Back in October 2010 I went to a farm auction at Rocanville, Sask., to get a look at a very rare tractor, a John Deere 8020. I’d been astonished to find out there was one still working on a farm barely 30 kilometres from me.
While I was standing in front of it, a stranger came up to me and mentioned he had arguably an even rarer big Deere, a WA-14, that he still used on his farm, and he lived just another hour away. It’s a bit like lightning striking twice.
That stranger, Monty Niebergall, had also come to the sale to check out the 8020.
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The 8010, 8020 and later WA-14 and WA-17 tractors were steps along the route for John Deere as it cautiously moved into the fledgling articulated tractor market in the 1960s. According to Harold Brock, a former research engineer at John Deere, commenting in the book The John Deere Tractor Legacy, the 8010 was a component tractor based loosely on a model the U.S.-based Wagner company was building at the time.
Deere approached most of the same firms that had been supplying components for Wagner’s tractor to get recommendations in order to create their own version. The company then built the 8010 itself, using bought-in driveline components.
Over the years a widespread misconception developed that the 8010 design was actually built by Wagner, but Brock said that isn’t the case. The misunderstanding is probably due to the fact they — the 8010 and Wagner’s tractor — were both similar component tractors. Over the years, Deere has very rarely used that approach to tractor building. But the articulated design represented a big jump in horsepower over its existing two-wheel drive models, so buying in heavy-duty components was likely the only sensible option in order to get a tractor to market quickly.
When the entire 10 Series tractor line was recalled, refitted and reborn as the 20 Series in 1963, the 8010 was rebadged as the 8020. But with sales failing to break the 100-unit mark, the design clearly wasn’t capturing the imagination of North American farmers. That was partly due to the roughly US$30,000 price tag (roughly C$300,000 today), which was significantly more expensive than the company’s largest two-wheel drive model, the 5010 and later 5020. Even though the four-wheel drive offered much more horsepower, many farmers couldn’t see much value in spending the extra money.
When Canadian manufacturer Versatile began capitalizing on the demand for economical four-wheel drive tractors in North America, it offered models that retailed for only about US$13,000; that created stiff competition for the popular 5020s. So, Deere began the process of developing competitive, in-house articulated tractor designs that would eventually become the 7020 and 7520.
But after discontinuing 8020 production, there was a gap at the high end of their product line. To fill it, Deere struck a deal with what was by then FWD Wagner (after a business merger) and arranged to market that company’s WA-14 and WA-17 models painted in John Deere livery as a stopgap measure.
Deere began offering the two new, big tractors for 1968. After 1970, they were replaced by Deere’s in-house designs. As part of the marketing arrangement for the WAs, it’s reported that Deere insisted on a non-competition clause, preventing FWD Wagner from selling the WA-14 and 17 into the agricultural marketplace themselves. That served to permanently keep the FWD Wagner company out of the four-wheel drive agricultural tractor market, limiting Deere’s competition.
Muscle and memories
Niebergall purchased his WA-14 in 1992. He saw the tractor advertised for sale when he was in the market for a high-horsepower tractor to use on his farm at Neudorf, Sask., about 80 km southwest of Yorkton. But it was more than five hours’ drive away on a farm near Eastend, southwest of Swift Current on the opposite side of the province. After making the deal, he had to arrange to have it transported back the roughly 320 miles (515 km). “I hired the John Deere dealer at Balcarres to haul it home for me,” he says.
At the time, the WA-14’s value was still in its ability to get field work done. Collector interest wasn’t yet at the stage it is today, so the tractor was still being sold for its muscle, not to be part of a collection.
Since buying it, Niebergall has traced its previous ownership history.
“I’m the third owner,” he said. “It was bought new at Swift Current, Sask. The second owner was sick and he had to sell the tractor.”
The owner was already too ill to remain on the farm when Niebergall went to see the tractor. To find out a bit more about it, Niebergall called him.
“I phoned the guy after I bought it. He was really glad I did. He said ‘I was wondering where it went.’”
The tractor was a little sick, too. It needed an engine overhaul and some cosmetic attention.
“I redid it through the winter, and I painted it right away.”
Fortunately, Niebergall, who also did custom welding and fabrication work on the farm, already had his shop set up to handle those jobs. He even had an area set up in one building for painting large equipment. But rebuilding the N855 Cummins engine came first.
After the rebuild, the tractor engine performed well for about 2,300 hours until it developed problems again. Tearing the engine down once more revealed a piston had failed. When Niebergall took it and the cylinder liner to the parts counter to order a replacement, the clerk discovered some inconsistencies with the part numbers. It turned out he had installed the incorrect pistons during the initial overhaul. “I needed the non-oiled ones. This engine doesn’t have piston coolers,” he explains.
Despite that, the tractor was able to put in several years of field work.
“It worked for 2,300 hours with the wrong pistons,” Niebergall says, shaking his head in amazement. Once the error was discovered, though, the second rebuild, with all the proper parts, has kept the engine purring for quite a few seasons — and it still sounds as good as new.
Even though the WA-14’s systems were state-of-the-art 40 years ago, its field performance wasn’t very impressive when Niebergall put it to work on his farm. The hydraulic system’s capacity was too low for really efficient field operation. WA-14s came equipped with a standard, engine-driven, 15-gallon-per-minute open-centre system. An optional 35 g.p.m. pump was available, which ran off the Fuller Roadranger transmission’s PTO. But even that provided only modest performance at best.
Upgrades
“The steering was too slow,” making it hard to make quick headland turns, Niebergall says. To cure that problem, he went to a tractor wrecker and removed the hydraulic steering system from an 800 or 825 Versatile (he can’t remember exactly which). He used that to replace the WA-14’s original system, which made a significant difference to how the tractor handled. It also improved fluid flow to trailing implements.
Niebergall made a few changes inside the cab, too. Some of the original gauges were replaced and the air conditioning system was improved.
Sitting in the seat, it’s clear this is a well-maintained tractor. Every gauge and control functions properly and there is even a little bit of new-car smell, rather than the musty odour found in so many older machines. The floor is spotlessly clean. There isn’t even a muddy bootprint anywhere, despite the wet weather before my visit.
“A guy has to have it looking nice,” he says. And it certainly does.
Outside the cab, new decals were applied immediately after the respray. But finding replacements for a tractor this rare in 1992 proved impossible. “Those decals are from a 7721 combine,” Niebergall adds. “I guess now you could get the originals, but in the 90s there weren’t as many companies reprinting them.”
Given that the tractor is so uncommon, it takes more than a second look to realize the decals aren’t exactly correct. They look convincing. However, the WA-14 model number decals are missing, as there just weren’t any around when the tractor rolled out of Niebergall’s spray booth.
To help the tractor deliver horsepower to the ground more effectively, Neibergall replaced the 26.5 X 25 Rice (R3) tires that were on the tractor when it arrived with wider 24.5 X 32 duals. Niebergall isn’t sure why the tractor was equipped for muddy conditions, considering it was working in a very dry area of the country. But they weren’t suitable for the field conditions on his farm. “There was too much compaction,” he says.
Making the tire changeover, though, involved much more than calling a tire shop. Niebergall had to find a new set of rims and have a machine shop laser-cut four inserts that fit them and matched the bolt pattern on the hub. He then welded them in on the farm. Since the new tires were installed, the WA-14 was much more sure-footed in the field. The tractor also looks more modern with the wider stance.
The 10-speed transmission in the WA-14 offers four different gears in the popular three- to six-m.p.h. field speed range. In all, the tractor is capable of operating from 1.5 to 15.5 m.p.h. And Niebergall says the RTO-910 Roadranger transmission makes it easy to shift on the go, because it was originally designed for use in heavy trucks.
To stop the tractor’s massive 26,520-pound unballasted weight, both the WA-14 and 17 models were equipped with air brakes, a rarity on North American farm machines — both then and now. But Niebergall likes that feature.
“You can back up to an implement hitch, lock the parking brake and the tractor stays in place, making hookups much easier.”
According to Deere’s original sales brochure, even though the WA tractors were equipped with a door on both sides of the cab, they were only intended to be entered through the left side. The opposite door is to gain access to the fuel tank, batteries and air cleaner mounted on the tractor’s right. But Niebergall decided it would be more convenient to have cab access from both sides, so he fabricated a matching ladder and mounted it below the right-side door.
“It also makes it handy for refuelling.”
Even though Niebergall’s farm is off the main road, his unusual tractor hasn’t gone unnoticed by collectors. He says one of them had been repeatedly calling to try and convince him to sell. But he had no intentions of parting with his pride and joy.
“You can go in a parade or go farming with it,” Niebergall says proudly.
