Deere’s GP retains a pull for enthusiasts

John Deere’s first tractor design after their buyout of the Waterloo Gas Engine Co was the Model D.

It was a huge success but soon shown to be deficient after International Harvester launched their Farmall range of tractors.

These tractors, as the name suggests, were able to do all farm tasks including cultivation and belt work and, more importantly, the ability to work on inter row tasks in growing crops.

The John Deere D was unable to do the latter because of its fixed-axle widths fore and aft and the width of its steel wheels to get maximum traction.

Management had already been thinking that they also needed a smaller machine in their catalogue and this led to the design of the Model C which was first built in 1927.

However, by 1928 the tractor became known as the GP standing for General Purpose.

The GP was not produced in the numbers that the larger D was and was eventually replaced when the later models A, B, G and H were launched throughout the 1930s and early 1940s.

The secret of their success was the ability to fit front, mid and rearmounted tool bars to allow cultivation between rows of growing crops.

It was quite a big and expensive tractor so sales were slow, which means the GP is one of the most collectable of John Deere’s machines by today’s enthusiasts.