JOHN DEERE SERIAL NUMBER LOOKUP POWER FLOW SERIES
A final benefit of the new series was that some of the features planned for the New Generation tractors could be tested on these machines before being rolled out on the truly new machines in a couple of years. This bit would play into the surprise across the industry when the New Generation was finally unveiled. Furthermore, it gave the appearance that Deere was going to continue with two cylinder tractors, a design that it had stood behind since it first got into the business. Customers, dealers and competitors could all be convinced that what Deere was selling now in 1959 was different from what it sold in 1958, though under the new sheet metal the tractors were mechanically identical. Restyling the tractors made it appear as though the company was releasing a new line of machines. Henry Dreyfuss was particularly interested in this area of industrial design anyway, so he was the perfect man to task with the job. At the same time, Deere asked the company to improve operator comfort and convenience. The services of Henry Dreyfuss and Associates, the firm responsible for initially styling Deere’s letter series, were used to improve the looks of Deere’s tractors. Instead, it was decided to give the 20 series a facelift. The New Generation tractors were not ready, of course, and it didn’t make economical sense to do any major reworking of the current tractors. Marketing decided that Deere had to release a “new” tractor to compete. The wait needed for the New Generation tractors, though, meant that Deere was going to be without a new tractor to compete against the competitors. Deere’s original plans had its new tractors ready to be released alongside those. Talk around the industry was that IHC and Case were each about to release a new line of tractors for the 1959 model year. It would instead take two more years to fully develop the new tractors and have them ready for production. They also knew, however, that the New Generation tractors were not going to be finished for the 1959 model year, as they had hoped. As they did so, those in the know at Deere were aware that the end of the two cylinder tractor was near. Deere improved further upon this design with the model 720, which not only sported more power and comfort, but bested even the 70 for fuel economy.ĭeere’s engineers added a few mechanical improvements for the 1958 model year 720 tractors. This helped the 70 to do substantially better at the dealer than the “G” did. The diesel engine set a new record for fuel economy while remaining at the top of the industry in terms of power and reliability. The 70 took what the “G” had and improved upon it significantly. Its predecessor, the “G,” did not set any sales records either, but its brute strength and reliability had won over many farmers. It was built to handle the particular needs of the large scale, row crop farmer. The tractor was not Deere’s biggest seller, but it was never expected to be, either. The John Deere model 70 brought diesel power to the row crop farmer.