John Deere "A" Tractor Restoration by Dennis Walker

In the fall of 1999, my friend Art Cheshire and I took a trip to Northern Alberta hunting for tractors. Normally at that time of year we would be moose hunting in the interior of B.C., but as we did not get a draw for a bull, we decided to hunt tractors instead.

It was a very interesting trip, and we discovered a lot of collectors live in Alberta. We found a John Deere, Model A in Athabaska Alberta. Russ Kostiak had a number of tractors along his fence line, so we stopped in to have a look-see. The only one he would part with was this A, as it has a narrow front, and he doesn't like narrow front tractors. I tried hard to get an AR popper that was there, but no deal.

The A's tin looked not so bad so I thought it might be all right. That was my first mistake. The second mistake I made was loading it up! It has been a real good experience to work on these green guys, but every bolt I have taken out shows me more trouble. It was a well used tractor.

In the base I found the oil pump shaft coupling in about 2" of Saskatchewan mud, and it goes down hill from there. On the good side, I have learned a lot about John Deere's, and I am very happy I did this tractor. It is always rewarding to have saved another piece of old iron. This restoration has been fun, and I'm looking forward to my next project, but it probably won't be green!