I have no interest in ever owning one of these. But knowing they are out there and how they work is absolutely fascinating. Seeing the ingenuity of engineers from days gone by is a real treat, no matter what the object. Thanks, Toby!
G'day Squatch. I recall someone I worked for in the 1990's telling me that when he was a young man he had been a salesman for Fordson tractors and had once walked a Cletrac through the waters of a small River in the capital city of our home State of South Australia as a sales ploy. Speaking of intake manifolds also reminded me that a business in my district used to maintain an ancient Holt on display in the tiny lobby of an old weatherboard building. The machine was so old that it featured a steering wheel mounted on a column protruding vertically from the deck instead of the levers which have been an industry standard for so long now. When I first discovered the Holt as a young man I recall the owner explaining how a cast iron tank incorporated to the air intake system was for filtration purposes and intended to be kept filled with kerosene during winter operation and water during summer. The ancient machine disappeared when the business eventually closed but years later I rediscovered it on display in the lobby for a major Caterpillar dealership in the aforementioned capital city.
I love when you bring us these walk arounds on those cool old tractor. The amount of work that went into configuring a track system to fit a production tractor without computers and other modern means is impressive. You’d think by the time they figured it out the tractors would have been replaced by a newer model
I like these. Despite the mechanical dweebe I am, I've never lived where our food was raised and made to grow,. Your background and history lessons of the gear that fed and feed us are important.
There’s a Fordson High School in Dearborn, MI that was built by Henry Ford. I literally grew up in the shadow of the Fairlane Mansion. Got chased out of the backyard many times by security playing in the treehouse when I was a kid!
I think you maybe wrong Toby when you mention the tractors 'rearing up' because of the draw bar position and I would say it is positioned correctly, BELOW the centre of the tractor rear axle tube. Having used one of these '20s Fordsons a lot in my youth, I never had any problem with them rearing up.... BUT....a local farmer to us fabricated a new draw bar ABOVE the centre line, his tractor was a nightmare to drive due to the 'overpull' on the centre line of the tractor. Excellent video nevertheless and a very interesting conversion.
There was a Ford TT truck in the background of the video. The crawler conversion shows how back in the day every company tried to come up with there own solutions for a different traction kit.
Great episode of the show, the Fordson tractor is quite common over here. We also had track conversations here. Your channel is over the top, always longing for new videos 😎👀
Didn't the Fordsons have a solid rear axle with a worm drive where if a wheel got stuck it would possibly flip the whole tractor over? Obviously a tracked conversion with brake steering would require a differential. Was a differential part of the track conversion or had Ford gotten away from the solid axle by then?
Thanks for sharing this with us and it’s so good I really appreciate and enjoy when you do your homework first and then make the video and nice that you could show us one on tracks and one on wheels that’s cool I wonder how many are out there 😀🇨🇦
Wasn't it Ferguson that developed the 3 point pull system to keep the tractor from flipping itself over backwards and squishing the operator? Something twitched in my brain when you brought that up. I seem to recall Ferguson did engineer some safety features into his designs. (i.e. engaging the electric starter with the shifter, thereby eliminating the risk of starting the tractor in gear)
It wasn’t always that simple. Ford ended domestic tractor production in the US in favor of imports from the European plant which I believe was in Northern Ireland. I’m fuzzy on dates but I think that this was around 1930. After reaching the “handshake deal” with Harry Ferguson in I think 1938 Ford came roaring back into the market with the 9N with three point hitch and a much safer and vastly more modern tractor. It had its safety flaws, however in that it could be started in gear. The mechanical interlock to prevent starting in gear came along in 1942 with the redesign/update to the model 2N. 9=1939 and 2=1942. N=production line N at the Rouge complex You can flip a 9N (like mine) or any tractor by defeating the design and doing something stupid like pulling with a chain wrapped around the axle housing. People do dumb things with tractors.
I have actually seen a fordson tractor flipped over backwards that burnt to the ground. Older gentleman by my house was trying to pull a bush out and hit it a little too hard. Luckily he was ok but not so much for the tractor, the bush and the siding on his house!
saw a fordson screw tractor conversion on u tube would love to see a walk around of one if you ever get the opportunity as I don't think we would have ever got them in newzealand trackson very cool more please
Hi, Squatch253. Thank you for the video and the explanation. I have seen these jiggers in the flesh before but only from a distance and I believe there was another company whose name I can't recall at the moment. If my memory serves me rightly, the version with the equal sized sprockets and idlers that you mentioned came out somewhere in the late 1940s-early-'50s and was Fordson's own track system, complete with steering clutches and brakes. They apparently had very good traction but were a little weak in the steering clutches - if you disengaged a steering clutch under heavy load, there was a chance that it would not re-engage but would slip under the load leaving the other track still driving and turning the tractor in a circle. Just my 0.02. You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
Really nice old Fordson F 👍 i noticed it was still using trembler coil ignition not sure when they changed to Magneto ignition system 🤔 excellent walk round 👌
Really nice conversion of a Fordson F, great to see them over seas. What are your plans with the track-kit you have at home? You wanna convert a Fordson tractor in the future? Greetings from the Netherlands!
@@squatch253 That sounds like a proper plan. It’s way better than bring it to the scrapyard. Even as a “yard art” application it could still be worth something ore perhaps be educational. Thanks for the response!
A local small fruit grower was still using 2 fordsons up till the early 2000s , the only reason he stopped using them was his own death from old age , in his eighties
Wonder how many usable hours you could get out of the undercarriage until it was worn out. Atleast you would have to change the steering brakes quite often i imagine :)
Nice video my friend ❤❤❤💚💚💚❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰 A very creative idea ❤❤❤💚💚💚❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰 I look forward to seeing your designs. Congratulations on your journey forward ♥♥♥♥💚💚💚 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
🤦♂️ just turn it left or right ! And you go the direction turned! 😳 after a rememberable night around a bon fire took me a few minutes to figure that out too! 🤷♂️ 😝😂🤣 ✌️
I have no interest in ever owning one of these. But knowing they are out there and how they work is absolutely fascinating. Seeing the ingenuity of engineers from days gone by is a real treat, no matter what the object. Thanks, Toby!
You have no idea how much I miss this meticulous ly done walk-arounds. Please keep the coming!!!
Thank you
G'day Squatch.
I recall someone I worked for in the 1990's telling me that when he was a young man he had been a salesman for Fordson tractors and had once walked a Cletrac through the waters of a small River in the capital city of our home State of South Australia as a sales ploy.
Speaking of intake manifolds also reminded me that a business in my district used to maintain an ancient Holt on display in the tiny lobby of an old weatherboard building.
The machine was so old that it featured a steering wheel mounted on a column protruding vertically from the deck instead of the levers which have been an industry standard for so long now.
When I first discovered the Holt as a young man I recall the owner explaining how a cast iron tank incorporated to the air intake system was for filtration purposes and intended to be kept filled with kerosene during winter operation and water during summer.
The ancient machine disappeared when the business eventually closed but years later I rediscovered it on display in the lobby for a major Caterpillar dealership in the aforementioned capital city.
Love seeing these unusual tractors. So much history with tractors. Thanks for the walk around.
I love when you bring us these walk arounds on those cool old tractor. The amount of work that went into configuring a track system to fit a production tractor without computers and other modern means is impressive. You’d think by the time they figured it out the tractors would have been replaced by a newer model
The success of the fordson is what led Deere to being successful by chasing the small tractor market. Something Case fatally missed out on.
I like these. Despite the mechanical dweebe I am, I've never lived where our food was raised and made to grow,. Your background and history lessons of the gear that fed and feed us are important.
I really like the look of this conversion, way more interesting than the standard model. Great walkaround!
There’s a Fordson High School in Dearborn, MI that was built by Henry Ford. I literally grew up in the shadow of the Fairlane Mansion. Got chased out of the backyard many times by security playing in the treehouse when I was a kid!
I think you maybe wrong Toby when you mention the tractors 'rearing up' because of the draw bar position and I would say it is positioned correctly, BELOW the centre of the tractor rear axle tube.
Having used one of these '20s Fordsons a lot in my youth, I never had any problem with them rearing up.... BUT....a local farmer to us fabricated a new draw bar ABOVE the centre line, his tractor was a nightmare to drive due to the 'overpull' on the centre line of the tractor.
Excellent video nevertheless and a very interesting conversion.
Enjoyed, Squatch! Thank you! I have always been a Fordson fan so that was neat to see.
Excellent video that is a really neat conversion it actually made the Fordson more useful
There was a Ford TT truck in the background of the video. The crawler conversion shows how back in the day every company tried to come up with there own solutions for a different traction kit.
The things I learn in a day watching squatch's channel .
Good one! Fordsons we’re rugged and simple. 🥸👍👀✅
Toby I've saw about all the conversions I thought but that is one I've never seen. Thanks for bringing us these little known tractor conversions.
Nice Rundown, THANKS!
Fordson. Trackson.
A match made in heaven. Cool looking tractor.
Great episode of the show, the Fordson tractor is quite common over here. We also had track conversations here. Your channel is over the top, always longing for new videos 😎👀
Interesting machine. Thanks for the video.
Pretty neat conversion.
👍 awesome I remember the auction & random walk around days ! ✌️🤙
Very cool tractor thanks for sharing
Very nice piece of the Ford family history, after the Fordson Super Major the Ford 5000 Super Major were born
Very interesting. I have never looked at a "Trackson" up close to see how they were put together. A nice bolt on kit!
Well thought out kit. Simple, easy to use and install.
Very cool piece of history there! Thanks for posting this video.
Didn't the Fordsons have a solid rear axle with a worm drive where if a wheel got stuck it would possibly flip the whole tractor over? Obviously a tracked conversion with brake steering would require a differential. Was a differential part of the track conversion or had Ford gotten away from the solid axle by then?
Thanks for sharing, very popular tractor over here in the UK 👍💨💨
The large front wheel type also has another roller on the bottom and a bunch of smaller rollers on the top to support the track.
Thanks for the walk around!
Wow! That’s pretty cool as well! Another unique piece of history. Thanks again for sharing Toby
Thanks for sharing this with us and it’s so good I really appreciate and enjoy when you do your homework first and then make the video and nice that you could show us one on tracks and one on wheels that’s cool I wonder how many are out there 😀🇨🇦
Great explanation on the tracked Fordson.
Thanks for the video Squatch! That was a pretty neat conversion. Thanks for sharing. Cheers
lovely conversion
You find the coolest old iron!!!! Thanks!!!
Wasn't it Ferguson that developed the 3 point pull system to keep the tractor from flipping itself over backwards and squishing the operator? Something twitched in my brain when you brought that up. I seem to recall Ferguson did engineer some safety features into his designs. (i.e. engaging the electric starter with the shifter, thereby eliminating the risk of starting the tractor in gear)
It wasn’t always that simple. Ford ended domestic tractor production in the US in favor of imports from the European plant which I believe was in Northern Ireland. I’m fuzzy on dates but I think that this was around 1930.
After reaching the “handshake deal” with Harry Ferguson in I think 1938 Ford came roaring back into the market with the 9N with three point hitch and a much safer and vastly more modern tractor. It had its safety flaws, however in that it could be started in gear. The mechanical interlock to prevent starting in gear came along in 1942 with the redesign/update to the model 2N.
9=1939 and 2=1942. N=production line N at the Rouge complex
You can flip a 9N (like mine) or any tractor by defeating the design and doing something stupid like pulling with a chain wrapped around the axle housing. People do dumb things with tractors.
@@bobjohnston8316 Nothing can be foolproof because an intelligent being can never grasp the ingenuity of a fool. Seen it many times.
I have actually seen a fordson tractor flipped over backwards that burnt to the ground. Older gentleman by my house was trying to pull a bush out and hit it a little too hard. Luckily he was ok but not so much for the tractor, the bush and the siding on his house!
i think you should restore that fordson to showroom quality.
You should just start restoring all types of equipment!
Be good!
an interesting fact: the fuel cap that type started as a Model T fuel Cap then from 1932 to 59 the English Ford had them as a radiator cap
saw a fordson screw tractor conversion on u tube would love to see a walk around of one if you ever get the opportunity as I don't think we would have ever got them in newzealand trackson very cool more please
Hi, Squatch253.
Thank you for the video and the explanation. I have seen these jiggers in the flesh before but only from a distance and I believe there was another company whose name I can't recall at the moment.
If my memory serves me rightly, the version with the equal sized sprockets and idlers that you mentioned came out somewhere in the late 1940s-early-'50s and was Fordson's own track system, complete with steering clutches and brakes.
They apparently had very good traction but were a little weak in the steering clutches - if you disengaged a steering clutch under heavy load, there was a chance that it would not re-engage but would slip under the load leaving the other track still driving and turning the tractor in a circle.
Just my 0.02.
You have a wonderful day. Best wishes. Deas Plant.
such a cool old tractor!
looking good!
Really nice old Fordson F 👍 i noticed it was still using trembler coil ignition not sure when they changed to Magneto ignition system 🤔 excellent walk round 👌
@@squatch253those coils have interesting adjustment procedure. I don't fully understand it. There's more to it than just getting them to buzz.
I found this one particularly interesting
We came along way baby
Get it restored!! Or at least running. Regards 🇬🇧🇬🇧
You definitely need to put yours together and display it on a rock pile at your field.
Really nice conversion of a Fordson F, great to see them over seas.
What are your plans with the track-kit you have at home?
You wanna convert a Fordson tractor in the future?
Greetings from the Netherlands!
@@squatch253BUT that tune changes if it's a prototype! 😂 LoL 🤣😆
Always enjoy your content!
@@squatch253 That sounds like a proper plan.
It’s way better than bring it to the scrapyard.
Even as a “yard art” application it could still be worth something ore perhaps be educational.
Thanks for the response!
A local small fruit grower was still using 2 fordsons up till the early 2000s , the only reason he stopped using them was his own death from old age , in his eighties
Wonder how many usable hours you could get out of the undercarriage until it was worn out.
Atleast you would have to change the steering brakes quite often i imagine :)
That was an interesting piece of history,I just bet it wasn't very reliable
Nice video my friend ❤❤❤💚💚💚❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰
A very creative idea ❤❤❤💚💚💚❤❤❤🥰🥰🥰
I look forward to seeing your designs. Congratulations on your journey forward ♥♥♥♥💚💚💚
💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥
Hummmm 😊👍
💓🐣
Now find a Fordson with the spiral float drive
Just how does that steering wheel work?
🤦♂️ just turn it left or right ! And you go the direction turned! 😳 after a rememberable night around a bon fire took me a few minutes to figure that out too! 🤷♂️ 😝😂🤣 ✌️
✋🏼🇦🇺👍🏼
I see a steering wheel, how did steering work?
It is briefly explained in the video.
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