The tastes and preferences of the Classic & Sports Car editorial team could kindly be described as ‘a rich tapestry’, so it should come as no surprise to regular readers that several of us harbour a childish appreciation for vintage farming equipment. Does anyone remember the day Mick Walsh and Martin Port drove two Porsche machines through Twickenham?
Mecum Auctions is feeding our appetite for classic hi-crops, orchards and standards with a mammoth sale of John Deere tractors from the famed Ron Drosselmeyer Collection, with dozens of exhibits from the 175-strong collection set to cross the block on 2-3 June in Muscatine, Iowa.
The lots vary in age from pioneers of the 1930s and 1940s through to more modern machinery, with the undisputed star of the show a 1964 John Deere 8020 – the first articulated four-wheel-drive tractor built by the firm. Just 101 of these behemoths ever left the factory.
Even rarer is a 1960 John Deere 630 Standard All-Fuel, one of just 14 examples ever built. It will be joined by a 1952 John Deere G Hi-Crop – one of 235 – and a true unicorn in the form of a 1955 40V All-Fuel – one of three ever created.
The lion’s share of the restoration work has been carried out by the collection’s curator and lifelong collector of John Deere tractors, Jeff McManus.
