In its early advertising, John Deere referred to the Model D as the "Daddy of all John Deere Tractors." It's a catchy slogan given the D's significance to America's most enduring tractor maker, though it doesn't tell the whole story.
Introduced in 1923, the D is often touted as the first tractor to wear the John Deere name, thus relegating the Waterloo Boy brand forever to obscurity. The D, which remained in Deere's lineup for a whopping 30 years, was actually a two-cylinder Waterloo Boy tractor rebadged with the now-famous John Deere name and running deer logo.
But Deere's tentative steps from implement maker to tractor manufacturer were first taken before World War I, when the company began developing prototypes on its own. The most promising was a machine developed by John Deere board of directors member Joseph Dain. This early John Deere made its debut in 1917, boasting features that wouldn't appear again on Deere tractors for decades--namely, all-wheel drive and a four-cylinder engine. According to Randy Leffingwell's book, Classic Farm Tractors
, 100 of these $1,200 machines were manufactured before Deere ceased production. Rather than continue on its own, Deere purchased the more established Waterloo brand for $2.3 million in 1918 and instantly became a player in the tractor industry.
As part of the package, the company acquired the plans for the Model D along with its horizontal, kerosene-burning two-cylinder engine that made 15 drawbar horsepower and 22 horsepower at the belt pulley.
Deere continued to develop the Model D, increasing the engine size and horsepower, but the most noteworthy improvement to Waterloo's WWI-vintage design came in 1939, when designer Henry Dreyfuss penned the Art Deco styling treatment evident on the hood and grille of our feature tractor.
While the D was historically significant for Deere and remains an icon for Deere fans, it was overshadowed in its day by International Harvester's Farmall--which revolutionized row-crop farming in 1924, thanks to its closely spaced
Today, the D is a desired collectible, but its value has not kept pace with later models like the double-digit tractors (40, 50, 60 Series) that replaced the single-letter-designated machines. A John Deere D in good working order today can be acquired for around $5,000, while restorable examples typically sell for around $1,000.
This article originally appeared in the December, 2007 issue of Hemmings Motor News.
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