420 Disassembled

[cdunn]

Hello, I'm a newbie to the forum. I just purchased a 420c from the family of a friend, who recently passed away. The serial no. tells me it is a 57 model. He had began a restoration years ago and never finished, so I brought it home in pieces; engine, trans/final drives, front tube (together), sheet metal, tracks, ect. The engine is not stuck but seems to have little or no compression, maybe stuck valves, head gasket, possibly stuck rings. The steering clutches appear to be stuck and brake bands out of adjustment, so I plan to disassemble them to see whats going on. The track pins and rails are worn very little and the sprockets show little if any wear. It did not have a blade, I do have the control valves, fluid tank and one cylinder (the original owner may been running a plow of some sort). However, the hydraulic pump is missing from the front of the engine. The tractor had been stored inside a garage since he started the restoration. I paid $1000 to the family and they seemed very satisfied and I think I am also. Did I make a mistake in priceing? If I can't get it running without spending a boat load, do you think I can get my money back by parting it out? Could a hydraulic pump be found for replacement?
This is a great site for information and guidance.

[Eric.MacLeod]

hello, that sounds like a good deal to me! i have some friends that have bought these in about the same shape or worse then yours, they have fixed these to running condition with very little money and a lot of tinkering, the clutches seem to always be stuck, they have taken them apart sanded the rust off and replaced them with the same used disk, for some reason they always seem to work, i bought all new parts just for my wanting to restore it the best i can. i sure would love to have your chains and sprockets that show little wear! my tracks are pretty well worn and im sure i will pay alot more for used tracks then you have in your whole dozer, i think that you have done very well by buying it. good luck Eric

[cdunn]

Thanks Eric for the reply. I never realized there were as many good people working on and with these little crawlers as there apparently are. I've lived on a farm and been around machinery all my life but never owned or operated a JD. My thanks to Lavoy or whoever created this site. It is very informative and I already have learned a great deal about my 420.

[Lavoy]

At that price you can't go wrong.
Lavoy