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dave24

Copar Panzer

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dave24

Today at an tractor show, i brout this home! what do you guys think about it, i know nothing of panzers so what was the original motor, whats it worth, what year is it, how rare is it? thanks, dave.

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bowtiebutler956

Very cool machine! :text-datsphatyo: I like the way they use Ford rearend in Panzers. I'm no Panzer expert, but you should visit this website. Rare Garden Tractors. Daryel the guy who owns it has a bunch of Panzers. He also reproduces parts for Bantams, like the one I gave my son. There are some Panzer guys here, and I'm sure they will chime in. :thumbs:

Matt :flags-texas:

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tomtractor

It looks like a painted T-70 to me. If you are looking for parts contact Jim Haynes at Dandy Sales in Monson MA. www.dandysales.com He is a great guy.

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Sparky

Wheres Chris11 when ya need him. He's redoing a tractor that looks to me to be the same vintage as that one. I think the rear is Plymouth and not Ford tho.

Mike..........

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312Hydro

I was looking at a newer one and the owner told me it had a Mopar rear end.

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Jake Kuhn

I saw that tractor there! Too bad I didn't get to meet you. Looked like a nice project and not a very bad price. Jake

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Sparky

I'll send Chris11 a PM and ask him to look at this thread, he might be able to give you some better info.

Mike............

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Ryan H

Very cool.

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chris11

Mike im here. that looks to be a t65 it could have had a 6hp briggs. or a kohler. There is a few around. Jim Haynes is the guy to talk too. 413 267 3697 has all the parts and info you want great looking tractor. i have 3 of them now.panzer021-1.jpgpaintedwheelhorse004.jpg

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AMC RULES

Cool tractors...I like the roundhoods...are they the earlier model Panzers?

Is there a difference between Pennsylvania and Copar Panzars?

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chris11

T65 Copar Panzer (1959-60)

The T65 was similar to the T50-60 series, but can be identified by the PTO bracket on the left frame rail being forward of the engine (see picture). It differs from the T70 in that the grille, front axle and clutch handle are (generally) made of cast aluminum instead of cast iron. It had a 5 3/4 hp Briggs engine. T50-T65 models had "Copar Panzer" cast into the front grille, while the later T70 just said "Panzer". The T65 model color is teal/white, but many (most?) were painted red by the owners as in this picture. The red/yellow/black/white colors shown are correct for the T50, T55 and T60 tractors. You may find some models of T65 and T70 with a 'b' or 'bes' after them. B stands for Briggs & Stratton and the 'es' stands for electric start. There was a change to the 5 3/4 hp engine to a 6 hp engine, which may have prompted the extra letters. The engines were identical except the 6hp has the 'Easy Spin' feature on the cam shaft and a slightly shaved head for higher compression. There is also an 'Easy Spin' sticker on the engine. More details on this in a future article. NOTE: The tractor shown in the picture has a 10hp Briggs engine, which is incorrect

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wildbro

Yahoo has a group here : http://groups.yahoo.com/group/panzergardentractors/

They have files with many manuals for the tractors, attachments and engines. They were a good resource when I was working on my Panzers.

I had a T65 but sold it. Still have a 102 trike (diesel) and a 1110. Dandy sales has parts here: http://www.dandysales.com/.

I believe i have a repo foot pedal kit for a t65 somewhere in my panzer parts boxes.

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wildbro

lPANZER CHANGES THROUGHOUT THE YEARS

By Jim Haynes

Panzer tractors originated with an engineer named Jim Clark. J

im worked for a precision instrument manufacturer named Ahrendt Instrument Company. Jim had just built a new house in the Washington suburb of College Park Maryland and he rented a walk behind garden tractor to help him with the landscaping. Landscaping with the walk behind proved to be more work than Jim thought it should be and the tractor was not much help. Jim felt he could build a better product, so he talked to farmers, gardeners and members of the Department of Agriculture at the University of Maryland and with their help came up with a design. A proto-type was built in 1953, but was soon scrapped. Jim redesigned a new model that featured a used narrowed Dodge or Plymouth automobile rear end, individual rear brakes and a belt tightener/reverse disc (Gledematic) drive system. These features remained as features of the Panzer throughout its existence. Jim's boss became interested in the tractor and thought it had sales potential so they formed a company called COPAR (short for College Park) to manufacture the tractor. A contest among the employees of Ahrendt Instruments was held to name the tractor and PANZER was the result. 1954 saw the start of production with about 350 tricycle Panzers built at College Park.

In 1955 COPAR moved to a refurbished plant in Laurel Maryland where it remained until 1960. Various models were built at Laurel including 4 models of tricycle and 4 models of the 4-wheel version of the tricycle. All featured 16" rear wheels and a 9hp Briggs and Stratton engine. Copar also introduced a light 4-wheel garden tractor in 1958. It featured 12" rear wheels and either a 4HP Clinton or 5 ¾ HP Briggs and Stratton engine. All College Park and Laurel tractors were painted red/yellow except the first model (all red) and the last (turquoise). Less than 10,000 tractors were produced in Laurel.

Copar was sold to Virginia Metalcrafters (VM) of Waynesboro Virginia in 1960. In 1961 VM redesigned the light tractor and eliminated the larger tricycles and 4 wheelers. All Panzers produced after 1960 were painted turquoise and from 1961 to 1963 all grills just read PANZER. Sales, quality and the number of attachments increased dramatically under VM ownership. Panzer became very competitive in the marketplace.

In 1963 VM purchased Pennsylvania Lawnmowers, one of the oldest manufacturers of lawnmowers in the world. Pennsylvania Lawnmowers dates back to the 1870’s. The company was renamed Pennsylvania Lawn Products in 1964 and the tractors were slightly redesigned and renamed as Pennsylvania Panzer. 1966 saw a major redesign to a square hooded model renamed the Pennsylvania Meteor. Early square hoods featured increased horsepower, a wide seat and one of the first hydrostatic (automatic) transmissions to be used on a small garden tractor. The price was just under $1000.00 for a tractor with no attachments. The Meteor with the hydrostatic transmission proved too expensive and so in 1968 the older belt tightener Glidematic drive returned, the name Meteor dropped and the Panzer name returned.

In 1970 Pennsylvania Products was sold to Schenuit Industries of Baltimore, Maryland. Schenuit also owned Jackson Manufacturing (Jackson Wheelbarrow) and the company became the Pennsylvania Products Division of Jackson Manufacturing. They also moved all production facilities to Martinsburg, West Virginia. All Panzers were discontinued and the new company focused on sheet metal riders and rotary walk behind mowers. In 1971 Schenuit Industries went bankrupt and Jackson Manufacturing was sold in the settlement, but Pennsylvania Products was closed. Machinery in the Martinsburg plant was sold to A.M.F. (Homko) and parts, foundry patterns, blueprints for all Pennsylvania and Panzer products sold to a new company Dandy Sales, Inc. The actual number of Panzers built is unknown, but almost certainly was under 50,000.

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AMC RULES

:text-goodpost: Thanks for sharing the Panzer history lesson Wildbro. :thanks:

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Horse'n Around

Thats a cool find right there! I really like those Panzers with the round hoods, They look really well built and are so classy looking. You would never have to worry about hurting that rear end thats for sure!!! I'd love to have one however, as scarse as all things Wheel Horse is/are in AZ, I cant even imagine how it would be with a Panzer... In addition to the cost of any parts I would ever need, Id have to stash a ton of money for shipping :)

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