John Deere Model 430 Tractor


John Deere Model 430   1958 to 1960


The John Deere Model 430 series of tractors

The 430 gasoline engine was a vertical two cylinder with 4 1/4 bore
and 4 inch stroke, 113 cid, 7 to 1 compression ratio, 1,850 rpm that
produced about 30 belt horsepower.

The 430 T was offered with 3 different front ends, tricycle, single
and wide. Engines offered were gasoline, all fuel and LP Gas.

The LP Gas engine produced about the same amount of power but
had a 8.5 to 1 compression ratio. The all fuel engine had a special
cylinder head, manifold and carburetor, and produced about 23.5 horsepower.

Special engines were available as an option for altitudes of over 4,000
feet. These engines had a higher compression cylinder head which
compensated for the reduced cylinder pressure at high elevations.
The cost of the high altitude engine was the same as for a gas.


Regular equipment was a 4 speed transmission, an option was a 5 speed.

A direction reverser was an option that allowed the operator to stop the
tractor and reverse directions without changing gears, it was not available
on LP Gas models or on tractors with continuous running PTO. This option
was available for an extra cost of $281.


Variations of the John Deere Model 430 Tractor include:

Model Production Figures
430 S (standard) 1802
430 U (utility) 1319
430 W (row crop utility) 5978
430 T (tricycle) 3253
430 H (hi crop) 212
430 V (special) 63
430 F-3 (forklift) 68
430 C (crawler, 4 or 5 roller) 2251

A Total of 14,938 variations of the Model 430 tractors were built.

John Deere 430W Tractor




John Deere Model 430 Tractor Trivia

The 430 Crawler outsold the standard and utility tractors.

The first 430 built on July 7, 1958 had serial #140001 and was a crawler,
the last one was built February 29, 1960 with serial #161096 and was a
tricycle.

The 430 was mechanically identical to the slant steer (late production)
John Deere Model 420.


Total production of all variations of the 430 was 14,967 units. In this
total, there were 212 Hi Crops and only 63 Specials.

Shipping weight of a 430 U was 3,000 pounds, for a 430 C it was 4150
(4 roller) and 4700 (5 roller).

Cost of a new 1958 430 U was $1847.25, for a crawler it was $3529.25
(5 roller).

Early 430 F-3's carried the designation U on the serial number plate, it
was changed later in production to have the F-3. The forklift was a
continuation of the Deere tractor and Holt fork lift which started on
the Model 420.

The 3 in the designation stood for 3 ton capacity.

In later production models a 1000 rpm option was available, however
only 8 tractors were ever made with this option.


Some Model 430 tractors were painted red from the factory
for a special industrial order. All yellow coloring was an option when
purchasing through the Industrial Division. Although there was never a
430 Industrial designation for the tractor.


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