13 replies to this topic

[kfagan]

i am working on restoring a 1960 pennsylvania panzer, its all origional, i have the mower deck, snow plow, field plow and disk that came with it. it has the kohler K181S 8hp engine, and a plymoth rear end, and it was bought new in 1960 by my grandfather. at that point my knowledge of the tractor, and the company, stops. i looked on the internet for some company history and couldnt find anything. so i was wondering if anyone here could tell me either where to find information on the company or give me a brief history of the company, it would be greatly appriciated.
thank you.
ken

[Bolens 1000]

Welcome to GTT, kfagan

There are a couple members on here with a panzer that should be able to help you out.
We would love to see pictures if you have any :)

[kfagan]

ill have to look but i know i have pictures of it somewhere, its been pretty bad off since i got it from my grandfather about 10 years ago, it hasnt been started in probally 9 years, the engine needs rebuilt, and the whole body needs sand blasted and painted, the carb needs rebuilt, the mower deck needs some serious patches, and god only knows what else. but when i find the pictures ill post them, the only good thing is that it has been garaged for 50 years so only the mower deck is rusted threw and theres only surface rust and minor pitting on the body and frame.
ken

[mjodrey]

kfagan:welcometogttalk:glad to have you with us.

[olcowhand]

Tractormike should be along soon enough. He has his & her's Panzers, maybe more. He may have some history for you.

[taycotrains]

I have been running around with a Panzer in the back of my F-250
for the last month now...(to lazy to put it in the garage)...that thing
has gotten more looks than any Wheelhorse I have ever owned.
I was up in Altoona Pa two weeks ago and came out of a Sheetz and thought
something hit my truck there was a crowd gathered around the back looking
at the fool thing like it was something special.
People seem to be taken aback by the rear end mostly.

Bob T

[tractormike]

First off WELCOME to the group kfagan! Glad you are here. Congrats on having a Panzer. They are a unique and well built tractor as you already know just by having one. Here is some of the history as I remember it, subject to correction. The first Panzer was built by a guy who wanted a tractor to use around his own house for landscaping and such. The company he worked for was looking for more products to build and his tractor became the prototype for the companies tractors. They started building them right around 1954 or so. The company grew enough to have a factory in College Park, PA and the tractors came to be called Copar Panzers. The original tractors were red and yellow and had 16 inch rear wheels. Some tractors had a single front wheel and some a wide front end on them. They all used narrowed Plymouth or Dodge car rear ends. Around 1960 the company was sold to Virginia Metalcrafters and they came out with a smaller version of the tractor. They still used a narrowed car rear end but used 12 inch rear tires and the tractor was smaller overall. They also changed the color of the tractor from the red and yellow to a tantilizing torquise which is very close to the 1957 Chevy torquise color. These tractor were built through the early 1960's Around 1965 another company Pennsylvania Lawn product bought the Panzer tractor line and called them Pennsylvania Panzers. About 1968 or so they redesigned them and came out with the first hydrostatic transmission powered garden tractor. This proved to expensive, $1000.00 for just the tractor and after 2 years the went back to the original design. tranny but with a boxier style sheet metal. The last Panzers were sold in the early 1970's.
I know I skipped over a lot of stuff but that is the quick run down of the company. If you need parts there is one guy , Jim @ Dandy sales inc. that has parts for these tractors. He is a very helpful and knows his Panzers.
My wife has a 1963 Panzer that we restored and I have a 1965 Panzer that is my avatar. We have taken our his and hers Panzers to quite a few shows and they always get lots of looks. I have an early small Panzer, about a 1957 or so in my project pile and I used the frame of a later Panzer to build my Massey crawler.
Congrats on having your Grandfather's tractor! They are neat tractors and yours has special meaning besides.

Edited by tractormike, November 03, 2010 - 07:35 PM.
added info

[kfagan]

Thank you for the info. I have to do some research to find out what model it is because my grandfather doesent remember and he can't find the owners manual for it. I'm glad to see there's still intrest in the old tractors. Thanks again to everyone.
Ken

[tractormike]

Ken, if you could post a picture of your Panzer we could help you figure out what model you have.

[caseguy]

Welcome kfagan! It's good to have another fellow Pennsylvanian on board. It's also great that you've got a legacy like the Panzer. Best of luck on your resto project, but be warned, this is an addictive hobby LOL! I think you'll find that this website is great place for friendly advice and helpful people in general. Enjoy!

[kfagan]

I'm still looking for the pictures I have, but I talked to my grandfather today and he might still have the owners manual. So I'm going to see him tomorrow and see if we can find it. Regardless I will post pictures when I get the chance. And I think it's mid 60's based on company info tractormike gave me (thank you again) but it will be hard to know for certain unless we find the manual for it

[NUTNDUN]

First off welcome to GTtalk. You should introduce yourself in the Member Introduction forum. It is always awesome when you can keep a piece of family history in the family. Can't wait to see pics.

[Bruce]

Hey Ken
I found this web site well I was looking for a Panzer. www.panzertractors.com they have all the history and some manuals. I have even email them to ask some questions and they are super nice when they replay to. I hope that helps. Have fun with your Panzer they are nice to have. I have a lot of jealous friends that collect lawn tractors. And that’s because I am from Canada Ontario and they are very rare here.

[kfagan]

Thank you very much that sounds extremely helpful