How the First Caterpillar Tractor Ever Built â Serial # EXP 0000-L â Was Rescued and Restored oleh - bekominisumitomo.xyz
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Matt Veerkamp with the Caterpillar Tractor Companyâs first Twenty; also the first tractor that was entirely made by the new company.
Editorâs note: Weâre excited to introduce Collectorâs Corner, a new ongoing series of articles by Equipment World in which collectors of antique construction equipment talk about their favorite finds. If youâve got a special piece of vintage equipment youâd like featured, email Don McLoud at DonMcLoud@randallreily.com.
Matt Veerkamp was on a parts search 13 years ago in Arbuckle, California, when he was asked to take a look at a rusty old Caterpillar Twenty.
Matt wasnât too excited about the offer, but that changed when he saw the tractor. The serial number stamped on the transmission case and the engine block read, âEXP 0000-L.â
Matt called his father, Doug, with the information.
âYeah, weâll take a chance,â Doug recalls saying over the phone.

The Caterpillar Twenty before its restoration by the Veerkamps.
After the tractor arrived at the Veerkampsâ home in Placerville, California, where the two run Doug Veerkamp General Engineering, Matt started researching and confirmed they had something special.
âAnd by golly, it was the first brand of Caterpillar tractor of the new company,â Doug says.

The serial number on the Caterpillar Twenty
The Twenty, so named because it was 20 horsepower, was built in 1926 after the C.L. Best Tractor Company and the Holt Manufacturing Company had merged the year before to form the Caterpillar Tractor Company. Not only was it Caterpillarâs first tractor to be built entirely off its new design, it was the companyâs exhibition model, which it showed at county and state fairs and other venues to gin up interest in the new product.
Once they began to restore the tractor, the Veerkamps made other discoveries.
âIt was in pretty rough shape and had been painted Cat yellow,â Doug says. That wasnât the original color.
âThe Caterpillar colors back then were gray and red,â Doug says. âBut they painted this one white because of the specialty of what it was.â
As they kept scratching, they also discovered nickel and brass plating in many places.
âIt was pretty cool to find all that under the old yellow paint,â Doug says.
After about four months, the Twenty was as good as new.
âWe took it down to the last nut and bolt and overhauled the engine and redid virtually everything and made it into brand new condition,â he says. It runs smoothly, âjust like it was a new tractor.â
It is powered by a 4-cylinder gasoline engine and is started by a hand crank on the front of the radiator. âIt was quite a hit back in the day, because it sure beat the heck out of horses and mules,â Doug says.
The Veerkamps often get offers on the Twenty, including one from Caterpillar, but theyâre not interested in selling. Doug hopes it will stay in the family for generations.
âItâs a one of a kind, the first Caterpillar tractor ever built,â he says. âItâs a very, very, very unique piece.â

Doug and Matt Veerkamp with the Caterpillar Twenty (right) and the first model Caterpillar 15 built in 1929, which they also own. In all, the Veerkamps have amassed a 125-piece collection of antique Cat machines.
Got an antique piece of construction equipment youâd like to share with Equipment World readers or know someone who does? Email DonMcLoud@randallreily.com.
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