1959 John Deere 830 ‘Rice Special’

PO Box 333, Holland, Texas 76534

Owners: Monk Ivicic & Sons

The production of two cylinder John Deere tractors ended in
1960. Manufactured from 1958 to 1960, the 830 was the last and
largest. The 830 is a ‘wheat land’ type of tractor designed
basically for pulling large plows in large wheat fields. A few
830’s were labeled as ‘Rice Specials.’ These were
equipped with mud protection devices, to prevent mud from entering
working parts. ‘Mud covers’ covered the brakes and axle
housing ends.

Our 830 has serial number 8301339. I suspect its manufacture was
completed on New Year’s Eve 1958, because it was shipped to
Sugarland, Texas, on the first work day of 1959. It a ‘Rice
Special’ and did perform a lot of work in the mud–the rice
fields of south Texas. Moisture from the mud promotes rusting, and
this is greatly enhanced when ‘coastal salt elements’ are
mixed with the moisture. This 830 was badly eaten up by this rust,
and many holes were present in the sheet metal.

Dave Phillips from Academy, Texas, brought this 830 from the
rice territory to our central Texas area in August of 1992. I just
happened to be at Dave’s farm when he pulled in with the 830.
It looked bad–the tires were rotting and some were flat, the
engine was stuck and had been rained into, I could see through the
various sheet metal parts, and parts were mis-matched or
missing–but I bought it mismatched from Dave anyway, about 15
minutes after he arrived! I didn’t know he was bringing an 830
that day, and I didn’t know I was about to buy one. Sometimes
strange things can happen when collectors of old tractors and
engines get to thinking.

My initial thought was to replace all of the sheet metal, but
you just don’t find these on every street corner. A few years
passed as I searched for parts sometimes obtaining them from other
states. I picked up a pair of fenders in Oklahoma which also had
rusted holes but not as extensive as the original ones. I replaced
the bottom part of the nose piece with a dented (but better) one,
and replaced one side of the nose piece which incidentally, was
welded up to the top piece at the factory. By this time, I decided
the search for parts was over and it was time to start
patching.

I finished the 830 in September of 1998 and took it to our
annual Texas Early Day Tractor and Engine Association Show which is
held on the first Saturday/Sunday weekend in October, at our show
grounds in Temple, Texas. Only six years and one month had passed
since I first laid eyes on it in 1992!