WWII 2N on FBM

warbaby

Well-known Member
Still has the magneto and starter button block-off.
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1943 2N
 
I don't know if it has a starter? The Jub bumper might be in the way for a hand crank. If I were closer I would swing by just to see if the seat was soybean. Kind of out of the time frame and I'm leaning towards aftermarket but you never know.
 
Im guessing it has a starter, and maybe a generator/alternator on the other side too- that seems like a pretty important detail to leave out of the ad. Unfortunately, there isnt a picture from that other side. Of course, weve all seen folks retro-fit starters to earlier tractors (Farmall ''A''s and Allis ''B''s) without a also coming up with a way to recharge the battery as well- they just pull it and put it on a battery charger when it gets too low.

If it is a strictly hand-crank machine that seller would have to be one fast-talking salesman when a regular guy (not one specifically looking for a WWII rationed 2n) comes along just looking for a used tractor and he realizes it doesnt have a starter!
 
Yeah, the seat looks funny, but could just be the light in the photo. The plastic (soybean) seat was obsolete by end of 1941 -see story below. He needs to post several other photos and close-ups if he wants us to determine if it is War-Horse Model. Magnetos and steel wheels could be bought as options and just weren't used on the 2N War-Horse. I'd be looking for other signs like the AMMETER plug on dash, idler, the M/S TSX-38 Carb, RH Dogleg with the extra hole for front choke rod, and more. FORD only offered the plastic (soybean) seat until early 1941. Lack of interest in the seat plus the fact soybean production was not cost effective led to the demise of the soybean project. The March 1940 MPC offered the standard 9N-400-A steel seat or you could get the 9N-400-B plastic seat as an option. At the time FORD was planning on big things for plastic parts.

One of Henry Fords pet projects was the soybean experiments. Ford recruited George Washington Carver to Dearborn and he headed up the experimental lab testing plants of every sort to find the right one that would yield enough resin to use as a polymer in the production of plastic parts and items. The tests resulted in the soybean as being the most suited. Soybean oil was used in paints and plastic parts like knobs and handles were made as well. Henry Ford is shown in one photo with an axe trying to break a car trunk lid made entirely from soybean plastic. The demonstration showed not a single dent or break in the trunk! Henry had soybean milk and other foods made and had them served in the executive dining room at the Rouge. Ford also was the actual inventor of Presto-Whip, a dessert topping from soybeans and a suit made too of soybean fiber as well as a plastic seat available for the early 9N tractor. Presto-Whip is still made today and still from soybeans but no longer owned by FORD. By early 1941 though the optional plastic seat was discontinued due to lack of interest; they didnt sell very many and all soybean production would soon be halted. Many FORD TRACTOR books will claim that the seat was discontinued as farmers soon discovered that mice, birds, and other rodents would chew the plastic. That may or may not have been true but the fact is that it was not cost effective to synthesize soybeans for a polymer to use in plastic production. The soybean oils were used in manufacturing plants as well, and Ford had built a special plant at the Rouge just for soybean research and production. Ford plantations and test fields were created specifically for growing the soybean to supply them with. By the end of 1941 the Soybean Plant was shut down at the Rouge and all experiments and production ceased.


HENRY FORD & HIS SOYBEAN PROJECT:
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PRESTO-WHIP, MADE IN DETROIT BY FORD FROM SOYBEANS:
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Tim Daley(MI)
 
Anyone else remember Margarine? My folks told us it was better then butter. I didn't taste real butter until my 20's. Today I would say that Margarine does taste like Soy plastic :)
 

Good morning Tim,

This ad is in NY, not so local to me. There are only a few photos in the ad. The right-hand dog leg appears as it may have a hole in it for the forward choke rod, it's hard to see. If that's what it is. (?)
 
I think it is- its in the right spot... The seat doesnt have any holes in it like an aftermarket type. Did soy seats have holes in them? I couldnt find a picture
of one to compare it to.
cvphoto114840.jpg
 
Here's a couple of soybean seats. one small hole

<a href=https://imgur.com/rLBkcnV>
rLBkcnVl.jpg title=source: imgur.com
</a>

<a href=https://imgur.com/Yis2cY7>
Yis2cY7l.jpg title=source: imgur.com
</a>
 
Some WarHorse owners switched to rubber and electrics when the US War Board lifted the restrictions in January, 1943. Same with the 1943 Ford-Ferguson 9N Moto-Tug. When the war (WWII) ended, many surplus vehicles were dumped overboard on ships returning from Pearl to West Coast bases. Some were then revamped to standard 9N models and used as such. Still others were refurbished and used on bases and airports. When the Korean Conflict erupted, some Moto-Tugs were used again on carriers but repainted yellow. The Moto-Tug had no PTO so they'd be used as pushers and pullers.


Tim Daley(MI)
 

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