Rare Deere 4030s Selling In Nebraska
Although nobody knew it at the time, August 19, 1972, was to become one of the most pivotal days in John Deere history. Actually, it was a pretty big day for farming in general.
The Generation II tractors launched at Deere dealers nationwide on August 19, 1972. Four all-new tractors with a brand-new game-changing design, and a new objective — operator comfort. These were the first tractors built with a cab in mind, and they did it right. The 4030, 4230, 4430, and 4630 coupled with the SoundGard body changed farming as we know it!
The 4030 was the baby of the Generation II line (a little like the 766 was to Harvester's 66-series). It was a do-it-all tractor built to replace the 3020. Most 4030s were powered by a naturally-aspirated diesel 329-cubic-inch inline-six (more on that in a bit). Rated at about 80 hp., they worked well for smaller tasks on the farm. In total, there were 15,690 built from 1973 to 1977, and lots of them are still at work on farms across America. We see John Deere 4030 tractors at auction once in a while; according to our Iron Comps database, 29 have sold over the past year.
YOU SAID "MOST"... WHAT’S THE STORY THERE?
By 1973, gas-powered big tractors were on their way out. Deere was nearly certain of this, but they did offer a gas 4030 to see what it would do. I don’t think they had a lot of faith that they’d sell, though. They never sent one to the Nebraska Lab to be tested. Results were pretty predictable... it didn’t sell well. So, after building 222 tractors, they dumped the option.
And that’s where we get into this week’s Interesting Iron, selling at a Ruhter Auction & Realty consignment sale on July 14!
1973 JOHN DEERE 4030 GAS/SYNCRO/STANDARD
Steve Plambeck is the seller of both of this week’s tractors (and a friend of mine as well). When I talked to him yesterday, he told me that this might be the rarest 4030 on the planet. He’s well-qualified to speak on the subject, too; he’s a noted Deere historian, and has a heck of a collection of SoundGard-era tractors at his farm southwest of Grand Island, Nebraska!
Deere built a total of 222 4030 gassers, 122 with Syncro Range transmissions. What makes this one hyper-unique, though, is that it’s a factory standard configuration. No rock shaft, no three-point, and a wide-swing drawbar! Steve told me he’s never seen another one like this in all his years as a collector!
WRAPPING UP
Can we claim it as a one of one? No. Steve hasn’t seen all 222 4030s to verify, and Deere didn’t keep detailed records during the 70s. That said... collectors talk. If there’s another 4030 gas syncro standard out there, nobody’s found it yet. So, for now, let’s call it 1 of 122. That’s rare as far as Generation II tractors go! It will be fun to watch this one sell!
1975 JOHN DEERE 4030 DIESEL/SYNCRO/FACTORY CONVERTIBLE FRONT END/SOUNDGARD CAB
Boy, that’s a mouthful, isn’t it?
When’s the last time you saw a tricycle with a SoundGard? Definitely not something you see every day. The best part of this one? It’s all factory! 4030s and 4230s could be had with either a Roll-O-Matic narrow front end (with one or two wheels) or a wide-front axle. The neat thing about the narrow-front option is that Deere’s engineers designed it to be converted to a wide-front whenever you want! Factory wide-front tractors didn’t have this feature. If you ever see a narrow front like this one on a 4030, 4230, or 4040, it’s a safe bet that it came from the factory that way!
This tractor has spent pretty much all of its life in western Nebraska. It had two owners before Steve. The second owner hung on to it for close to 30 years before selling it to him.
This is a low-houred tractor, too. Only 5,511 original hours! Steve says that it’s nice and tight, and drives really nicely too! It’s very clean inside, and the interior is a lot cleaner than a lot of 30-series tractors I’ve seen! It was resprayed at some point during the second owner’s time with it, and the rubber is fresh, too.
WRAPPING UP
Overall, this is a really nice tractor, and it’s pretty rare. Like I said, Deere’s records from this era aren’t awesome, making it hard to know how many they built. But that said... there definitely aren’t many. I know that Tom Renner has a 4230 set up like this in his collection, I saw a 4230 like this sell at an auction in Missouri a couple of years ago, and there was a 4030 sitting on a dealer’s lot in Ohio about 10 years ago that showed up on AgTalk, but that’s about it.
Honestly, I have no idea what either of these will bring. Both of these fall into that unique category where there aren’t many comps. I’ll be really interested to see what they sell for!
ONE MORE THING
If you saw a bunch of photos of really nice green tractors at a show over the past few days on social media, Steve had something to do with that, too. In addition to being a collector and restorer, he also sits on the board of directors for the Classic Green Society. Every other year, they host the Classic Green Reunion, and this past weekend it was in Columbus, Ohio. I couldn’t go, but I’m told it was a terrific show! Well-attended, too!
That said, I do intend to get to the next one in 2023. I won’t have anything to exhibit, but I’ll bring the camera and video gear and take y’all along for the ride!
Source: https://www.agriculture.com/machinery/tractors/rare-deere-4030s-selling-in-nebraska
