FO-S-FORDSON

FFoorrddService Manual

Fordson

THIS IS A MANUAL PRODUCED BY JENSALES INC. WITHOUT THE AUTHORIZATION OF FORD OR IT’S SUCCESSORS. FORD AND IT’S SUCCESSORS

ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR THE QUALITY OR ACCURACY OF THIS MANUAL.

TRADE MARKS AND TRADE NAMES CONTAINED AND USED HEREIN ARE THOSE OF OTHERS, AND ARE USED HERE IN A DESCRIPTIVE SENSE TO REFER TO THE PRODUCTS OF OTHERS.

Serv

ice

Man

ual

Fords on.. TR.ADE. MARK

TRACTOR ~ANUAT4

--Flld Tank tho

.....--.. _--.---TIll 01 tic Lc"n

I'rirn:u}' Air Pipe '1 .. -- .. ----Air WMher Flont ----·-·------Ajr Wac;her- .

r-···--------Renr Whed Cleat ...------&::11 Spring .-----Scat ...-----iDIITeren tinl Spider

fferenti::lI Pinion ...---Reflr Axle Shnft

Pi.;!"n Pin .-... --.----- -.---.-.. --.-M;1in Air Pipe ____ _ I'I-;(on ______ ._.

Conncctil1& Rod.---· MI\['r Ch:lrnbcr A">~tlnoly __ . 1'1" Ilm H Ing<: _________ .

R;1di:lIN Top T:1nk ----Sp:lrk Plu~ _______ -:

Vnlv('-­~;Idi.'t"r '1 "i' '1 ;lT1k

Connection

R~Ji:lt·.'r -H l'~lf1 A~"l'Il1l'lr---- .-~

('",11111\11:110[ I'ull I~t'd -"'-"-

b n [k I! ·----·JUlU

,.,.".,,' :tttt"\ Crank Shaft ____ .___ ... :J.~_ ...

Magneto COil---­Mn~aet---------------------Oil Sump Drain PIll!;-

r----.. --... ---- Frlmi nf; Rod .·------Throttle Control Rod

.... ------.... - Sediment Bult-.

r~rnhe I Plfk.\' I 01 h;e GC:1f

._- Spllrk Control Rod Ncedle Valve Adj. Rod

'001 Box .... ___ Steering Whe:.:1

\ Tn1fl~Hnh;<;I(TIl

Trnn~mi!;!;jon HOllsing m Thr\l~t BCMing

Pr:'l w !l;1!' Cnp I ".- Worm

;:lJ,W __ \Vorln Wheel

\1 rl'n -Tmllllrnission ShAH t (\nd

. lower Drive SharI

--Flv Whed m~"""" Steering Pinion

\ Steering Sector Olltch Assembly .

-Cronk Case Dratn Plug L-----Oil Sump

Cross Section of Tractor-Plate No.1

" Clutch Release Cam \ Clutch Lever

ransmlssion Hou~ing Plate Transmission brive Shaft Bevel Gear

Air W .I~h('r ________________ -,

Prllning R.)d ______________ -, ,...-_____ Throltlt Control Rod

...-____ SpOlrk Conlrol Rnd

NCI~d1t· Valv(' J\djmrillg r~od ___ ., r----- V nponz('r

Rear Wheel Bushi"g _____ .....

Rear Wheel Cle;!r

Cylinder Head .. '

Valve Spring CO\'t'f

Cylinder Froll! Cover

Foot Brucket r.rank Case ("",IIC')/, "lttd hut'

t. ,.I. .~.

Transmission Housing _,,,,.

The Fordson Tractor-Vaporizer Side-Plate No.2

Kerosene Tank filltu CitP __ ..,..,..,--. h,~""r",""c,-,' ' Air Wasner Filler Cap

Coil Box __ ,...... __ -_.., ..-.............. ~ ____ Air Washer Drain Plug

I, ,,' Gasoline Tank Filler Cap

I . Sediment Bulb

Steering Wheel

Radialor ..- :--.......,. ___ Oash

F.m 'H,c:',t:. ,. Seat

Oil Filler IL:~~,:,l B!i

Gear ShUter Cover

Starting Crank

Sleerlnc Ora« Link Tran~iui(»n Orain

The Focdson Tractoc-Coil Box: Side-Plate No.3

THE IGNITION SYSTEM 37

magneto allows the current to Bow through the metal parts to the metal roller in the commutator. Therefore, when the commutator roller in revolving touches the four commutato~ contact points, to each of which is attached a wire connected with a coil unit, an electrica'l current is passed through the entire system of primary wires. This circuit is only momentary, however, as the roller passes over the contact point very rapidly, letting the current Bow into each unit as the roller touches the contact point connected with that unit •. The commutator should be kept clean and well oiled at all times.

What about the Spark Plugs? Answer No. 77 One is located at the top of each cylinder and can easily be taken out with a spark plug wrench after the wire connecti-on is removed. The high voltage current Bows from the secondary coils in the coil box, and in reaching the contact points in each spark plug it is forced to jump a n of an inch gap, therefore forming a spark which ignites the charge in the cylinders. If the spark plugs become carbonized or sooted, the high tension current instead of jumping between the points of the spark plugs will pass through the carbon accumulation directly to the metallic shell. This will cause the cylinder to misfire. When in this condition the plugs should be removed and cleaned. (See Answer No. 39.) .

What are the indications of Ignition trouble? Answer No. 78 The uneven sputter and bang of the exhaust means that one or more cylinders are exploding irregula!'ly or not at all, and that the trouble should be promptly located and overcome. Misfiring, if allowed to continue, will in time injure the motor and entire mechanism. A good driver will be satisfied only with a soft, steady purr from the ex­haust. If anything goes wrong. stop and fix it immediately if possible.

How can one tell which Cylinder is Missing? Answer No. 79 This is done by manipulating the vibrators on the spark coils. Open the throttle until the motor is running at a good speed, and then hold dO\\"Il the two outside vibrators (No. 1 and No.4) with the fingers so they cannot buzz. This cuts out the two corresponding cylinders (No.1 and No.4), leaving only No.2 and No.3 running. If they explode regularly it is obvious the trouble is either in No.1 or No.4. Relieve No.4 and hold down No.2 and No.3, and also No.1; if No. 4 cylinder explodes evenly it is evident the misfiring is in No. 1. In this manner all of the cylinders in turn can be tested until the trouble is located. Examine both the spark plugs- and the vibrator of the missing cylinder.

Case

-. Contact Point

Brush

Fibre

Pull Rod. Connection

Oiler ______________________________ ~~~

~knut .................... __ ..... __

Roller ___ .................... _

The Commutator-Plate No. 21

THE I G NIT ION S Y'S T E M

,..-_______ To Coil

,.-__ ----End 0( Ribbon grounded hem

,.-____ Magneto Coil Spool

agneto Coil Support

Flywheel

Magnet--J

Magnet Clamp

The Magneto-Plate No. 22

39

When the Magneto get. out of order-What? Answer No. 85 The magneto is made of permanent magnets and there is very little likelihood of their ever losing their strength unless acted upon by some outside force. For instance, the attachment of any electrical battery to the magneto terminal will demagnetize the magnets. Should this occur, it is not advisable to try to recharge them but rather instali a complete set of new magnets. When using an electric battery for starting, be sure and disconnect the wire from the primary contact terminal. The new magnets will be sent on a board in exactly the same manner as they should be when installed, so they will not stick together when in position on the flywheel. Great care should be taken in assembling the magnets and lining up the magneto, so that the faces of the magnets are even and are separated from the surface of the coil spool by j~ of an inch. The magneto is often blamed VII~· ;n the trouble is a weak current caused by w.!ste or other foreign matter accumulating 1.Ulder the magneto contact spring, which is

. '8crewed into the side of the cylinder bloclr; this should be taken out and the foreign 8ubnance removed.

LOW GEAR

PLOWING GEAR (Intermediate) Reverse Idler Gear

REVERSE GEAR

View S.howing the Four Positions and Different Sets of Gears that are Engagw-Plate No. 25

Index AIR WASHER Page MAINTENANCE Page

Attention ............................................................... 29 Its Purpose ........................................................... 29 How it Works ....................................................... 29

Cleaning ............................................................... 58 Storing .................................................................. 59 Care of Ball Bearings ...................................... 58,59

BELT PULLEY OPERATION

Belt Pulley ............................................................ 62 Adjustments ......................................................... 15 Air Washer ........................................................... 10

CLUTCH Clutch Pedal ......................................................... 11

How Adjusted ...................................................... 48 How Controlled .................................................... 47 Its Purpose ........................................................... 47 How Removed ..................................................... 47 How it Works ....................................................... 47

Cranking ................................ : .............................. 10 Fuel ........................................................................ 7 Getting Ready to Start ............................................ 7 Gear Changing ..................................................... 13 Oiling System ......................................................... 7 Radiator .................................................................. 7

MOTOR Spark & Throttle Levers ....................................... 10 .

Carbon - How Removed ...................................... 20 Connecting Rod and Bearings .............................. 21 Cylinder Head - How Removed ........................... 20 Motor Fails to Start .............................................. 59 Motor Lacks Power - Runs Irregularly ................. 59

Spark - How Controlled ....................................... 15 Speed - How Controlled ............ : .......................... 15 Starting ............................................................ 10,13 Starting in Cold Weather.. .................................... 11 Stopping Tractor .................................................. 13

Motor Stops Suddenly .......................................... 59 Motor Overheats ............................................. 25,59 Motor Knocks ................................................. 20,59 Knocking - Causes ............................................... 20 Main Bearings- How Adjusted ............................. 21 Motor..Removing from Transmission .................. 23

REAR AXLE Differential ........................................................... 49 Rear Axle - How to Remove ................................ 49 Wheels - How to Remove ................................... .49 Care of Roller Bearings ........................................ 49

Piston ................................................................... 17 Replacing Gaskets ................................................ 23 Spark Plug Cleaning ............................................. 21 Valves .................................................................. 17-20

RUNNING GEAR Adjustments - Steering Gear ................................ 55-57 Removing Front Axle ........................................... 55 Removing Front Wheel ........................................ 55

FUEL SYSTEM Vaporizer - How Adjusted ........................... ~ ....... 33 Vaporizer - Its Purpose ........................................ 31 Vaporizer - Trouble .............................................. 33-34 Vaporizer - How it Works .................................... 31

TRANSMISSION Its Purpose ........................................................... 41 How Removed ..................................................... 43 How it Works ....................................................... 41 Gear Shifter - How it Works ............................... .41

IGNITION SYSTEM Coils ................................................................ 35,36 Commutator ......................................................... 36

COOLING SYSTEMS Fan ........................................................................ 29

Magneto ............................................................... 38 Magneto Trouble .................................................. 39 Spark Plugs .......................................................... 37

Its Purpose ........................................................... 25 Motor Overheats .................................................. 25 Radiator ................................................................ 25-29

When to Look for Trouble ............................... 37,38 BRAKE

LUBRICATING SYSTEM Adjustment ........................................................... 45

Attention Required .......................................... 57,58 Motor ................................................................... 57 Transmission and Rear Axle ................................ 58

Constructed .......................................................... 44 How it Works ....................................................... 44 Roller Bearings/Front Wheels .............. : ............... 53

1<1':1'1< 1 NTI':!) WI 'I'll 1'I':l<M I SS ION OF ENe I NEEl<S AND ENG I NES MAGAZ I NE

ENGINEERS & ENGINES

THE FORDSON: AN AMERICAN LEGEND Courtresy of John G. Ruff, Route 2, Rox 25, Logan, KS 67646

••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••••• It IS well known that tractor enthu­

siasts have their own mdiviJual criteria for choosing the tractor models which they consider to be the truly great trac­tor designs. You will find some (possi­bly considerable) disagreement among them about which tractors were the truly great designs, and which were only average or even worse. However there is one tractor that is almost universally accepted as a truly legendary design which played a very important role in the acceptance of tractors in the U.S. That tractor is the Fordson. Whether you think it was a good design or a bad design, there is no denying that the Fordson became the best known tractor ever built in the U.S. Many considered the Fordson to be the tractor that con­vinced U.S. farmers to give up their horses and replace them with tractors. Many considered the Fordson to be the biggest success story of the tractor in­dustry. But, like many things in life, the actual reality can be much different than the legend. This is also true for the Fordson. It is a story that is seldom told today.

The legend is that Ford wanted to free farmers from the hard physical la­bor that had always been a part of farm­ing. The method he chose to use was the development of a small, low cost tractor that every farmer could afford to buy. He wanted to mechanize agri­culture the way his Model T had mecha­nized personal transportation. The Fordson was quickly developed to help European farmers meet the agricultural production emergency of WWI I. Ford next sold the Fordson at a very low price during the 1920's so that every U.S. farmer could afford to own a tractor. This allowed these farmers to mecha­nize, reduce their production costs, and eventually lead to a financial recovery from the Agricultural Depression of the 1920's. Many believed that Ford didn't make any profits Oil the Fordson so he could keep it's price low enough to al­low Ford to achieve his goal being the man who mechanized U.S. agriculture. And, like the M()del T, once Fmd's en­gineers had developed wh;lt hlfd (on-

sidered to be the perfect tractor, the design remained almost unchanged throughout the many years it was built. That is the legend. Some pans of it are true, but much of the reality is very dif­ferent.

No one disputes that Henry Ford wanted to mechanize agriculture. He wanted to develop a form of mechani­cal power that would replace the hard physical labor that had always been a part of farming. Ford was interested in developing tractors before he started de­veloping cars. Experimental develop­ment work on tractors started in 1908. This was only slightly over a decade af­ter tractors first appeared in the U.S. Ford first wanted to combine parts from Ford cars with the stronger parts needed for field work to develop an auto trac­tor. This would have been a faster and cheaper way to develop a tractor, but it was an approach that never could have succeeded. These light duty automobile conversions simply could not handle the stresses and strains of hard field work. ll1is was a problem that Ford's engi­neers could never solve using an auto­mohile conversion.

By 191J it was app;\rent that there was a large market out there Just wait­ing to huy a good, small, low cost trac­tor; a prodllct which the newly emerg­in!~ indllStry had so far LtIlnlto develop FalllH'rs eagnly ordned ;\ lot of this type

of tractor when ever a new model be­came avaIlable. They were often disap­pointed with the product they received. A lot of farmers owned Mcx1el T\. l11CY were waiting for Ford to ['crform the same miracle with tractors tI,dt he had performed with automobIle,;. They wanted to buy small tractor" but they were waiting for those tractors to be built by Ford. It was well known that many farmers would not buy a tractor until that tractor carried the Ford name.

By 1915 Ford finally concluded that Ford's tractor would have to be designed from the start as a tractor built heavy and strong enough to do all kinds of field work. The auto tractor was not up to the job. Ford had seen pictures of the Wallis Cub and decided that his tractor should also use the unit frame construction. His engineers developed a tractor using this approach. There, were still problems, but it was clear that· progress was being made. Ford an­nounced he would sell a tractor and that he would sell it for $200. "

The tractor project was close to de­veloping a rnarket"hle product in 1916. Fifty tractors were sent out for field test­Ing that year. 11K tractor W;lS now car­rying the Fordson look and had acquired the Henry Ford and Son name. Ford Motor Co. stockholders would n()t sup­port the trdClor proJect, S() llenlY set lip an()ther C()l1lpaliy.to d() th;\t Joh. Ali-

THE FORDSON ... other Ford Tmctor Co. had acquired the rights to use the Ford name for its' trac­tor. Ford could not, or would not, usc the Ford name on his tractor. Eventu­ally I-Ienry Ford and Son would become Fordson, a name which would be car­ried on Ford tractors for over 20 years.

But the continuing field tesling showed there were still problems with the tractor's design. Despite major de­sign changes, the tractor's ignition, car­buretion, and overheating problems still remained. Its' lightweight construction did not provide satisfactory performance for some heavy tillage work. It has been said that Ford was ready to abandon the design and starr all over with an en­tirely new tractor design; but the chang­ing European agricultural situation re­sulting from WWIIchanged those plans. By 1917 Ford was announcing that sev­eral thousand Ford tractors would be built for European farmers to use to raise food for the war effort.

It's at this point that reality and the popularly accepted story differ substan­tially. The popular view is that Ford's newly developed tractor was gratefully welcomed by Europeans who were fac­ing potential widespread food shortages. Reynold Wik discovered substantial his­torical evidence that tells a very differ­ent story. Ford had fiercely opposed the war. His peace activities had made many in Europe very mad at Ford. Ford engi­neers could have probably placed a much better tractor on the market if they had been given more time to de­velop a new design based on what they had learned from their field test. In­stead Ford suddenly made an agreement to sell a lot of tractors to Europe, and these tractors would. have to be deliv­ered within a relativ~ly short time. To further complicate the situation, plans to set up a European tractor factory never materialized. All these tractors would have to come from a U.S. fac­tory. These were the tractors that farm­ers had been waiting for years to buy. It is unclear why Ford chose this approach to introduce his new tractor. European pressure to quickly deliver the new trac­tor created a lot of problems that might have been solved had more develop­ment time been available. Ford had talked about selling those tractors close (0 cost price to aid till' war ef(ort, hur the aertlal cOlltrau allowed a $50 pro/It

per tractor. 111at was a lot of money ill those days. Ford made a lot of money selling the 6,000 tractors the contract called for. No one ever goes so for as to claim that Ford did it just for the money, but the implication is definitely there.

It is commonly thought that Fordson's design changed very little once the design reached the production stage, but this isn't trlJe. Jack Heald, director of the Fordson Tractor Club, studied a lot of Fordsons, and a lot of Fordsons parts and technical literature; and found that a lot of changes were made before production of wartime models ended. A lot of major changed had to be made before production could even start. Some of these changes were made in an attempt to solve the serious problems that had shown up during field testing. Other changes were made to simplify the design in an effort to re­duce production 'costs to the rock bot­tom minimum. That promised $200 price was still floating around. Some of these changes were improvements. Un­fortunately too many of the changes were steps backward, and would even­tually cause problems that would stay with the Fordson during its' entire life. For some reason, Ford never made the design changes which might have cor­rected these problems. Without the war­time pressures to quickly finalize the de­sign so that production could begin, it

Model N Fordson.

is possible th.lt a longer ,devciopment time might have resulted in a much bet­ter Fordson tractor.

By late 19 17, Fordsons were being shipped to Europe and the U.S. pro­duction line was moving towards full capacity. Ford's publicity campaign talked about the great contribution that Ford was making towards the war ef­fort. European tractor manufacturers didn't see it that way. The flooding of their market by all those cheap Ameri­can tractors de.stroyed the newly emerg­ing European tractor industry. European designed tractors may have been as good as or even better than the F6rdson, but they couldn't compete with the low prices resulting from Ford's assembly line mass production methods. It would be years before tractor manufacturing. would re-emerge in Europe. Even then, a lot of those tractors would come out of factories that Fmd had started in Eu­rope. These would be building improved versions of the old Fordson. Ford would always control part of the English trac­tor market. It probably would have hap­pened anyway, but there is not doubt that all Ford's wartime tractor aid speeded up the process.

U.S. farmers began receiving Fordsons in 1918, but it certainly wasn't the good deal that they had expected to receive. A government permit, gov­ernment supervision of the Fordson's

THE FORDSON ... use, and $750 were needed to obtain the tr;lCtor. 11H~ middlemen were not allowed to earn any profits on the trac­tors they kll1dlcd. Ford claimed he was selltng the tractors ;H cost. The de<llcrs c1allned they had to do all the work whd(· Ford W;IS makll1g all the money. Ford's accounting records showed Ford was making almost $200 profit per trac­tor. The Fordson may have hacla very low price compared to the prices of other tractors sold during those years of highly inf1ated wartime prices, but Ford made money selling those tractors. He made a lot of money.

By 1918 the design had evolved into the Fordson F that most are familiar with today. It is commonly believed that the F's design never changed during its' long production life, but this is not true. Heald slated that Ford's engineers and his parts suppliers engineers continued to improve the parts that were used in the Fordson. The new parts were in­stalled on the production line as they became available. But even though these changes resulted in some changes in the Fordson, the really serious prob­lems still remained. Overheating, hard starting and rearing up were problems which remained with the Fordson dur­ing its' entire lifetime. But Ford never made major changes to the Fordson's design which might have solved these problems. It remained for other manu­facturers to develop, build and sell the parts which corrected the Fordsons ma­jor problems. Some companies were very successful doing that.

By 1918, annual Fordson tractor pro­duction climbed to over 34,000 units. This number was 26 percent of the U.S. tractor market, a share that gave' Ford first place standing in the U.S. It was a position Ford would hold until U.S. pro­duction of Fordsons ended in 1927 .But anyone reading the farm press of the day would have never known this. 111e Fordson was sometimes mentioned in news stories, but it was never shown in Ford Motor Co. ads during WWlyears. Some of the suppliers of parts for the Fordson did show the tractor in their nds. Ford dealers did some local ndver­tising. But anyone reading the farm magazines from the WWI years would have had a difficult time discovering that dw Fordsoll evell existed. It W;IS

til(' IlIOst popular seiling !r"ctor frolll

ENGINEERS & ENGINE....,

I') I Ii Oil. ;lIld ()Ill' of the Ixst kept ,,'. erets by the rest of the U.S. farm lin­

chlllery indllstry. TIle industry would rathn h<lve hclievcd that the Fordsoll never existed.

TIlere were sever,ll good reasons for this unusual situation. 111e m<lin ()n~ was that farmers didn't need to be per- , suad~d (0 huy Fordsom. TIley had becn waiting for several years for Ford to sell this type of tractor. Once it went on the market, Ford could sell Fordsons as fast as his factories could build them. Another reason was that the rest of the industry hated Ford. They couldn't com­pete with the Fordson's low price. Ford had its' very efficient mass production assembly line. The rest of the tractor industry did not. The industry's response was to ignore Ford, and begin develop­ing improved new models to sell after the war ended.

The entire market demand for trac­tors changed completely after WWl ended. By late 1921, farm product prices had collapsed and U.S. agriculture had entered a severe depression. A lot of farmers went broke. Those who survived couldn't continue buying tractors like they had during the war. Tractor sales fell in 1921, but had recovered to al­most WWI levels by the mid 1920's. However, there was one significant dif-

krl'IlCl'. hH\1 was sclhng 70,000 (ll

100,000 Fords()llS annllally during those years. 111at wa5 60 to 80 percent of the (otal ind'lstry's tractor sales. Ford was selling most of the tractors bemg sold by the industry. That meant that a lot of other comp<lnies were selling few, if any, tractors. There was one reason for this developmcnt. In February, 1922, Ford dropped the Fordson's price to $395. Ford may have actually lost money selling tractors at that low price. There arc som~ who suggest that Ford's very efficient production line may have still allowed Ford to make a profit, but it would have been a very small profit. But the price reduction atlowed Ford to continue selling tractors - a lot of trac­tors. This was a good business decision for Ford, but a disaster for the rest of the industry. A lot of tractor manufac­turers went out of business. Those who managed to survive saw their tractor production and sales fall to almost noth­mg. Even the strongest companies were badly hurt by all those cheap Fordsons It was almost open warfare between Ford and the rest of the tractor industry. There was even a government investi­gation of Ford's pricing policies. Other tractor manufacturers claimed that it cost them more to buy the engines they put in their tractors than Ford was

A ur~ full-tuck version of Ih .. wulime Model N.

THE FORDSOH charging (or an entire ttactor. TIle com. panics which survived made their OWIl

price cuts, but none o( them even came close to matching the Fordson's low price. IHC led the counter attack ill the price war with its' combination of ;t tractor price cut combined with ,I frel" implement. But its' strongest weapon was its' claim that it was selling a supe­rior tractor. But it was the Fordson's low price which would continue to sell the most tractors for the next few years. Ford's competitors also began introduc­ing new, more powerful, much improved new tractor models to chaHenge the Fordson. In the end, this was the ap­proach which : proved to be the most successful. The Fordson's low price found it more difficult to compete against these better tractors even though they had higher price tags. By the mid 1920's, Ford needed an improved new model to remain at the top of the trac­tor market. Instead the Fordson re­mained in production, and an aggres­sive advertising and sales campaign was started.

By 1924, it was only too clear that the Fordson was facing an entirely dif­ferent tractor market. A lot of Ford Mo­tor Co. ads for the Fordson suddenly appeared in the farm magazines. These were rather low key ads containing a brief, simple message and a big picture of the Fordsonj but the Fordson name and the still low $495 price were al­ways prominently shown. There was a magazine for Fordson owners. There was a large network of Ford dealers to pro­vide advice, parts, and to repair the trac­tor it needed. Ford conducted tractor demonstrations and training sessions. Potential Fordson purchasers often found that their neighbors already owned Fordsons. That network of own­ers provided a lot of information and support for new Fordson owners. This aggressive sales campaign worked. An­nual Fordson production remained in the 80,000 to 100,000 + range until pro­duction ended in 1927. The Fordson name still held a lot of magic even long after the design became obsolete. The Fordson established a lot of amazing sales records. Perhaps the most amazing one was that Ford was able to continue selling so many Fortlsons long after rlH' design was clearly ohsollOl to.

Dcspite Ihis amazing sales record. ,he

ENGINEERS & ENGINL.<)

Fordson's design problems continued 'n pl<Jgue its's owners. The poor ignition system and poor carburetor design 0(­ten made the Fordson hard to start. TI1C power robbing worm gear final drive made the tractor noisy and hot to ride. The Fordson was a light tractor which was poorly suited for heavy tillage field work. But the Fordson's most seriolls problem surely was its' tendency to rear up and flip over backwards if a solid underground obstruction was hit. The Fordson killed people. Wik pointed out that there was a growing public demand to stop production of the Fordson as early as 1922. Ford claimed the prob­lem was caused by careless operators. In reality, the reason for the problem was the Fordson's design. Instead of using a drawbar which was attached to the bot­tom of the tractor at a point in front of the rear axle, the Fordson's hitch point was a small" casting bolted on to the bottom of the back end of the final dri ve housing. Ford probably chose this de­sign to lower production costs. How­ever, the extra downward pull from this location would have increased the rear wheels' traction, a definite gain for a light weight tractor. For some reason this design fault was never corrected by Ford.

This brings up one of the most puz­zling features of the Fordson's produc­tion program. There were almost 750,000 Fordsons sold, which meant that there was a very large potential market for the parts and attachments that would correct the Fordson's design problems. Ford ignored that market. It remained for other companies to de­velop, build, and sell those parts. Other tractor manufacturers made a serious ef-· fort to sell, and· probably to also de­velop and build, all the parts and spe­cial machinery needed to enable their tractors to deliver their best possible per­formance under a wide range of differ­ent conditions. Ford did not. He let other companies do it. An entire in­dustty of small manufacturers developed to sell the parts and attachments that were. needed to make the Fordson a practical tractor. Ford might have made a lot of money selling these products, . but it was the other companies that did. Ford did everything necessary to sell as many Fordsons as possible. It's really sur­prising that he did not also try to sell the special parts and machinery thaI were also needed by the Fordson.

... -'-)~~~?() 1.1ll"s{o wne a lot .of different pans.

TIle Fordson h,ld a poor governor. A lot o( companies sold replacement gOY.

ernors for the Fordson. TIle Fordson's engine used a thermo syphon cooling system. It was a low cost system to build. but did not always provide adequatc cooling. Other companies sold wat('r pumps that could be mounted on till' Fordson's engine. The Fordson's enginc used a splash lubricating system, cer­tainly not the best system for lubricat· ing a heavy duty engine. Oil pumps for a pressure lubrication system were avail­able. The Fordson's engine used the coil ignition system that had been used for years on the Model- T's engine. This made starting difficult. Other compa­nies offered high tension magnetos and distributor ignition systems; replacelllent systems that delivered better pencH­mance and made starting easier. The Fordson's carburetor and air intake de­sign did not sufficiently heat and va­porize kerosene under cold conditions. This also made starting difficult. Better carburetors and manifolds were sold by other companies. The worm gear final drive robbed a lot of power and made the Fordson hot and noisy to ride. Con­ventional bull and pinion rear ends could be installed in the Fordson. Users claimed this change converted the Fordson from a two plow to a three plow tractor. The Fordson's light weight and small rear wheels made traction a prob­lem. Track drive units were available which could convert the Fordson into a track layer. These proVided a lot more traction, but they could cost almost as much as the Fordson did. It's not likely many of them were ever sold. For sev­eral years Ford did not offer fenders for the Fordson. Several other companies did. These were rather massive fenders with very solid construction. The bot­tom rear end of them were especially strong. There was a good reason for in­stalling these fenders. They were'sup­pOsed to hit the ground first and' stop the tractor from flipping over com­pletely backwards. Thj~ was one attach. ment for the Fordson that Ford would eventually sell. Some companies even sold a safety drawbar with a front mounted attachment point 'for safer op­eration. Remote controls and steering wheel location attachments were avail­able which allowed the operator to ride on the implement being PIIIl behind til(: Fordson and control Ihe tractc~r (rmll

. ,

THE FORDSOH ... that location. Even a rein drive attach­ment was available. TIle Fordson op­erator who installed the right parts on his tractor could convert it into a pretty decent tractor. TIlese conversions could deliver good, reliable performance. A lot of Fordson orerators probably did this.

TIle other part of the Fordson supply industry were the companies which sold implements especially designed for the Fordson. A large choice of'pull type, and even some mounted, implements were available. Many of these imple­ments were especially designed for the unique features of the Fordson.One has to wonder if the Fordson would have been such a huge success if this indus­try had not developed to supply all the parts and machinery that were needed to enable the Fordson to deliver its' best performance.

Ford stopped U.S. production in 192 7, although Ford was still advertis­ing the tractor as late as 1928. The reasons why Ford ended production at a time when the U.S. tractor market was on its way to a solid recovery are unclear today. Several reasons do sug­gest themselves. The Fordson's design was becoming obsolete by the early 1920's. I t was clearly obsolete by the late 1920's. It was too light weight and becoming under powered for the trac­tor market that had developed by that time period. Some Fordson's had seri­ous mechanical problems and repair costs could be very high. Some farmers found that the cost of major repairs was much higher than the Fordson had originally cost when bought new. Ford's competitors were now selling much bet­t'er tractors which were a lot stronger and more durable tractors. They were able to handle the stresses an&'strains of heavy tillage work better than the Fordson could. The safety issue certainly didn't help. TIle industry was beginning to build tractors that were safer to op­erate. Several excellent new;tractor models had come on the market during the mid 1920's which were big advances over the designs of just a few years ear­lier. Anyone of these was capable of reducing Fordsons sales, but it was prob­ably IHC's new row crop Fannall trac­tor that finally finished off the Fordson. At least that is what IIIC claimed. fly the late 1920's, U,S, agriculture was en-

ENGINEERS & ENGINES

A 1943 ~odel N with rowcrop wheels.

joying a financial recovery. With more money to spend, farmers were willing to pay more for a better tractor. When that happened, the Fordson's lower price was no longer the way to continue seil­ing a lot of tractors. The market de­mand was still there, but a down turn in sales could not have been far away. Perhaps Ford realized this and decided to close the factory down before the market began to shrink. That is as good a reason as any.

This decision did not put Ford out of the tractor business. Tractor production was moved to Ireland. A substantial re­design resulted in a much better trac­tor, the Model N. It had acquired more power, a high tension magneto, a water

,pump, an improved carburetor and manifold, a better air cleaner, a better governor, and a heavier front end. This new N was imported to the U.S. to be sold by Ford tractor dealers. However U.S. sales, and production numbers, re­mained far below the stratospheric lev­els that the Fordson F had reached. Ford continued to improve the tractor's de­sign, and traces of the old Fordson could be seen in Ford's European built trac­tors until in the 1940's. The Fordson may have become obsolete in the U.S. tractor market, but it became the de­sign which gave Ford a very large share of the English tractor market.

The big losers from Ford's decision were the companies which had been selling the parts and machinery for the

Fordson. Saine were able to stay in busi­ness by selling their prOducts to other tractor manufacturers. Some managed to grow into larger, well known compa­nies, but most of them eventually dis­appeared. Their immediate response was to join together in an attempt to form another farm machinery company seil­ing its own Fordson replacement trac­tor. This attempt did not last very long. Farmers no longer wanted another Fordson type tractor.

No similar supply industry would de­velop for Ford's next tractor design, the N models. Ford would include as regu­lar equipment everything that was needed to let the 9N deliver it's best performance. Ford designed, built and sold most of the special implements that were needed to get most efficient use of the 9N's new three point hitch hydrau­lic system. This time Ford would try to reap all the profits that came from sales of his new tractor.

There is not much agreement amon'g , the final conclusions about the merits of the Fordson. You either loved it, or you hated it. A lot of farmt;rs must have loved it. If it had been a .bad tractor, even it's very low price could never have persuaded farmers to buy almost 750,()(X) Fordsons over the decade it was built. Many fanners found that their Fordsons delivered reliable service for many years. TIlis was the first tractor that many farmers owned. Many old farmers still have fond memories of the tractor that

, .

made their lives so much easier. But there arc the farmers who remember the Fordson as a tractor that was hard to start, had expensive breakdowns, was al­ways overheating, and unsafe to ride. Their fond memories are of the day that they replaced their old Fordson with a decent tractor built by another com­pany. In the final analysis, if you knew how to take proper care of a Fordson, knew how to operate it properly, and only used it for the jobs it was capable of doing, you probably loved it. If not, then you probably hated it.

But no one can deny the unique his­torical importance of the Fordson. It sold almost 750,000 tractors during the decade it was in production. Annual production rose above 100,000 tractors during three of those years. No other tractor model, with so few design changes, has ever established a record like that. What makes this impressive record even more remarkable is that it was established during an agricultural depression; not during a period of pros-

. perity when tractor sales are more likely to rise to record breaking levels. The Fordson was the first tractor that many U.S. and European farmers owned. It was probably the reason that they bought their next tractor.

Some claim that Fordson was the tractor that mechanized US. agricul­ture, but this claim is difficult to sup­port. The number of horses on US. fanus actually continued to increase un­til 1919, and then fell slowly from the 1920's through the 1940's. Neither the beginning of Fordson production nor the end of it had a really big impact on the change in horse and mule numbers. It remained a gradual transition process for several decades. The Fordson may have started the mechanization of U.S. agri­culture, but other tractors played as big, or bigger, role in the transition process. The Fordson had been gone for many years before that transition finally ended.

But there is no doubt that the Fordson almost completely dominated the U.S. tractor industry during most of the 1920's. Ford claimed over 40 per­cent of the U.S. tractor market for the 1921-1927 years. The Fordson still had over 55 percent of that market in 192 7, the last year it was built in the. U.S. Ford claimed at least a 65 percent share of the US. tractor market in 192 I - I 924, some of the most depressed ye;lrs for

ENGINEERS & ENGINES

agricultun: during the 1920's. Battling head to head agaimt the entire U.S. tractor industry for almost a decade, Ford emerged the overwhelming win­ner for almost a decade. The Fordson was the tractor that established those records. A bad tractor could not have done that.

There is one rather unusual postcrip( to the Fordson story. Buescher tells how the time came when farmers started trading in all those Fordsons on newer model tractors. Salesmen were often re­quired to take old Fordsons as trade ins to be able to complete a sale. There were so many Fordsons around that no­body wanted them. They could not be sold as used tractors. There was not a big market demand for salvage parts. These Fordsons were usually scrapped out, and the junkman would not pay much for them. The salesman had to

absorb some of the trade in allowance, or do some very fancy talking to con­vince the farmer that his tractor was not worth anything. So the farmer, who had bought the Fordson originally be­cause of its' huge popularity and low price tag, may have found that he ended up paying a few more dollars for his next tractor because so many of those cheap Fordsons were still around. The Fordson's great success had resulted in it becoming a tractor with little value. The rewards of great success are not al­ways what one would have expected

(helll (0 he. Somehow solTle of (hose old Fordsons, even the rarc, early pre F models, sur­vived the insatiable appetite of those WWIl scrap drives; and farmers' deCi­sions to get rId of those old, obsolete pieces of junk when better tractors be­came available. TIlese prized parts of pnv;!(e collections often are exhibited at the tractor shows. Some have become a showpiece on Ford tractor dealers lots. These remaining Fordsons will probably still be around for many more years. These old Fcirdsons still possess one unique feature that no tractor (old or new) has or probably everw~1\ have. There is more history and historical im­portance that comes attached to those old Fordsons than with any other make or model of antique tractor. I t is not likely that any other tractor will ever' establish an even more Impressive record. _.

Reynold M. Wik, Henry Ford aru:l Grass RooLS America, University of Michi­gan Press, 1972

Walter M. Buescher, Plow Peddler, Glenbridge Publishing Ltd., 1992

Jack Heald, Director Fordson Tractor Club, A series of articles about the history of the Fordson