 Good heavens yes. Make that an emphatic yes. There were not a lot of the gold 801's produced, compared to the overall production run of the 801 series. They are not exactly rare, nor is the SOS transmission the most reliable transmission in most cases, but the gold 801's are unusual enough to command the attention of vintage Ford tractor collectors and fans. Much more valuable in a restored condition, of course. One thing you might do is check the serial number. The first gold 801 was (reportedly) serial number 60949. You can find information on serial number location and format, if you need it, by clicking here. Ford tractor literature generally ignores the gold 801's, with the exception of Randy Leffingwell's book Ford Farm Tractors. There is a small amount of information on pp. 182-183. I mean no disrespect, but Randy did not do a lot of research on the gold tractors. The author states "... the 100 or so gold tractors spent more time in the shop than in the fields (Leffingwell 183)." I would have to say that there are a heck of a lot more gold 801's out there than Leffingwell thinks. The number of gold 801 owners (and/or prospective owners) that have contacted me through my Web site leads me to believe that there are quite a few more than 100 out there. If I were to estimate, I would probably guess in the 1500 range.
The gold 801's are unusual, but this is not to say that the gold 801's aren't being used every day by a lot of folks. They are.
Read what one owner has to say about the the gold 801's by clicking here. Dan
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