lanz, or if it is another 440 the mechanics at the egg company transplanted the existing engine into.

[Lavoy]

Then it is possible, I would keep after him, that would be a neat crawler.
Lavoy

[digitup2]

Funny you should mention the Perkins in the 440's for EU build we have several here that I know of I thought it may be a Perkins lover swap over but I am going to take a better look at the old 440 that my uncle has had for years I had always thought some one did an engine swap on them I am going to see if it's still at the old family farm and take some photos of the old Deere .Digitup.

[Lavoy]

Hood is different, dash is different, all I can remember right now.
Lavoy

[BigV]

There was a 440 for sale on Craigslist in TN. I thought it might be the Lanz. The one for sale was a gas crawler. I wanted it, but it needed a lot done to it hydraulics wise for the loader.

I went and looked at the Lanz today. The engine, center section and a bunch of other pieces are Deere-Lanz. The tag is for sure.

The dash is sort of more art deco, the hood is more like a formed stamp sheet with less definition(to me).

The controls and air cleaner are different too.

[Lavoy]

That is neat, can you buy it?
Lavoy