Fordson Model F Dearborn, MI 1917

The story of Fordson tractors begins with the great Henry Ford himself. Born in 1863 in Dearborn, Michigan, Henry Ford’s parents had moved to the USA from near Cork in Ireland and now ran a large farm of several hundred acres. The young Henry soon found farm work very hard and preferred tinkering with machines rather than laboring on Motor Company did not approve T. However, Fordson production the farm. In 1903 Ford formed the Ford of tractor production and wanted continued in Cork, Ireland and later in Motor Company using his principles of nothing to do with it. So in 1920 Henry Dagenham, England. After Fordson mass production to keep costs down. Ford with his son Edsel, established production was transferred to Cork, an entirely new firm, “Ford and Son exports to the US were limited to 1,500 Ford did not want to stop there, he Inc.”, which was later shortened to just a month which restricted sales at Ford wanted to mechanize the drudgery “Fordson”. dealerships. of farming and so he started work on a small and affordable tractor for the Under this new company the The original Fordson Model F tractor small farmer. Ford hoped to popularize Model F flourished with 34,000 was eventually outsold by International small tractors by mass-producing tractors being produced in its first Harvester, which offered a more them, just as his Model T had done for full year of production, overtaking efficient alternative and subsequently automobiles. However, there was now by a considerable margin all the became market leader. Competition a growing need for tractors on the other tractor manufacturers then in from International Harvester and farms of America and elsewhere and existence. At a hurriedly built factory General Motors forced Ford to reduce so many small manufacturers turned in Dearborn, Michigan, Ford used the the price of the Model F from $750 to converting Ford’s cars into tractors. same assembly line techniques he had to $395. To compensate for the lower Basing the design on a car meant that used to mass produce the Ford Model price, the company had to cut costs the tractor would be limited in its T. It took 30 hours and 40 minutes to and strive for larger volume production. usefulness – what was really needed convert the raw materials into the 4,000 was a purpose built machine. parts used for the tractor assembly. The Model F itself did not change much during its production life, but In 1907, Ford began the design of what When the Fordson was first released a few things were altered as time today we call an internal combustion each tractor sold for $750 and each cost passed. Fordson production at the tractor, with the idea that it would one $567.14 to manufacture, which included Rouge factory in the U.S.A. dominated day revolutionize farming. Ford was materials, labor and overhead costs, the tractor market throughout the said to have built more than 50 different leaving a profit of $182.86 per tractor. world during much of the 1920`s. It prototypes until the development of Originally constructed in Dearborn, is interesting to note that the “Hoyt- the Fordson F in 1917, more than 10 the Model F production was eventually Clagwell” tractor on the TV sitcom years after he started. moved to the brand new, large Rouge “Green Acres” was a Fordson Model River plant just outside Detroit with a F. It was known to randomly ‘explode’ The Fordson name was selected for second factory also opening in 1919 in followed by one or both of the rear two reasons. First, there was already Cork, Ireland; another smaller plant, in wheels falling off. Also in 1926, Fordson a company in Minneapolis using Hamilton, Ohio, also built the Model F demonstrated a Model F converted the name “Ford Tractor Company”, for a number of years. into a snowmobile, which they dubbed trying to capitalize on the name of the “Snow-Motor”. They were used, very successful Ford Model T by Ford stopped tractor production in unsuccessfully, by Richard Byrd’s first tricking customers into believing that the US in 1928, choosing instead to Antarctic Expedition. the tractor was made by Henry Ford. focus on the new Model A automobile Second, the shareholders of the Ford that would be replacing the Model

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