[AT] JD G in Snow -reduced picture size

Wed Dec 16 17:39:38 PST 2015

Herb,

No, it's not my tractor. I just thought it was a very interesting photo. The John Deere G is(was) an
odd tractor in the sense that towards the end of their run they had hardly any more HP than the JD A.
The JD A was a little less HP than the Farmall M and the G at one time competed HP wise with the M.
Farmall increased the HP of the M where JD didn't increase the HP of the G all that much.  The primary
reason the G had so little power vs what might be expected was because it was always a "All Fuel"
tractor from beginning to end. JD never converted the G engine to be a Gas engine like they did on the
A and B and it got to the point that the A had as much HP as the G.  But there was one thing the G had
and that was pure Lugging Power and Torque that even the Farmall M couldn't compete with.  It wasn't
until after the G was replaced by the Gas burning 70 that JD started selling Gas conversions for the G
engines that increased its HP significantly. If you want see some startling HP improvements that were
sold by aftermarket companies for the JD G just look at the Power Block enhancements. I'll try to
remember to attach a picture of that graph. See attached

Why that wasn't done while it was still in production is to this day the subject of much argument and
discussion for those who cater to the JD line. One argument is that JD didn't have enough engineering
resources to update their lowest quantity selling tractor as the other tractors in the JD Line up
took priority. Another argument is that the G was known for being really thirsty and JD did not want
to get the reputation that their tractors were not economical which was one of their main selling
points.  I could list several more. But here is my theory. The John Deere G developed a reputation for
being built "Hell for Stout"  and was almost bullet proof. And would outlast any M and would do the
real heavy work that the "M" would fail at. My theory is JD made that their selling point for the G
and didn't want to mess with it. Today those who only look at the HP ratings of the late A versus the
Late G question why the G was even in the product lineup. At the moment I don't remember the HP of the
late A and the late G but let's say for conversation purposes it was in the 35 to 40 HP range. 

The G's that are still around and being used for pullers have been modified to be over 100 HP with
today's components without changing anything in the drive train. And are reliable at that HP rating.
Everything in the G, transmission, differential, axles, engine were nowhere close to their full
capability at 35 to 40 HP. Reliable as one could get and would pound away day after day under heavy
load and just plain would not quit. JD had a tendency to be very conservative on how far they pushed
the envelope of their designs.  Some times to their detriment. This whole philosophy paid off in
spades in the mid 50's and early 60's when the HP wars started.  JD did increase their HP in their
tractor during this period but also beefed up the rest of the tractor to handle the added stress.
Farmall continued to increase the HP in the M and the later number series tractor into the 460 and 560
series without adequate improvements to their drive trains. The drive train failures on the 460/560
was the beginning of the decline in Farmall's  sales and reputation. 

Then when JD announced the New Generation Tractors in the fall of 1960, 1961 model year tractors, all
the tractor manufacturers took another hit that caused them continued decline and put them into a
weakened financial position.  Then when the farm crisis in the 80's hit, Farmall just couldn't hang
on, on their own and merged with Case to become Case/IH and many of the other tractor manufacturers
also went through mergers or just flat went out of business. I/H Farmall made very good tractors until
management made some critical mistakes then eventually ruined them as to who they really were. John
Deere is the only remaining tractor Manufacturer  that is still in business without having had to go
through some kind of merger to survive.  There is a book written about how management messed up
IH/Farmall. Right now I don't remember the name of the book or the author. 

In the mid 50's Farmall was selling about twice as many tractors as JD. Ford actually being the # 2
manufacturer when counting units only.  Farmall was bad mouthing the two cylinder design that is was
an obsolete design. Most people don't know that when Farmall started having drive train failures JD
actually picked up market share while the two cylinder tractors were still in production. Partly
because Farmall was screwing up while  JD's designs increased their capability and continued to be
very reliable and met the farmer's needs. So Farmall was losing market share to an obsolete design.
When the JD New Generation tractors were announced in the fall of 1960 they were so far advanced over
anything else on the market the rest of the tractor manufacturers were playing catch up after that and
didn't survive as they were known in the earlier years.

Now I credit JD for making some good decisions to get where they are.  But the John Deere of today is
nothing like the JD of the 50's and 60's. JD does not serve the family farm anymore and their prices
have completely gotten out of line and reliability has gone down. They have caused many family
dealerships to close or merge because all they want to deal with is large multi city dealerships with
huge purchase orders.  JD does not know who the little guy is anymore. Then to add insult to injury a
few years ago they created some low cost lawn tractors and garden tractors to be sold by the big box
stores such as Lowes and Home Depot under the name of Sabre, etc. and now even under the JD Name.
I'll give you my opinion of these products. They are absolute junk using the John Deere name to
attract customers.  IMHO they are even worse than some of the similar equipment being sold in that
price range. It is disgusting how they are taking advantage of the good John Deere name and selling
junk to ill-informed home owners.

 My view is that don't buy a JD Garden tractor unless you are willing to pay $5,000 to $10,000 for it.
Then you start getting something that is built half way decent. I have 5 to 6 acres to mow here so
Garden Tractors are an important tool here. It took me one false start to realize I had to pay the
Pauper of I wanted something reliable. But there was no damn way I was going to spend that kind of
money for a damned garden tractor to get something good. Then I made a very good decision that has
worked out very well for me and my mowing requirements.  I said I will by a top of the line JD Garden
Tractor except I will buy them used after the depreciation has knocked it down over 50% or more and
hunt for one with low hours.  That has really worked well for me. I'm still running a JD 425 that is
now over 20 years old but in the 90's sold for almost $10,000. I paid $4,000 for it and it has been as
reliable as any new GT I have ever owned. It is kind of like the JD G that started this conversation.
It has a very heavy deck, has a really good drive train, power steering and differential lock. I need
all those features on my acreage. Yes, I've had to make some repairs occasionally but not very many
considering how many 100's of hours I put on it every year.  The old adage of: "You get what you pay
for" is very appropriate.  I would not own one of the Lowes or Home Depot versions of JD Garden
Tractors even if it was given to me. 

I'm sorry for taken up so much bandwidth. But there are a lot of misconceptions about the JD of old
versus what they really are today. The Bean Counters have taken over. 

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

If we can employ guards with guns to protect money, we can and should employ guards with guns to
protect people. Bernard Goldberg.

-----Original Message-----
From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of
Herb Metz
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 10:33 AM
To: Antique tractor email discussion group
Subject: Re: [AT] JD G in Snow

Dean, A Great photo; I have to ask if it is your photo?
However, for old timers like myself it does not do a "G" JD justice because 
in their day and in the Midwest they were a bit bigger than the M Farmall. 
A neighbor's G would pull a three bottom lister up a big hill without 
appreciably slowing (three bottom listers were a bigger load than a 3-16 
plow).  In this photo the G does not look that big.
Herb

-----Original Message----- 
From: Dean VP
Sent: Wednesday, December 16, 2015 3:04 AM
To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
Subject: [AT] JD G in Snow

Another tractor in the snow.

Dean VP
Snohomish, WA

If we can employ guards with guns to protect money, we can and should employ 
guards with guns to
protect people. Bernard Goldberg.

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