HistMuseum said: (quoted from post at 10:54:24 11/16/12) <snip> My understanding is that the Fordson Model F was light grey and red for its entire production life. Does this sound correct to you?
Well, no.
When Fordsons began rolling off the assembly line in 1918, they were painted entirely gray. The decision was based not on aesthetics but on practicality: The paint was the same used on the production equipment in the Ford and Fordson plants, and it is believed that Henry Ford, notorious for his parsimony, directed the factory to use that relatively inexpensive paint (“machinery gray”), of which it likely had considerable quantities on hand.
In 1920 the appearance of the Model F changed, when bright red paint was applied to the wheels. (Interestingly, red paint was not available for Ford’s ubiquitous Model T automobiles until 1926. Prior to that, all Model Ts were painted with black enamel; the colored enamel paints of that era could not dry quickly enough to keep up with the fast pace of the automotive assembly line.)
In 1924, the year in which the Ford Motor Company made the claim that “over 75% of all tractors on American farms are Fordsons,” the Model F's color scheme was altered yet again when the tractors were painted a lighter shade of gray, which continued through the end of its production run in 1928.
Often a restored Fordson Model F, once rebuilt, is painted with battleship gray, when the actual hue should be more of a whitish-gray; I have sourcing information on restoration-quality paint for Fordson Model F tractors, if you’re interested.
– B.R. Bowden
“Maine Fordson” on YTmag.com
This post was edited by Maine Fordson at 11:40:35 11/16/12.
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