OK, I'm a Massey guy, and new at that, too. So can somebody tell me the differences between the N-series of Ford tractors, without an overdose of information. Like the cat, I'm dying of curiosity! Steve

The N Series and the TE/TO-20 Fergies were virtually the same with a few major differences. John Smith's now archived Tractor ID/History has a lot of info, but isn't a complete listing; there are bits and pieces of vital missing info. Short Story: 1938 Henry "Harry" Ferguson travels from Ireland to Detroit to show Henry Ford the new 3-PT Draft Control system on a 1936 Ferguson-Brown Type A Tractor. They shake hands and agree to go into business together - Ford would manufacture the new Ford tractor with the 3-PT designated the 9N model, and Ferguson would handle distribution and implement suppliers. The 9N was publicly shown on June 29, 1939 at FairLane, in Dearborn, Ford's homestead. WWII came and all production was shut down on FEB 10, 1942 in US domestic mfg. In late 1942 the 2N model was released as a war-horse model on steel wheels and no electrics. By April, 1943 2N production returned to normal tractor production as Harry met with President Roosevelt in JAN 1943 and he lifted many US mfg restrictions. The 2N was supplied until 1947 with the last being built in 1946. FORD was already working on an updated model, to be released the 8N model and was released in July, 1947. Ferguson had stolen a set of 9N Blueprints as early as 1941 and was shopping around for his own supplier to build HIS tractor the way he wanted it. Henry Ford II fired Ferguson in 1946 and on JAN 1947 Dearborn Motors was incorporated as the new Ford Tractor supplier. Harry found a place in Coventry, England and produced HIS TE-20 Model in 1946. The TE-20 had a 4-spd trans and an OHV engine -items Ferguson wanted originally on the 9N but was rejected by Ford engineers, perhaps out of spite as most Ford engineers despised Ferguson. Those items were after all, better improvements as the Ford 8N went to a 4-spd and the NAA went to an OHV engine in 1952. The TE-20 'Little Fergie' was an almost duplicate of the 9N except for these two changes and even carried over many Ford part numbers only deleting the 9N prefix. In 1948 Ferguson opened a plant in Detroit to build his TO-20 Model, a US version of the TE-20. He also filed suit against Ford for copyrighting his 3-PT Draft Control. The suit would be settled out of court in 1952 with Ferguson getting less than $10 MIL -a fraction of what he wanted. Ford had been already working on an improved draft control system and added POSITION CONTROL starting with the 8N. In 1953 Ferguson merged with the Massey-Harris Tractor Company, later shortened to Massey-Ferguson then sold his shares in 1954. Ferguson died in 1960 from a barbiturate overdose but it was never confirmed if it was suicide or accidental. The most comprehensive book written on Ferguson is "TRACTOR PIONEER: The Life of Harry Ferguson" by Colin Fraser. Hope this clarifies the topic better. You can also invest in the book by John Farnworth, "Ferguson Implements & Accessories" to learn more.

Tim Daley(MI)

The link below should answer your questions.

https://web.archive.org/web/20050702075301/http://home.att.net/~jmsmith45/identify.htm

Excellent reading material, and the cat's meow. Thanks, and I'll quit with the feline stuff, now. steve