420/440 pix

[muleman]

Hello to all - hope someone can help me with my winch mounting question posted on technical support. Since I am finally figuring out how to do this computer stuff, thought I'd share some photos of my 420C and 440ICD since the pictures have been pretty slow this winter. I completely tore down and rebuilt my 1957 420C between May 2006 and March 2008 and am currently trying to fit it with a Gearmatic 8A winch. I acquired my 1960 440ICD (only 935 original hours) this summer 2009. Since then, other than tuning it up and playing with adjustments, I only fabbed a set of forks for it. I use both for work and play and both have seen alot of time dragging and loading wood for my outdoor wood furnace. Happy Crawling! Kyle (the "Muleman")

MY 420 BEFORE, DURING, AND AFTER + PLAYING IN SNOW





















THE BIG BOYS SHOWED UP AFTER ALL THE HARD WORK WAS DONE



MY 440ICD GETTING SOME WORK DIGGING OUT BURIED WOOD STASH








MY LONGEAR JOHN DEERES

[JD440ICD2006]

I always enjoy pictures. What great antique crawlers! Excellent job on the 420C.
Where did you find such a pristine 440ICD? Most that I have seen (including mine) that have not been restored are ragged out to say the least.
Keep um running!

[NNAATZ]

those are nice machines!! i think fork tines are the handist attachment you could have for a loader. do you use the 420 to pull out the 850s?

[muleman]

JD440ICD2006 and NNAATZ - Thanks for your comments. Interesting story on the 440ICD. Until just a year or two ago, it reportedly sat in a warehouse since the early 70's. Big time contractor had apparently taken it on trade for a job that went sour way back when and parked it. Guy I bought it from had seen it sitting alongside an old 350 while doing electrical work in the warehouse. The old contractor had recently died and son wanted to get both off his hands, so electrician bought both on package deal. Lucky for me that the electrician really only wanted the 350 and really didn't know much about the 440. Only bad part was the guy took the original counterweights off the 440 and put them on the 350 and wouldn't give in on making them part of our deal - so I found some other weights and a bracket at scrapyard in Indiana and worked out fine. Just liked the idea of having original machine all there.
The forks are definitely a handy tool to have for the loader. I fabbed the 54" forks I got off old forktruck so they fit on my 440 and also attach to lugs I welded on a quicktatch adaptor plate for my backhoe loader so I can use them on both machines. Don't know what I would do without them now.
Also, I don't like having to pull out any machines - so if I think I might get stuck, I take my mule. He'll go places even crawlers can't.

[1949JDMC]

Man you took that machine right to the FRAME!!!

Nice Job!

[Stan Disbrow]

Hi,

So. That's what a 420 looks like with paint on it. It's been so long since mine had any, I'd forgotten what it was supposed to look like!

I like that shot with the 420 in the middle of the big toys. I was once offered a free D8 - one of the old cable blade jobs. I balked on (a) the cost of hauling it from there to here and (b) what in heck would I *do* with it?!

However, it seems to me that a big crawler is mighty handy to have to pull out the smaller ones when they get stuck!

later!

Stan

[Ray III]

Beautiful job on the 420. That's what I want mine to look like one day. Nice barn too.