1959 John Deere 630 2 cylinder gas

This is my 1959 John Deere 630 2 cylinder gas. The first owner was from Kansas I believe, and used it on his family farm. The second owner, a local guy who I bought it from, is big into antique tractor pulls. This was one of his project tractors that he never got around to restore. Realizing he didn’t have the time nor space for this one, it was stored outside before he sold it to me. It ran well enough for me to drive it home in the pouring rain. That was a crazy day. 

I’m in the middle of restoring it. It has a few miscellaneous leaks, which I’m working on diagnosing and fixing. It was used as a parts tractor for a little while, so I need to get a few bolts and miscellaneous, not mechanically required pieces, to complete the tractor. The leaks I know of are from the radiator, where the fuel tank feeds the sediment bowl, and a small one at an oil line connection point. I have already rebuilt and cleaned the sediment tank and head. I replaced the filters, diaphragms and gaskets thanks to STP’s rebuild kit.

I also got the headlights working again (I had to replace a bulb, another shoutout to Steiner) and I plan to get hazard lights on top of the fenders so I can drive it on the road safer. I have yet to start the radiator project, and I recently got the materials to do a full service on it. Assuming all goes well, I will have this repainted and eventually install a few weight brackets so it will be a fully restored pulling tractor.

I upload videos on the projects I do to @BackroadOperator on YouTube, so go check it out if you want a more detailed break down or follow along this tractor’s restoration journey.

Ryan Marks, Connecticut

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