[AT] JD 620

Brian VanDragt bvandragt at comcast.net
Wed Jul 2 11:00:41 PDT 2014


  
Was the exhaust manifold shield/strap for a weatherbrake cab/enclosure? 

Brian 
----- Original Message -----

From: "Dean VP" <deanvp at att.net> 
To: "Antique tractor email discussion group" <at at lists.antique-tractor.com> 
Sent: Wednesday, July 2, 2014 2:34:47 AM 
Subject: Re: [AT] JD 620 

Dean V. 

Ok, now I have some time to comment. With what you have stated and what I see in the pictures you have 
found a real gem of a needle in a hay stack. If I had become aware of that tractor before you did I 
would have been all over it like stink on manure!  Don't find them in that good of condition very 
often. Yes, there are different shades of green paint on the tractor but that is about the only 
critical statement that can be made. The tin and paint look very good and only the "correct police" 
would have any negative comments.  The rear tires look like 12.4 x 38" Firestone Road and Field which 
are very good tires and they look like there is 60 to 70% tread left. . The left side picture offers 
me a view of the sediment bowl and I would be willing to bet you have the automatic fuel shutoff if 
the oil pressure gets too low. This is good. A close-up picture would verify that.  Look at the top of 
the sediment bowl mechanism and see if an oil line feeds to it. 

It appears that the original intake manifold has been replaced and that is good. The originals flaked 
like a soda cracker.  It even has the original tool box.  I'm sure the tractor has power steering but 
the decal is missing to designate it. No biggie.  Easily added. The Power Steering filler plug is 
clearly visible in the first picture.  I do have a question about the lights. Are they the sealed beam 
type? Sealed Beam lights started at Ser # 6213100 so it should have the sealed beam type lights. 

It appears that there has been a front mounted cultivator on this tractor at one time. By chance is 
that still available from the seller? Not all that useful for you now but a nice collector item.  If 
there are a few dents in the grill screens but no holes there is a company that makes a tool that 
allows you to straighten them out without replacing them.  Just cosmetic stuff.  Check to see if the 
seller happens to have the second rear wheel weight somewhere maybe three more by the length of the 
bolts. You can see the mounting bolts on the right wheel so there must have been at least one on there 
at one time.  It's nice to have a matched pair or two matched pairs.  It's not at all unusual to use 
just one rear wheel weight on the left rear wheel when plowing with a tag plow as that is the side 
that will slip the most due to trash in the field. The furrow side usually has good traction. These 
original weights are not all that hard to find however. 

>From a pure cosmetic point of view I would suggest removing the 620 decal on the front lower grill 
pillar. It doesn't belong there or anywhere else for that matter.  Just distracting to me and may be 
for you too. The cloth may be on the rear axles for a reason other than what you have mentioned 
relative to rust.  The axle height is at a very troublesome height when walking around the tractor. 
Very painful to knees, etc.  The dent in the flywheel cover probably can be removed with some sheet 
metal tools if it annoys you.  Not a biggie. I've seen a lot worse. The seat cushion and back rest may 
need to be replaced for show reasons but not for work reasons.  They can be either black or yellow but 
I personally like the yellow versions.  They just show dirt sooner. The strap mounted to the right 
side front frame appears to me to be a shield for the exhaust manifold. I've seen these before and I 
think it was used with a particular mounted implement but right now I don't recall which one. Maybe 
I'll remember later.  From a pure technical point of view the muffler is the wrong one but what is 
there is fully functional.  The correct muffler does not have a dent in it for a steering wheel shaft. 
When you win the lotto you can replace it.  When you do there are cheap mufflers that don't sound like 
the originals. Buy the good one with the correct baffles.  You also might want to see if the spark 
plug wiring loom is under the fan shaft gear casting and properly route the wires so they don't get 
caught on something inadvertently . It looks like that little bracket might be missing though.  Is 
there something unusual on the rod from the clutch lever to the clutch. Looks like something welded to 
the rod or maybe that is just a fig newton of my imagination. 

You even have an original JD Umbrella bracket mounted on the seat back.  Umbrellas are kind of neat to 
have in the hot Midwest weather and also for parades, shows, tractor rides, etc.  Original JD version 
replicas are available. The three point hitch looks pretty good. The LH and RH sway locks are missing 
on the RH and LH Elephant Ears.  I suspect the seller has them laying in his barn somewhere along with 
the second or more wheel weights. The top link and chain looks to be all there with the exception that 
the little chain hook appears to be broken off.  I take it back, upon a closer look the little hook 
does appear to be there. This is good. The chain is supposed to go wrap through this hook before it 
goes to the seat frame.  The PTO cover is a bit beat up but maybe a hammer and sheet metal tool can 
clean that up. Reproduction PTO covers are available. The PTO cover and its integral cast frame just 
snap on and off.  The hole in the drawbar doesn't seem to be badly elongated. That just verifies the 
4400 hours as being quite low. You even have the remote Hydraulic Cylinder bracket. The correct 
Hydraulic cylinder for this tractor is a hydraulic stop version and verify the correct sized one. They 
come in various sizes for the tractors. Might want to check with the seller if he still has the 
original one. The battery box isn't all rusted out from battery acid which is a miracle unless it has 
been replaced at one time. In looking at the gauges it looks like there is a gas gauge as well. Your 
tractor has all the bells and whistles and they all work.  You done good. I'm jealous! :-) 



Dean VP 
Snohomish, WA 

They say necessity is the mother of invention. 
Don't know who the father is, probably remorse. 
Red Green 


-----Original Message----- 
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of 
Dean Vinson 
Sent: Monday, June 30, 2014 7:19 PM 
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group' 
Subject: Re: [AT] JD 620 

Okay, now this was just a heck of a nice evening.   Sunny, not too humid, 
good conversation with some nice folks I had not previously met, and I ended 
up with another tractor and a bunch of stuff to go with it. 

http://www.vinsonfarm.net/photos/620_left_20140630.jpg 
http://www.vinsonfarm.net/photos/620_lf_20140630.jpg 
http://www.vinsonfarm.net/photos/620_right_20140630.jpg 
http://www.vinsonfarm.net/photos/620_rr_20140630.jpg 
http://www.vinsonfarm.net/photos/620_lr_20140630.jpg 

The 620 is serial number 6219452, which puts it two-thirds of the way 
through 1958 production according to the serial number range in Dean VP's 
excellent earlier email.   The check I wrote tonight makes me the tractor's 
second owner.  The first owner is 88 and moving a little slowly these days, 
having recently recovered from a broken hip, and can no longer climb up on 
the tractor--so is rather reluctantly letting it go.   He told me this 620 
was the last one sold new from the John Deere dealer in New Carlisle, Ohio, 
in 1958, and it's been on his farm about four miles from my place ever 
since.  It was his main tractor for only a few years, bumping down to #2 
when he bought a 4010 diesel. 

I took with me Dean VP's list of things to check on, and found the 
following: 
- No fenders, front rockshaft, or external air cleaner. 
- No automatic fuel shutoff in the fuel line, and the fellow didn't remember 
there ever being one there although he couldn't say for sure. 
- No cracks, welds, or oil or water leaks that I could see. 
- No play to speak of in radiator fan; maybe 3/8" movement at the end of the 
blades. 
- Complete 3-point with original top link and sway blocks.   Lift arms 
picked right up and held my weight without seeping down after I shut the 
tractor off. 
- Live PTO and single two-way Power-Trol hydraulic outlets. 
- New batteries, in the original dual six-volt configuration. 
- Float Ride seat seems pretty comfortable, certainly not all collapsed and 
hard. 
- Few and minor dings in the grill screen and sheet metal.  Paint is not 
original but not new.  Front tires are okay, rear tires are excellent. 
- All the gauges work.  Original owner said the hour meter broke at 25,000 
hours and he had it replaced right away, and the "new" one still works and 
reads about 19,000 hours so he says 44,000 total is pretty accurate. 
- He said he had it overhauled by the John Deere dealer (same one he bought 
it from) for about $3000 ten or twelve years ago when he retired from 
farming, and it's been only very lightly used since.   Most recent duty was 
powering his Winco pto-driven trailer-mounted generator when commercial 
power went out in a storm. 
- Starts right up and sounds good. 

In addition to the tractor, he was selling a heavy-duty John Deere rear 
blade, a 3-point Woods rotary mower, a 3-point sprayer, and the 
previously-mentioned Winco generator.   All looked to be in excellent 
condition.   By way of example, the Woods mower and the sprayer are both in 
the barn, each under custom-fit dust covers.   (I didn't know there were 
dust covers for brush hogs).   The rear blade is in the garage next to the 
Winco generator, which was hooked to the 620 when I got there.  The 620 has 
seen a few nights outside in its lifetime, but only a few.   I didn't think 
to ask the fellow about the stuff wrapped around the ends of the rear axles, 
but now that I look at the pictures I think it's likely packed with a bit of 
grease to keep the axle ends from rusting. 

As it happens, I've been actively looking for a brush hog and planning to 
buy a rear blade, and I'd been reading up on Winco generators since my place 
is already wired with a transfer switch.   I wasn't planning to buy a 
sprayer but got caught up in the excitement.  (Dammit).   Anyway, it'll all 
be coming home with me over the next few days, and barring rain this weekend 
I'll be easing into some mowing along the farm lanes.   Wahoo! 

Dean Vinson 
Saint Paris, Ohio 



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