The John Deere 420

The John Deere 420
The industrial versions of the 420
1956-1958
Replaced by the 440

The 420 was a nice tractor, great for many farm jobs. Of course, I'm only concerned with the industrial work! I've heard both good and bad about the 420 for industrial work, that many parts such as final drives were weak points, and wore out/broke constantly. I've also heard that proper maintenance would usually keep them in good shape. So, who knows?

See some 420 Pictures, here.

420 Serial Numbers Tag Location: Left side, clutch housing According to Two Cylinder Magazine
Year/Phase	Beginning Number	Ending Number
1956 (Phase 1)	80001	94818
1957 (Phase 2)	100001	119764
1958 (Phase 3)	125001	136868

Phase Explaination:
If you are like me, you don't understand what Phase 1, Phase 2, or Phase 3 means. Basically, John Deere made certain changes to the 420 design, and called them different "phases".Two Cylinder Magazine offered a good explaination:

Phase 1(1956)--All green tractors-vertical steering wheel. Instead of medallion, has "JOHN DEERE" in chrome, on grill.
Phase 2(1957)--Yellow paint on hood, medallion on grill.
Phase 3(1958)--Slant steering wheel, except High Crop and LP fueled tractors.

Would you like to buy a 420? This is what it will cost you (in July 1958!):

Model	Price
420C Crawler (4 roller)	$3008.75
420C Crawler (5 roller)	$3267.25
420W Row Crop Utility	$2170.00
420T Tricycle	$2090.00
420U Utility	$2045.00
420S Standard	$1976.50
420H High Crop	$2328.00
420I Special Utility	$2210.00
420V Special (for vegetables)	$2195.00
420U-3T Forklift	$5663.75
Source: Two Cylinder Magazine

OFFICIAL INDUSTRIAL VERSIONS
In other words, John Deere designed them for indusrial work.
There were two official industrial versions of the 420. They were the:

420I "Special Utility"
420U-3T Forklift

420I
Designated "420I" on serial number tag

The 420I "Special Utility" was based on the agricultural 420W "Row Crop Utility". Most wore industrial yellow, but some got the normal green and yellow. There were few differences:

The 420I used the same wide front axle as the 420W. However, with non adjustable tie rods, and heavy duty steering arms. This made the axle a fixed tread size.
Rear axles were also the same, with a choice of short or long rear axles. Strangely, the wheels could be adjusted- in or out. I haven't seen this before on a Deere Industrial.

420I "Special Utility" Production According to Two Cylinder Magazine
Year	Gasoline	All Fuel	LP gas
Phase 2 (1957)	166	0	0
Phase 3 (1958)	89	0	0
Total	255

420U-3T
Designated "420U" on serial number tag

This is obviously an industrial tractor, with a large forklift and weights. To learn more about this version, go here.

UNOFFICIAL INDUSTRIAL VERSIONS
These tractors were not designed for indusrial work, but used for that job anyway.
These types of 420s were more common than the above official versions, and worked just as well. Theoretically, all versions of the 420 could be used for industrial work...however, it just didn't happen. I haven't seen a yellow High Crop, yet! The most common versions were the:

420U "Utility"
420C "Crawler"

420U
The most common was the 420U based "Industrial". There were no mechanical changes from the agricultural version to the industrial. The only difference is the yellow paint and avaliable options to adapt it to the industrial role.
420C
Another very common version was the 420C based "Industrial". There were no mechanical changes from the agricultural version to the industrial. The only difference is the yellow paint and avaliable options to adapt it to the industrial role.

Options often used to suit a 420U or 420C for industrial work.
Many were also avalible for "normal" 420s as well. Most options are for the crawler.

Grill Guard
Lights-Mounted on Grill Guard
Front Bumper (mounted the grill guard and belly pan)
Full Belly Pan
Front Drawbar (bolted through the belly pan)
Reverser
Crawler Track Shoes
- 10 or 12 inch flat shoes (also known as street shoes-doesn't dig into roads)
- 12 or 14 inch snow shoes
- 10, 12, or 14 inch grousers

Much of the information on this page came from people just like you! If you can add anything, please feel free to email me at moparwhs@hotmail.com.
Other information came from Two Cylinder Magazine