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Wallace B's Model D 20-35 #1345

  Wallace B of Las Vegas, NV purchased a Four Drive Tractor Model D 20-35 in October 2006 from the widow of Ole Potter of Escalon, CA, which is located about 10 miles north of Modesto and 20 miles southeast of Stockton.
 All that remained of the tractor was the frame, transfer case, rear differential and axle with the remains of rubber tires mounted on each rim.
  It is unknown when Ole obtained the tractor or where he located it but he had planned on restoring it. Ole had contacted me in September 2005 about this tractor and emailed me with nearly two dozen photos of the Model D 20-35 at Angels Camp, CA which is located about 50 miles from Escalon. I did not get a chance to talk with Ole that much as he was battling lung cancer and succumbed in 2006.

  The back wheels were converted to rubber back in the 1930's judging from the age of the tires. They were hard as a rock and so old they had to be cut off which took Wallace nearly a half of a day to remove. The welding job was pretty bad on the rims as they wobbled; it is obvious that they were not from the factory. Wallace said that it appeared the tractor was in the process of being scrapped since the frame was torched into 3 pieces. The frame also had extra pieces of channel and angle iron welded to it in order to mount a Graham Brothers 6 cylinder engine used for pumping water. All the extra iron was cut off, the welds ground smooth and frame re-welded back together. It was then hot riveted back to original and onto the rear half so that it started to look like a tractor again. The manufactures plate (or tag) is centered on the front of the frame just above and between the bolt holes that hold the engine crank in place.

The manufacturer's plate is still attached to the front frame section. The tractor was a Model D so it originally had a Climax engine and the familiar oval gas tank.

  Wallace states about his task at hand, "I do have my work cut out for me but I always like a challenge." He is now on the hunt for a Climax model KU 5" bore x 6 1/2" stroke engine in addition to locating a late teens, early 20's Cotta transmission. He would like to find a steering gear box and front wheels to go along with his recently acquired front differential and axle but said they would most likely will need to be fabricated due to the rarity of the tractor.

 Wallace also owns a few other early steel wheeled tractors along with a few teens vintage automobiles. He regularly attends shows in the Midwest including Iowa and Minnesota as well as shows a little closer to home at Vista and Tulare, California.

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