Fordson F-Series (1920) Tractor Start-Up

Olditmer klub Škofljica 22.5.2010 F Series An early Fordson discing a field in Princess Anne County, VA in 1925.The Fordson Model F was completed in 1916 and was the first lightweight, mass produced tractor in the world, making it possible for the average farmer to own a tractor for the first time. Ford incorporated his private company, Henry Ford and Son, Inc, to mass produce the tractor on July 27, 1917. At a hurriedly built factory in Dearborn, Michigan, he used the same assembly line techniques he used to mass produce the Ford Model T.[5] It took thirty hours and forty minutes to convert the raw materials into the 4,000 parts used for the tractor assembly. The Fordson sold for US$750 ($14,124 in 2007 dollars); and each unit cost $567.14 to manufacture (including labor, materials and overheads), leaving a profit of $182.86 on each unit. It used a 20 horsepower, four-cylinder vaporising oil engine, a three-speed spur gear transmission (the three forward speeds ranged from approximately 21⁄4 to 61⁄4 mph), and a worm gear reduction set in the differential. Brakes were not provided on early Fordsons as high-ratio worm sets generally transmitted rotation in one direction only, from the worm element to the gear element, because of the high power loss through friction. To stop the tractor, the driver depressed the clutch. Ford engineer Eugene Farkas successfully made the engine, transmission and rear axle a stressed member of the frame. By eliminating the need for a heavy separate frame, costs were reduced and manufacturing was simplified. The Fordson succeeded in being cheaper to maintain than horses, as the Ford Model T had previously done. A government test concluded that farmers spent $.95 per acre plowing with a Fordson compared to feeding eight horses for a year and paying two drivers, which cost $1.46 per acre. source - wikipedia