Save your oats - buy a Fordson

[John 1594]

Fordson F US build = trembler coil box ignition system, no mudguards and cleated rear wheels, painted grey with red wheels usualy

Fordson F/N, Irish build, as above but with mudguards extending down to low level behind the rear wheels to counteract the tendency they had to flip over on thier backs when pulling hard

Fordson N, british build, shorter mudguards than the irish N, but extending to the full with of the wheels which now had spade lugs instead of cleats. Magneto ignition instead of coil box, Now painted blue with orange wheels. All models up to this one had a water washer air cleaner

Fordson N, Orange. Higher compression engine, oil bath air cleaner, wide mudguards as previous N

Fordson N, green, war spec. Narrow mudguards, straight axle (previous models were bent) Hole in side of rad casting which matched dimesion of spark plugs to allow easier dismanting by land girls. Also fitted with temp gauge to aid changeover to TVO

Fordson E27N. Same engine as the previous N models, with minor modifications to the vaporizer to aid starting, New crown wheel/pinion final drive replacing worm gear drive of the original N, pto now fitted as standard, with larger wheels and new front axle/radiator/drivers platform, with a dog clutch 3 speed box. This box was the basis of the 6 speed box fitted in the major, they just fitted a high/low box in the front of it

Fordson major, Laurie Martlands new high speed diesel engine mated to the modified 3 speed E27N box, with an added hgh low giving 6 speeds, same front axlE and final drives as E27N, with a dry clutch, new styling and hyd lift as standard

cant say 100% im correct on all of this, not really a ford man, but thats it in a nutshell basically

 

[Lazy Sod]

Why would you need to put the coils in the oven? My grandfather remembered his father driving a tractor for mostyn estates and he had to put the coils in the oven for a while before cold starting, any enlightenment? Believe the tractor was a fordson. Not many years after the Great War.

The first Fordson tractor was the model F, which had no mudguards and the trembler coil innition system, which was the same as the model T Ford car.

It was probably in the late twenties that it was replaced with the model N - the Standard Fordson, which had mudguards and magnito ignition.

 

[Ley253]

If this was just after the great war, these would be trembler coils, similar to a ford model "T", and the tractor would have been either a "MOM"( Fordson supplied to the ministry of munitions) or the later model "F" These coils were energised by a flywheel mounted generator. Bosch FU4B magnetos came into use on the model "N", and continued up to WW2, then the Lucas GJ4 was fitted. Others, Wico, Simms seem to have also been used, but not in great numbers.I have a 1943(ish) model "N", on steel, spade lug wheels with road bands, which has never been a problem to start. The main reasons for poor starting seem to be induction air leaks, and a poor magneto, if these are kept in good order an "N" should fire after 4 compressions, and if the choke is then opened a little, come to life after two more. Kicking back is usualy caused by a stuck impulse coupling, or "swinging" the engine.

 

[Supergirl]

My fathers first tractor was an E27N, I had a go on one belonging to a neighbour when I was about 14 ( a very long time ago!) with a Ransome trailer plough. That outfit would be worth a bit now with the growing interest in classic and vintage ploughing. Would love to find a nice one but son would go crazy!!

If you get brave, let me know, I could sort you out with something nice

 

[Roger Perry]

Fenders were made available for the model F in 1923/4 and production of the F was moved to the plant in Cork Ireland in 1928, the move was to free up production capacity for the successor to the model T...the model A.

 

[Strawberry roan]

I wonder how many sold their horses to tesco, and bought the fordson, Then regretted that decsion when it wouldnt start or ran out of juice,got damp,overheated,flat wheels,or cracked the block., and wanted the horses back but the fordson was only worth 20 quid

A bit off topic but I was doing some walling over burnley way tother day and an owd twitcher chap said to me that the demise of the yellow hamer came about when people stopped growing a few acres of oats for there horses when they swapped to ford sons and fergies. Before my time but it sounded right.