National Director Fordson Tractor Club 250 Robinson Road Cave
Junction, Oregon 97523
The scholarly treatise, ‘Nebraska Tractor Shows, 1913-1919
and the Beginning of Power Farming,’ appeared in the December
1998 issue of GEM. This interesting article was submitted by
Reynold M. Wik, a well-known Henry Ford biographer and author of
Henry Ford and Grass Roots America.
However, this feature in GEM showed a picture of a Fordson (page
29) with an ‘incorrect’ caption, and this needs calling
attention to, as those of us in the huge hobby of antique
collection and restoration do need accuracy in the correct
identification of tractors we all love and admire. The caption on
page 29 states: ‘1917 Fordson, Courtesy of the University of
Nebraska.’
This cannot be, for two reasons. Number one, there never was a
‘1917 Fordson!’ Reason? The Fordson name (and logos) were
not known or used until February of 1918. One might review ‘The
Real Fordson’ which appeared in a series of five issues in GEM
from July 1985 to November 1988. These articles pointed out that
the first six thousand tractors made by Henry Ford-and-Son had no
identification on them at all and are now ‘MOM’ tractors,
an acronym for the British ‘Ministry of Munitions’ which
had purchased them for the War effort.
The second reason for noticing the incorrect identification by
year arises when looking at the various characteristics which point
it out as a much later model. For example, the seven-spoke rear
wheels did not come out until the end of 1919. The maple wooden
steering wheel was last used in 1923 and the ‘composition’
rim was used after that. The square-ended fenders did not
officially appear with a reinforced dash until 1923. So obviously,
it could not be a ‘1917 Fordson.’ True, this may be
‘nitpicking,’ but tractor collectors, with Fordson now
becoming quite popular, will want to know the correct year of
manufacture. A clearer photo might identify it more accurately.
The first book to attempt to identify most makes of tractors was
published in 1979 by C. H. Wendel (of ‘Reflections’) and
entitled Encyclopedia of American Farm Tractors. This book
has been accepted for many years as the bible for antique tractor
collectors.
While this was the first comprehensive book on all
tractors, a Mr. Allan Condie of the United Kingdom started a series
of ‘monographs’ on the Ford-sons, the first book on any
particular brand of tractor. In ensuing years he published more
booklets on just about every make of tractor including some rare
English ones.
Prior to this, in 1976, the first tractor club for an individual
make of tractor (Fordson) was formed in California. Shortly
thereafter, Leroy Klein of North Dakota started up a newsletter for
John Deere collectors. At about the same time, a gentleman cabbage
farmer in Massachusetts, J. Todd Miles, began sending out a
newsletter for the Ford-Ferguson 9-N called the ‘Small
Farmer.’ On this writer’s suggestion, he shortly changed
the name to ‘Ford-Fergie Farmer’ for the euphonious
‘F’ sounds. But publishing these newsletters on a regular
basis proved to be too much for Mr. Miles, along with his normal
farming chores. He discontinued the newsletters. However, before
much time had elapsed, Gerard Rinaldi, a teacher in Connecticut,
restarted these as the 9-N, 2-N, 8-N Newsletters. Other
‘clubs’ for other makes joined the bandwagon and soon there
were newsletters for collectors of Case, McCormick-Deering,
Allis-Chalmers, Minneapolis-Moline and others. The John Deere
newsletter expanded into the current Two Cylinder
Magazine. Before long, there was a ‘Green Machine’
newsletter, a second Case, a second Minneapolis-Moline, a second
Hart-Parr-Oliver, and a second Ford and Fordson Club. And so it
expanded until today there are over thirty-five different clubs
with newsletters or magazines.
Many of these early newsletters were quite basic, but they
helped owners and collectors of their favorite brand with location
of parts, manuals, parts books, correct paint colors, decals and
restoration tips. They also turned early to identification of
different models of that particular make.
For example, most could not tell the differences (nor year made)
between the American Fordson ‘F’ (1918-1928); the Irish
(Cork-built) Fordson ‘N’ (1929-1931); or the English
Fordson ‘N’ (1932-45). Also, the question came up as to
whether the letter ‘F’ stood for Ford and the letter
‘N’ for new.
The same puzzlement was felt for the Ford tractors from 1939 to
1952. No one seemed to know why these tractors were designated as
9-N, 2-N and 8-N. The sequence of numbers didn’t seem right.
However, those of us in the early identification process came to
the logical conclusion that the Ford-Ferguson 9-N came out in 1939,
and the 2-N in 1942._The latter, issued during the War years, had
steel wheels because of the rubber shortage and a magneto and
old-fashioned crank to replace the battery and starter. Then, it
was obvious that the Ford 8-N (after the split of Henry Ford and
Harry Ferguson), while actually first being built in 1947, was
introduced as a 1948 model, just as new cars are introduced today
in the fall as the next year’s models. The ‘N’ was
believed to stand for ‘new,’ as Ford had discontinued
tractor production from 1928 until 1939 when he came out with the
Ford-Ferguson. But others state that ‘N’ was Ford’s
designation for ‘tractor.’
Even today, many who are just entering the antique tractor hobby
do not know the difference between 9-N and its look-alike the
2-N… and… the Ford 8-N. In a nutshell, the differences are: the
front wheel lug bolt pattern is different, with the 8-N smaller
around; a small door is located on the right rear of the 8-N hood;
most obvious, the Ford 9-N has a three-speed transmission while the
8-N has a four-speed. The original color of the 9-N and 2-N was a
light solid battleship gray, while the 8-N had lighter gray
‘tin’ with a bright red body. Hence, the 8-N’s are
sometimes referred to as ‘red-bellies.’ Many repaint in a
wide variety of colors.
So correct identification of the many antique tractors made in
the past in the United States is becoming more accurate every year.
There are now many tractor books on the market covering all kinds
and makes of tractors, all written by experts in their field, with
fantastic pictures to show the different characteristics.
But a peculiar instance of the need for more knowledge and more
accurate tractor identification surfaced at the 1987 Branch-9
EDGE&TA’s annual Father’s Day weekend show at
Pottsville, Oregon. That year, McCormick-Deering was the featured
tractor. Among the thirty tractors at the Fordson Club Headquarters
were an F-20, F-12, 10-20 and OS-12, but none in show condition.
However, just finished was a bright red Avery ‘V’
available. So just for fun, signs were made-up, reading
‘International PUP’ and attached on the sides and front of
the Avery V. Now, as most know, there is actually a
McCormick-Deering ‘CUB’ about the same size and color. The
‘PUP’ was then trailered to the show grounds at Pottsville
and displayed in the tractor line-up and entered both days in the
tractor parade. Yet, only a handful of the many tractor collectors
caught on to this ‘fun deception.’
This leads us to the conclusion that much more work needs to be
done to correctly identify our favorite tractors. We have to guard
for ‘made-up’ replicas which are showing up as counterfeits
unless so named.
Shown with this article is a line-drawing of a REAL 1918 Fordson
with its obvious characteristics (among others) as having six-spoke
rear wheels, ‘ladder-side’ radiator castings, Holley 234
carb and manifold, single-hole gas tank, no fenders, and, if
examined closer, having a three-hole drawbar, wooden steering wheel
rims and coil-box ‘key.’
The ‘original’ Fordson Tractor Club is currently
searching for the oldest, complete and running 1918 Fordson with a
$ 100 ‘prize’ to be awarded to the owner. Can you identify
one?