The 435 John Deere with it's sometimes cantankerous GM Engine






435   manufactured from 1959 to 1960


The most unique thing about the John Deere Model 435 tractor was
it's engine that was made by General Motors Corporation.

Deere wanted a tractor with a diesel engine that would fill the small
tractor market. Management knew the New Generation of tractors
was just around the corner, so development of their own small two
cylinder diesel engine was not feasible.

Production of a new Model 440 Industrial Tractor was in the makings
which was scheduled to use the GM 2-53 diesel engine, so it was really
a no brainer to adapt the GM engine to the existing Model 430 and
simply rename it as a 435.



The GM 2-53 engine was a two cylinder, two stroke with a bore of
3 7/8 and stroke of 4 1/2 inches. It had 106 cid, a compression ratio
of 17:1, ran at 1850 rpm with 32.91 PTO horsepower.

Because of the two stroke design, the engine provided twice the power
strokes per minute that a four stroke engine would.

Part of the engine was a blower type exhaust gas system that would empty
the cylinders of combustion fumes so there would be more room for
a new charge of fresh air.

It was so called the 2-53 because of the 2 cylinders and each of it's
cylinders had a cubic inch displacement of 53.



The first 435 was serial #435001 and was built March 31, 1959. The last
one was serial #439626 and was built February 29, 1960. A total of 4626
Model 435's were built.

Three years later the 435 was brought back into production, this time
as the Model 445 which were manufactured until 1972. However instead
of being manufactured at Dubuque, they were built at the Rosario,
Argentina plant.

John Deere Model 435 Tractor






The 435 was built at Dubuque, Iowa, however some 371 units were
assembled in Monterrey, Mexico, these were all sold in Mexico or
possibly further south.


The 435 shared the same chassis and same features as the Model 430 W.
The 430 had a 4 speed transmission but a 5 speed was an option.

The biggest problem the 435 had was a difficulty in starting the diesel
engine in temperatures below 50 degrees F. This was easily overcome
by plumbing an engine heater into the cooling system.


Because of the gearing, PTO speed on a 435 was 560 instead of the
traditional 540. A 1000 rpm PTO was an option.

Cost of a new Model 435 was between $2983 and $3125 depending
upon the size of the tires ordered.

Shipping weight was about 3750 pounds.

The 435 was the first tractor tested at Nebraska after the adoption of the
ASAE 1000 rpm PTO standard. It was the only tractor in the 30 series to
be tested.


Next:  Model 440

Back to:  Model 830


History of Deere Tractors

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