Fordson

My dad's aunt & uncle had a Fordson. He said it had been a bad deal because you couldn't get replacement parts. They were so busy selling new tractors they neglected the ones already out there. When we'd visit MI in the 50s & early 60s we'd play on the old Fordson in the barn.
 
The only good Fordson's were the later English produced tractors.The gearing was much better then what the early US and Irish made tractors had
 
Early tractors were all pretty basic pulling and belt driving machines. My extended family had a lot of different machines from the big Frick Eclipse steam traction engines to the International Harvester & McCormic Deering tractors. They were state of the art in the eras that they were functional in. None of them would be considered for use in a major modern farming operation. My Grandfather's IHC F-20 and McCormic Deering 2236 tractors ended up out to pasture when my Pop went with the modern John Deere tractors after using several Case and Minneapolis Moline units in the early 50s. Pop's first Ford was the UK made Fordson New Major in 1956. He replaced it with a Ford 5000 back in 64 but they were only used for lister type planting or pulling smaller grain drills. The big JDs did the heavy work of plowing all the acreage we have.

Believe it or not, there are parts available for those models and the old Fordson Model F and N tractors. The Fordson House is one source. The old Frick Eclipse, not so much but folks that collect them manage to keep some of them running. The flues and fire boxes take a beating but some sources will fabricate parts to replace the stuff that wears out.
 
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The early Fordsons had alot of issues with the ****** and gears.You had to let the tractor warm up first or it would not shift into gear properly they were also known for rearing up and flipping the tractor upside down alot of farmers were hurt or killed when this happend.They could also be hard to start and some tractors were converted from the buzz coil system to a magneto set up
 
rotorwrench said:
Early tractors were all pretty basic pulling and belt driving machines. My extended family had a lot of different machines from the big Frick Eclipse steam traction engines to the International Harvester & McCormic Deering tractors. They were state of the art in the eras that they were functional in. None of them would be considered for use in a major modern farming operation. My Grandfather's IHC F-20 and McCormic Deering 2236 tractors ended up out to pasture when my Pop went with the modern John Deere tractors after using several Case and Minneapolis Moline units in the early 50s. Pop's first Ford was the UK made Fordson New Major in 1956. He replaced it with a Ford 5000 back in 64 but they were only used for lister type planting or pulling smaller grain drills. The big JDs did the heavy work of plowing all the acreage we have.

Believe it or not, there are parts available for those models and the old Fordson Model F and N tractors. The Fordson House is one source. The old Frick Eclipse, not so much but folks that collect them manage to keep some of them running. The flues and fire boxes take a beating but some sources will fabricate parts to replace the stuff that wears out.
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What models of Deere's did you guys have?.I am starting to drool thinking of all that old iron :D
 
Pop purchased two 4010s then later a 4430. We never had any of the johnny popper types but neighbors did. I never had fun starting them with the flywheel. It always took too many pulls for my liking. Before Pop died, he bought one of the big front wheel assit types. I think it was a 6210R but I never got to drive it.
 
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Years ago a friend started his two cylinder John Deere for me. There are petcocks near the top of the cylinders that relieve the most of the compression except maybe the last 2 inches. This makes it possible to start by turning over the flywheel. You don't have to turn it very fast. The petcocks are small enough that the pistons are driven forward during the power stroke without much loss of pressure. After the engine starts you just turn off the petcocks. The tractor was really easy to start.

Since the pistons are oriented horizontally, the top of the cylinder is methodological speaking.
 
Model A Canuck said:
The early Fordsons had alot of issues with the ****** and gears.You had to let the tractor warm up first or it would not shift into gear properly they were also known for rearing up and flipping the tractor upside down alot of farmers were hurt or killed when this happend.They could also be hard to start and some tractors were converted from the buzz coil system to a magneto set up
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I was told the first Fordson owners plowed with their foot poised over the clutch pedal in case it reared up (usually if the plow hit a rock). Fordsons soon came with fenders that came close to the ground and were flared out in the rear. This prevented the tractor from tipping completely over.
They had worm drive differentials instead of a normal ring and pinion. The early ones had the worm above the bull gear (above the oil level so relied on oil splash) and ran very hot (plus the trans and diff had a common oil with the engine). The driver sat right over the diff. This set-up also howled-could be heard for several miles, my dad said. When we went to an antique tractor show Dad would tell me to compare a Fordson drawbar with the drawbar on a Farmall or John Deere from the same time period. The Farmall and JD drawbar holes for the hitch would be worn into an oval shape while the Fordson drawbars looked almost new. He said farmers could not get rid of their Fordsons fast enough when the Farmall Regular and JD General Purpose tractors came out (later '20's believe).
 
John Deere was in the plow business so they were late to the table in tractors. International was the big player in the business with Ford coming in around 1917. The Ford was like the model T of tractors. It used the same basic ignition system until late in N production when they started using an external magneto. Just like the model T, Ford was too slow to update things so they shut production down in the late 20s for the US market but the UK market kept going til 1932 or so. IH along with it's McCormic Deering subsidiary kept improving things while keeping the price as low as possible. The D John Deere came in during a downturn after WWI so it had a slow start but they did improve it a bit at a time clear up to 1953 when production stopped. Ford came back in 1939 with the little 9N but it's biggest claim to fame was the Ferguson 3-point hydraulic hitch set up and the draft control. These things really put Ford back on the map. I'm sure a lot of patent royalties were issued to other manufacturers till it ran out. That caused a big lawsuit between Ford and Ferguson.

All of the old draw bar tractors were dangerous in a field with stones and stumps. I've seen a John Deere pop a wheely or two when the operator was trying to pull too much on a draw bar. All tractors can kill if the operator isn't careful enough.
 
rotorwrench said:
Pop purchased two 4010s then later a 4430. We never had any of the johnny popper types but neighbors did. I never had fun starting them with the flywheel. It always took too many pulls for my liking. Before Pop died, he bought one of the big front wheel assit types. I think it was a 6210R but I never got to drive it.
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Those 4010's were a good tractor
 
I stopped at a general store on a back road on the way home yesterday. On the front of the store was a sign that read: "Parking for John Deere tractors only, all others will be plowed under."
 
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