Ford Firsts

Anonymous-0

Well-known Member
I am writing an article for my club's newsletter.
What are some FIRSTS that Ford introduced into the tractor business.
 
The two big ones, of course, are the Ford/Ferguson three point hitch (Harry Ferguson's invention but first marketed by Ford) and the SOS transmission.

I believe that Ford was also the first to use a hydraulic accumulator to supplement pump flow in the three point hitch system (6000).

Dean
 

I can't substantiate this, but another major contribution by Ford was low production costs due to Ford's assembly line production. This was what enabled the $585.00 price of the 9N which was half that of a JD G. The much smaller Ford could equal the acres per hour plowing rate of the G. The combination of the low cost and the productivity of the Ns resulted in sales exceeding all the other manufacturers combined for two years following WWII.
 
Dean, Ferguson's three point hitch was introduced to market by David Brown in 1936. It was the demonstration of a Ferguson-Brown tractor for Henry Ford in 1938 that convinced Ford to build a new tractor incorporating Ferguson's three point hitch.

Dan
 
I don't know this for a fact, but I wouldn't be surprised if Ford was the first to build 100,000 tractors in a year.
 
Ford was the First, or was it the last, to build an inferior transmission in an otherwise great tractor and not thet their pants sued off of them.

The 6000 with the powershift transmission was clearly a failure and I wonder about all the private teeth grinding and serious grumbling it caused for the poor farmers who bought them new.
Not that long after the advent of the 6000 Ralph Nader wrote his infamous book about the Chevy Corvair and began the push for lemon laws, government oversight and other consumer protections.
Ford's voluntary replacement of sooo many trannies was clear evidence of a flawed product and today would cost them heavily.
The Corvair was a better car than the 6000 was a tractor in the eyes of many farmers of the day.
 
It wasn't only the trannies that made the 6000 flawed. Ford brought the early ones in from the field and overhauled almost everything except the tires!
 
Old neighbor of ours claimed he and his brother bought a new Ford 6000. The dealer kept asking them about it and asking if they'd do this or that with it. He said they did a few things with the tractor that they weren't comfortable with but the dealer assured them they'd stand good on it. When it was about a year old the dealer asked them to bring it in, there was a few things Ford wanted them to check. When they went to pick up the tractor a few days later there sat a new Ford 6000 with their tires on it. Dealer said Ford wanted the tractor back to tear it down and check everything for wear, please take the new one-even trade. They thought they got a lot of ribbing about buying a new big Ford tractor, got a lot more having gotten two new tractors in about a year. When they quit farming all they had were Case tractors so maybe they weren't happy with the Ford or the dealer changed hands.
 
(quoted from post at 18:31:30 10/10/12) Ford was the First, or was it the last, to build an inferior transmission in an otherwise great tractor and not thet their pants sued off of them.

The 6000 with the powershift transmission was clearly a failure and I wonder about all the private teeth grinding and serious grumbling it caused for the poor farmers who bought them new.
Not that long after the advent of the 6000 Ralph Nader wrote his infamous book about the Chevy Corvair and began the push for lemon laws, government oversight and other consumer protections.
Ford's voluntary replacement of sooo many trannies was clear evidence of a flawed product and today would cost them heavily.
The Corvair was a better car than the 6000 was a tractor in the eyes of many farmers of the day.

UD how many SOS fords do you own?
 
(quoted from post at 06:29:49 10/11/12) None.
What is your point?

My point is that anyone who knows a little about tractors knows that they should bash the SOS. I have a second generation SOS in my 971 that has worked very well for me for 10 years working regularly. many others with some experience with them and knowledge of the second generation SOS will even declare that they are "bullet proof". I will not go so far as to say that they are bullet proof, but I will say that from my experience and that of various others that know the difference, that there is a night and day difference between the two. I can't tell you exactly when they came out, but I can tell you that the first ones had no drain plug on the bottom but second generation ones do. As a "Ford guy" I would think that you would not want to push any more blame on Ford than they really deserve. Sure it was rushed into production early, but just as Ford has done the same thing at other times so has every other manufacturer.
 
Reread my post Showcrop.
I was specifically talking about the 6000.
If a machinery manufacturer put out a similarly untested, unreliable tractor today they would probably not only be paying for a lot of new trannies but also some sort of compensation for time lost due to malfunction through a class action lawsuit.
 
(quoted from post at 03:49:18 10/10/12) I am writing an article for my club's newsletter.
What are some FIRSTS that Ford introduced into the tractor business.

I would say it was the introduction of the 4 cylinder engine that Ford Motor Company England introduced in the Major Diesel tractor in 1952. The same block was made in diesel, gasoline & kersone versions.

This diesel engine would start instantly even with an almost dead battery without any need for ki-gas, donkey engine or other starting aid.
 
(quoted from post at 09:15:18 10/11/12) Reread my post Showcrop.
I was specifically talking about the 6000.
If a machinery manufacturer put out a similarly untested, unreliable tractor today they would probably not only be paying for a lot of new trannies but also some sort of compensation for time lost due to malfunction through a class action lawsuit.

Welllllll.......... may..... be but 3of 5 sentences were specifically SOS
 
(quoted from post at 19:24:09 10/11/12)
I am not 100% on this I think I have read ford made the first frame less tractor...


I always heard that Wallace made the first frameless tractor.
 

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