ONEIDA | Students in the Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology program at TCAT Oneida/Huntsville recently completed a ground-up restoration of a 1967 John Deere 3020 farm tractor.
All of the work — including an engine rebuild, hydraulic system rebuild, and new paint job — was done in the diesel shop on the Oneida campus, where students combined to put in more than 1,000 manhours of work in making the machine look like new.
The tractor is owned by Lee and Karen Little of Clarkrange. The Littles are an important part of the TCAT team in Fentress County. Karen is the CTE director at Clarkrange High School, and Lee is a welding instructor.
The JD 3020 is a legendary part of John Deere’s lineup, built between 1964 and 1972 as part of the company’s New Generation series. But this particular Deere had seen better days by the time Lee and Karen Little purchased it at auction as part of an estate sale. Lee employed it on his Clarkrange cattle farm for several years but it eventually became unusable, its engine locked up. It had been sitting for three years by the time it made its way to the diesel shop at TCAT’s Oneida campus.
“There was very little green paint on it, there was moss growing on the exhaust pipe,” instructor Gabe Kennedy recalled. “We did a complete engine overhaul with a new head, new pistons, all of that. We rebuilt the hydraulic system. We sanded it down and repainted it. We put a new cam in it. It’s safe to say that we have more than 1,000 hours of work in it.”
The Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology program is one of the fastest-growing programs at TCAT Oneida/Huntsville under Kennedy’s leadership. Students learn all aspects of diagnosing and repairing diesel-powered equipment, from engines to fuel systems, and from clutches and transmissions to hydraulics.
Originally, students were tasked with only rebuilding the tractor’s engine. But once they met the Littles, they decided they wanted to take it a step further by restoring the tractor to showroom condition.
“The students met Lee and they were just crazy about him,” Kennedy said. “Everyone loves Lee. He’s spent 40-something years in the school system, and he and Karen have dedicated their lives to improving people through education. He has literally bought clothes for students out of his own pocket, and goes with students to job interviews if they need a way to get there. So this was kind of these boys’ tribute to Lee and Karen Little.”
The finished product looks so good that Karen Little told her husband it might be time to look into a new tractor for the farm, reserving the 3020 for parades and showing off. Kennedy debuted the restored tractor in the Scott County Chamber of Commerce Christmas parade on Saturday, where it was met by many positive comments and questions as it rolled through the streets of Oneida.
“The more I look at it, the more I can’t believe we did that,” he said. “I have some awesome students.”
For more information about Diesel-Powered Equipment Technology or any of the other 22 programs of study offered at TCAT Oneida/Huntsville, call (423) 663-4900 or visit tcatoneida.edu.