This Caterpillar PV Twenty was first introduced in 1927 after the merger of C. L. Best and Holt to form Caterpillar. The L Twenty was the first tractor that was designed and produced by the newly formed Caterpillar in order to fill the market gap between the Gas Thirty and the 2 Ton. Wighting in at 7,500lbs with 20 horsepower, the L Twenty (Manufactured in San Leandro, CA, USA) was created, later followed by it's sisters the PL Twenty and the 8C Twenty. You can learn more about the specifications of these models in the YouTube video below.
But why 3 tractors of the same model with different serial number abbriviations? One of the major differences is that the PL was manufactured in Peoria, IL, USA, while the L was made in San Leandro, CA, USA. The 8C was more of a cousin, if you will, of both the PL and the L. It was smaller, had a dash, lighter weight, and only 652 manufactured (versus the 6,500 of the PL manufactured). Differences can be found also in the drive clutch system, as CAT was experienmenting with different modeling differences.
Watch the video below to find out more:
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Caterpillar Model 20 L series L1-L1970
Caterpillar Model 20 PL series PL6587-PL6598
Mfg. Dates 11/1/27-9/30/31
Weight 7740 lbs.
Gauges 55″ & 42″
Drawbar HP 28
Belt/PTo HP 31
Cylinders bore and stroke 4@ 4″x 5-1/2″
RPM 1100
Fuel Cap. 25 gals.
1928 Caterpillar Model 20 Maintenance Manual
1927 L1-L58
L 6 Frank Portera, Morgan Hill, CA, USA Top seat
L 19 Doug Veerkamp, Placerville, CA, USA
L 58 Paul Gills, Petaluma, CA, USA
1928 L59-L1304
L 109 Bob Pittington, Nunn, CO, USA
L 205 Traynham Ranches, Arbuckle, CA, USA
L 365 Hayes Family, Molalla, OR, USA
L 384 Josh Stephenson, Temecula, CA, USA
L 657 Hayes Family, Molalla, OR, USA PTO
L 712 Josh Stephenson, Temecula, CA, USA
L 761 Former Bud Roberts Tractor MO, USA
L 772 Otis Watson, Blue River, AZ, USA
L 811 Former Heidrick, Tractor, CA, USA
L 823 Peter Proposch, Queensland, Australia Restored
L 848W Enyeart Family, Larmie, WY, USA Orchard
L 854W Jay Proposch, Queensland, Australia Restored
L 916 Steve Ayotte, Eagel, MI, USA
L 949 Scott Moulding, Ogden, UT, USA Tailseat
L 982 Dave Bowman, Bellflower, CA, USA
L 1024 Greg Andrade, CA, USA
L 1189 Jan Meermans, Poway, CA, USA
L 1215 Scott Bemis, Prather, CA, USA Top seat
L 1275 Jon-Mark Horta, Atwater, CA, USA
L 1278 Josh Stephenson, Temecula, CA, USA
1929 L1305-L1970
L 1583 Carl Hewitt, Uncasville, CT, USA
L 1594 Frank Portera, Morgan Hill, CA, USA Orchard
L 1970 Howard Bowers
1928 PL1-PL1669
PL 45 Christenbury Caterpillar Collection, Liberty, NC, USA
PL 74 USA
PL 435 Keith Adams, Stony Plain, Alberta, Canada
PL 668W Enyeart Family, Larmie, WY, USA Belt Pulley
PL 773 Omnitrac, Cove, OR, USA
PL 1068 Ryan Family, Blue Bell, PA. Restored
PL 1166 Yearbury, Cambridge, New Zealand
PL 1364 Brown, Warkworth, New Zealand
PL 1369 Flanagan, Canterbury, New Zealand
1929 PL1670-PL3889
PL 1822W Hayes Family, Molalla, OR, USA
PL 1836 Steve Peter, Cahse, KS, USA
PL 1882 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
PL 1879 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
PL 1941 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
PL 1945 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
PL 2024 Randy Moulding, Odgen, UT, USA
PL 2145 Pat Yankelunas, Youngstown, NY, USA
PL 2328 Omnitrac, Cove, OR, USA
1930 PL3890-PL5757
PL 3947W Hayes Family, Molalla, OR, USA
PL 4085 Arvid Leighton, Tehachapi, CA, USA
PL 4105 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
PL 4215 Scott Hirshey
PL 4406 Ernest Oertle, Tucson, AZ, USA Factory canopy
PL 4455 Thomas Holland Family, Moran, TX, USA
PL 4684 Reynolds Family, South Africa
PL 4964 Mike Foster, Burra, Australia Tail seat
PL 4977 Rough & Tumble, Kinzers, PA
PL 4978 Gnoss Family, Woodland, CA
PL 5044 Traynham Ranches, Arbuckle, CA
PL 5055 USA
1931 PL5758-PL6319
PL 6013 W Salem, OR, USA
PL 6016 Omnitrac, Cove, OR, USA
PL 6043 Jan Meermans, Poway, CA, USA
PL 6120 Gary Springell, Buckinghamshire, UK
PL 6226 Frank Portera, Morgan Hill, CA, USA Top seat
1932 PL6587-PL6598
Mfg. Dates 2/9/31-1/16/34
Weight 5933 lbs.
Gauges 50″&40″
Drawbar HP 23
Belt/PTO HP 28
Cylinders bore and stroke 4@3-3/4″x5″
RPM 1250
Fuel Cap. 24.5 gals.
1932 8C1-8C350
8C 4 Christenbury Caterpillar Collection, Liberty, NC, USA
8C 18 Forest Home Farsm Historic Park, San Ramon, CA, USA
8C45 Christenbury Caterpillar Collection, Liberty, NC, USA
8C 48 Bill Meeker, Brimfield, IL, USA Restored tailseat
8C 58 Ringle & Son Tree Farm, Oregon City, OR, USA
8C 90 Ron Meeder, Ripley, NY, USA
8C 102 Frank Buck, Gettysburg, PA, USA
8C 112 Jon-Mark Horta, Atwater, CA, USA
8C 121 Ryan Family, Blue Bell, PA, USA
8C 135 Lyle Mcdougal, Silver Lake, KS, USA
8C 160W Keith Wilhelm, Anchorge, AK, USA PTO
8C 244 Canopy
8C 251 W Salem, OR, USA
8C 265 Tony Hayes, Molalla, OR, USA
8C 303 Ryan Family, Blue Bell, PA, USA Parts Machine
8C 308 Doug Veerkamp, Placerville, CA, USA
8C 313W Tony Hayes, Molalla, OR, USA
8C 336 Ryan Family, Blue Bell, PA, USA Parts Machine, Belt Pully
1933 8C351-8C652
8C 361 Tom, Mariposa, CA, USA
8C 441 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
8C 446 Doug Veerkamp, Placerville, CA, USA
8C 470 Enyeart Family, Larmie, WY, USA Belt Pulley
8C 506 CA, USA
8C 565 Bill Kanawyer, Reedly, CA, USA
8C 570 Russell Turner, Orangevale, CA, USA
8C 579 Marv Fery, Salem, OR, USA
8C 610 Enyeart Family, Laramie, WY, USA
8C 617 tTail seat
8C 629 Frank Portea, Morgan Hill, CA, USA
8C 632 Josh Stephenson, Temecula, CA, USA
8C 642 Tony Hayes, Molalla, OR, USA
1920 PL Bob Hill, Miami, MB, USA
PL UC Davis, Davis, CA, USA
