L200

[liltractor]

Hello and first I would like to say this is a great site I have found. Have spent most of the day just reading.

Need info on this little Tractor I bought. It had not been used for two years and was just sitting. I paid $500.00 for it with a box blade so I don't think it was overpriced. I am in the process of draining all the fuel that was in the tank and replacing the fuel filter, Fan belt and air filter. After all this is done I will attempt to start it. It did turn over when I purchased it but it didn't start.
Engine Serial # is 17940
Engine Model Z1100

Does this make it a gray market tractor and is it compatible to the L210.

Will post more info as I play with my new little project

 

[traildust]

Well, judging by this paragraph I would say you do not have a grey market tractor:

"The Kubota tractor has its roots on the Japanese farm. Although Japanese farms are traditionally smaller than those in America, the need for high performance and powerful maneuverability is the same. Kubota Corporation introduced its first tractor to the United States in 1969. Filling a product void in the American marketplace, the Kubota 21 horsepower L200 was an overnight success. As a result, Kubota Tractor Corporation (KTC) was formed in 1972 and the company introduced its first 12 h.p. four-wheel drive tractor in 1974. Although four-wheel drive was common among larger American tractors, it was unheard of in the compact sector and became a benchmark for the industry."

That was from the Kubota web site.

As far as your tractor, when you turn it over is there ANY smoke at all coming out? No smoke means no fuel to the engine.

Try this link for the heck of it, might help.


Scott

 

[liltractor]

Thanks for the quick reply Scott. I was kind of leaning in that direction reference the grey market. As for the starting problem, this little guy was left out in the elements for two years and forgotten. So far I have replaced the fuel, fuel filter, belt and air filter. I do have smoke coming out the exhaust so I will be checking the glow plugs and after that the injectors.
Raining here in south florida today so I will wait til saturday to work on it. Once I get it running I would like to paint him and find a 4 ft bush hog for it.
It's a project that I will enjoy working on.

 

[traildust]

Thanks for the quick reply Scott. I was kind of leaning in that direction reference the grey market. As for the starting problem, this little guy was left out in the elements for two years and forgotten. So far I have replaced the fuel, fuel filter, belt and air filter. I do have smoke coming out the exhaust so I will be checking the glow plugs and after that the injectors.
Raining here in south florida today so I will wait til saturday to work on it. Once I get it running I would like to paint him and find a 4 ft bush hog for it.
It's a project that I will enjoy working on.

You are very welcome. That tractor is going to love you right back for the attention you are willing to give it.
Keep us updated when the rain stops

Scott

 

[L4740]

Hello and first I would like to say this is a great site I have found. Have spent most of the day just reading.

Need info on this little Tractor I bought. It had not been used for two years and was just sitting. I paid $500.00 for it with a box blade so I don't think it was overpriced. I am in the process of draining all the fuel that was in the tank and replacing the fuel filter, Fan belt and air filter. After all this is done I will attempt to start it. It did turn over when I purchased it but it didn't start.
Engine Serial # is 17940
Engine Model Z1100

Does this make it a gray market tractor and is it compatible to the L210.

Will post more info as I play with my new little project

I guess the best answer to your question regarding whether or not it is a gray market tractor is that it could be. The L200 was the first L series tractor imported to the US in 1969. It was also sold in Japan. So there are both gray market L200's and L200's that would not be considered gray market. On the Kubota website, they have the L200 listed as a prior product sold in the US, and they also have it listed on the list of gray market tractors with an * by it. The footnote explains this. One way you may be able to tell whether it is a US tractor or a gray would be to look at the ID plate on the left side of the tractor. It is the metal plate with the model number and the engine model number printed on it. If it is in Japanese, then it is probably a gray. If it is in English, then probably not. (I'm not 100% sure about this however).

I own a 1972 L210 which was the first L series Kubota specifically designed for the US market and never sold in Japan. The verbiage on the ID plate is in English. From the back ground work I did when looking into my L210, prior to restoration, I would say, other then some styling changes to the hood and fenders, that the L200 and the L210 are basically the same tractor with the same engine.

I hope this helps answer your question. I will try to follow your progress. I may be able to help. I have done a fair amount of research on the L210 and have a lot of info regarding this model.

Good Luck.

 

[Drewdaman]

Wow, L4740, you did a great job on that restoration!

I just purchased this L200 which the PO described as,

"This is one of the oldest Kubota tractors in California. Been in parades and received a award for being the oldest serial # still in use.
It has been in the family for 40 years. Runs fine and has working rototiller. 2 cylinder diesel. Needs paint and tlc but she is a little workhorse."

I'm looking forward to learning more about this model, and will post again after take delivery.

Happy holidays,
Drew

 

[L4740]

Wow, talk about digging up an old thread. Thanks for the compliment.
I have done extensive research on the L210 during the restoration period. Which was many years ago already. The L200 is basically the same tractor with just some basic cosmetic changes.

I still own it and have had it in a number of shows and parades. It is amazing the attention it gets. Most people have never seen an antique Kubota. It is showing some fading now, but still runs like it should.
The first pic is one of the latest pics I have of it (2 years ago now) just before I was in a local parade. The wheel spinners and the umbrella are the latest additions!

The second pic was days after the restoration. It is actually the poster child picture for the L210 on tractordata.com.

Good luck with your new purchase. And please keep us informed. We are here to help if we can.

 

[Drewdaman]

Thanks for the reply, L4740, and those wheel spinners are pretty cool, I'll have to try to make up some like that for our parade in July!

And that's really neat about your tractor being featured on TractorData.com, too, I noticed that they don't have any pictures for the L200 on there, so I plan to submit mine at some point.

And thanks for your interest in my project, here's my "progress" to date, albeit it's all basically research and gathering documentation at this point, as I don't have the tractor in my possession yet.

- From reviewing the photos provided by the seller versus the attached picture of the unit that Kubota featured at the 2012 Dealer Meeting for the L200's 40th Anniversary, it appears that the front wheels and seat are not original, so I'll be looking to find those. Also, there is a very interesting metal device on the front of this tractor, it appears to be a grill guard that has been rotated down 90 degrees for some reason, maybe to remove the front of the hood? It looks pretty sturdy and well designed, especially the attachment point that is visible, so I'm eager to examine it in person and see if this is a Kubota part made for this tractor or aftermarket or homebuilt.

- I found a Kubota Owners Manual on Ebay and have purchased it. Couple of observations: I just noticed that the cover indicates model "L-200P", which is the first reference to the model that I've seen with the suffix "P". Also, the cover has a great color image of the tractor, which will be helpful in the restoration process. Unfortunately I was unable to attach that particular image in this post, I'm not sure why the site keeps giving me an error message (Invalid Post specified. If you followed a valid link, please notify the administrator) I'll try to attach it to a follow up message.

- I also found a Kubota Service Manual on Ebay, which refers to model "L200", note that there is no suffix "P" and interestingly, there is no hyphen between the "L" and "200". The Kubota website refers to this model as L200, with no hypen, so I'll use that but I'm still wondering about the suffix P, I wonder if there are different L200 models. There's a nice image on the cover, too, from a different angle, so that'll help, see attached.

- Messick's has a L200 Parts List that consists of 63 pages, so I've printed that out for future reference.

And some questions for you, if you don't mind: did you have to purchase any parts for your restoration, and if so, do you have any recommended suppliers? Were you able to find an original Kubota Parts List (book)? Did you paint it yourself, and if so, did you already have experience with painting something like a tractor?

Thank you,
Drew

 

[Drewdaman]

Following up on my previous post, I'm attaching the Owner's Manual cover image here, as I just figured out that the website apparently doesn't accept file names with apostrophes in them.

 

[L4740]

And some questions for you, if you don't mind: did you have to purchase any parts for your restoration, and if so, do you have any recommended suppliers? Were you able to find an original Kubota Parts List (book)? Did you paint it yourself, and if so, did you already have experience with painting something like a tractor?

I purchased many parts for the restoration, all of them came right from my local Kubota dealer. I was absolutely amazed that most of the parts were still available. Right down to the decals! I would doubt very seriously if there are any other suppliers. Other than for oil filters and such.
Some of the parts were no longer available like certain gaskets and such. But I was able to make that kind of stuff on my own. The original seat was no longer available. It subbed to a totally new style seat. I wanted to keep it original as I could so I had the old seat pan sand blasted, welded and I had the original seat pads reupholstered. It is uncomfortable as can be, but original. It isn't like I sit on it for hours at a time.
I believe I found the parts manual on ebay. But I bet if you went to your closest dealer, they may be able to print one for you. They may charge you a few bucks, but that's just a cost of restoration.
The body work and painting was accomplished by 3 different folks. Number one, me. I did the simple stuff like rims, seat pan, dash, wheel weights, shifting levers, air cleaner, generator, exhaust, etc. I even painted some of the knobs instead of buying new. The body panels (orange tin) had dents, rust and holes in them. I had my brother-in-law, who has done extensive body work on cars straighten, fill in holes, sand blast and paint those. There is no bondo on this tractor. All hole were filled with weld and ground smooth.
For the blue chassis, I hired a local guy that paints cars in his garage. For both the body tin and the chassis, I supplied the paint and materials. I just paid those guys for their labor. For the chassis, I did all the prep work including cleaning, masking and removing of anything I didn't want blue.
It was a lot of pains taking work. I did not want to sand blast the chassis since the sand gets into everything. Even places you don't want it. So I cleaned everything with soap and water, degreaser, brake cleaner, alcohol and everything else I could think of. Every crack and clevis was cleaned down to using tooth brushes and dental picks. It took a lot of time just to get it ready for the paint booth.
The orange paint was available at Tractor Supply but the original Kubota blue was only available from the dealer. It was expensive, but it was the only place I could find it. I think I still have the part number when you get to that stage.
The roll bar was not original to this model. But a number of years ago, Kubota came out with a campaign to equip all early imports with roll bars. The roll bars were available through dealers for cost. I think it only cost me a couple of hundred dollars. They are custom made to fit each model that was imported without a roll bar. I had it painted at the same time the chassis was painted. I certainly don't need a roll bar to be in a parade, but I think it adds a lot to the looks of the tractor.

Here's a helpful hit for you, every nut or bolt you remove from your tractor. Lable it or mark it some how so you know where it goes back. Every nut and bolt is metric. You can't run to the big box store and by a sack of nuts and bolts by the lb. You have to buy metric bolts one piece at a time and that runs into a lot of money. I would remove each bolt and stick it into a piece of cardboard then write on the cardboard where it came from. Then when it came time to put everything back together, I would clean them, paint them and re-install them where they belonged.

I will be following your updates. It bring back memories. I wish I had a way to post all the pics I took during my restoration. But that is long before I had a digital camera. They are all in a photo album....anyone remember a photo album?? You remember, the big books with the cellophane pockets. God I'm old.

 

[Drewdaman]

Thanks for the reply, L4740, and it's very clear you did a ton of work in order to have such a fine looking tractor, kudos for completing the job!

And I'm not sure how much of a restoration mine will receive, as I have a 1985 M4950 that I'm currently working on, too.

I'll post back here once I receive the tractor, it looks like it will be in sometime in January, and include some pics and my plans at that time.

Thanks!
Drew

 

[coachgeo]

Anyone else want a potential first USA model L200 there is one for sale in the Lower Ohio area.

Will put ad in classifieds. It's not mine. Just saw it on craigslist

 

[Drewdaman]

Good find, Coachgeo, that is a fine looking tractor - and looks like a good deal for $2500, given the condition of the tires, body panels and paint.

Though I wonder if it really is a L200 like the ad states, or is it actually a L210?

It has headlights in the front of the tractor, like the L210, rather than mounted in the rear fenders. And the rear fenders are not squared off like the L200, but are very rounded, like the L210.

I've attached two pictures from the CL ad, for convenience and just in case the ad is taken down.

And I've attached several photos from the internet of nice L200's for comparison (and cuz I know everyone here loves their tractor porn, er pics).

Drew

 

[L4740]

That's neither a L200 or L210. That is some gray market Kubota. The rice tires are a good sign that it is a gray. I'm not familiar enough with the gray market model numbers to tell you which model, but it looks a L2000 to me.
I have seen other ads through the years of folks tying to pass a gray market tractor off as a USA model by calling it something it isn't. I'm not saying that is the case here. He may legitimately think it is a L200, so let's give him the benefit of doubt. But buyer beware.

 

[Drewdaman]

Thanks for that info on the CL tractor, that's interesting and sounds like it is a L2000.

And I wanted to post a quick update on mine, as the PO delivered it on Saturday

Here are my inital observations.

Cosmetics: The tractor and tiller are both in better cosmetic shape than I expected, with the blue-painted parts in good to very good condition, I'm pretty sure I won't repaint those. The orange paint on the tin is all in poor condition with a lot of surface rust, but I could see that from the photos so no surprise there, however I am surprised about how straight it all is.

Tires: The PO had to inflate both tires on the right side before unloading, as they both have large cracks, so I'll have to replace them. I could tell from the pictures that the front rims and tires were not original, and it turns out the PO cut the center of the rim out and welded it to a Corolla rim, because "it was getting hard to find the right size tires", so I just bought a matching size tire to the one on the left side. Given that the unit is 2WD, my assumption is that the actual tire size is not critical but I do wonder about using a much wider tire than originally specified, I'm guessing that will make it more difficult to steer at low speeds, but apparently it worked for the PO so I'll give it a try. Of course, if I continue the restoration I'll try to find the original rims and tires.

Operations: The PO started the tractor up and at first then was a loud knocking sound but it almost immediately went away - and I saw a video later of a similar 2 cylinder Kubota that sounded the same at start up, so hopefully this is not a concern. The PO backed the tractor off the trailer then I drove it up my driveway, where it sputtered out and died. Given that the brakes are not working at all - yikes! - I decided to leave it there until my mechanic can work on it.

Serial Number: this is #14952, and I'm really curious if the PO's statement that this is "one of the oldest L200's in the US" is accurate, so I've sent Kubota.com an email asking if they can provide any additional information.

Rototiller: The tiller is extremely heavy duty and in very good condition with the exception of the "back flap" metal panel, which is pretty rusted up and is affixed with 2 hinges that look like they belong on a farm gate. I couldn't find any labels or markings showing the manufacturer name or model, and I'm hoping it is a Kubota, so I'll take more photos and post them to a new Implements & Attachments thread to see if anyone recognizes it.

The Plan: Well, I'm pretty stoked to have purchased such a neat old tractor and tiller for a reasonable price, though I don't have much use for a 2WD geared tractor here on my property as it is pretty hilly. So I don't know what I'll end up doing with it, but the short term plan is to clean it up and get it running better, including a complete service with new fluids, filters, and injectors.

Pics attached, and I'll take more and post them soon.

Drew