Fordson F

I would like to find the serisl no on my fordson. The last patent date on dash is 1923.
This tractor is almost complete except for seat and radiator cap, but I am guessing it sat
for the last 50 years. It has been retrofitted with air tires.

Question 1 Is their a name and number tag missing? or
is their just a serial no. somewhere????

Question 2 What paint color would be correct????

Question 3 Where can I get a head gasket, It seems to
be an engine change in 1927 and several gaskets
I seen on e bay were for 27-35.

I will need to dismantial the engine to free it
up and the rest of the gaskets I can make.

Thank you Larry

Thanks for the help. I found the serial no. and
it is 616221.

About the paint, I live in the Milwaukee area and I think their is a Ditzler dealer. I am taking the wheels in to be sandblasted, painted and new rubber installed. I need to tell them
what color to use on the rims.

I have a question about the tires. It has 11.25x 24 and 5.50x16. It seems that the 11.25 is no longer used and I will need to chose another size.
What will match up to make the tractor set level.

When removing the rear tires, it seems that the
bearings have to much side play. Can the bearings
be removed without dismantalling the axle? Can
the bearings be obtained from a bearing supply house?

Thanks for your help. The little manual I have
just doesn"t cover these type of questions.

Larry

you can always tell by the rear axle endplay (vertical or up and down clearance) what the tractor did for a living. if the axle has little endplay it spent most of it's time belted to a sawmill, threshing or some other machinery. if the axle slops around in the housing with 3/4" clearance it was a plow tractor.

most fordsons i have worked on fell into the plow tractor cat. the problem is dust, dirt and lack of lube took it's toll on the outside roller brg. so the axle is worn down, the brg is worn and the housing is worn causing massive vertical play. unfortunatly you cannot install a new brg. and fix the problem because the axle and housing are wore as well.

one fix is to remove the axle housings and the axle shaft/worm gear assy and remove the axles. measure your inside housing, measure the outside dia. of two roller bearing rollers. subtract the total of the two rollers from the inside dia. that is the diameter that your axle needs to be less .020 - .030 for play. simply weld up the surface where the roller bearing rides and turn it down in a lathe to the correct dia. this provides you with a as good as new fit!!!

if you have excessive in-out play your spider gear assy could be worn out.

all of my fordsons are on steel so i have not delt with the tire issue yet but i recently purchased a fordson with the F&H aftermarket spoke rims so someday i will be in the some boat as you.

i am going to post the paint number tommorow night, have run out of time. sorry for rambling on
ADAM

Looks like your Fordson F was built in June or July of 1926, according to the matrix I have...

Of course, the year of manufacture actually matters very little, since 98% of all Fordson F parts are interchangeable, 1918-1928.

Wheel rims should be red; if Adam can't post the Ditzler paint formulas in the next couple of days, I'll look it up -- I'm pretty sure I have it written down somewhere (it's the "where" that's the question!)

I have run into the same situation w/ the rear tire sizes. Some "Fordson snobs" will insist that anything other than the original cleated steel wheels is an abomination -- I disagree, especially if you want to run it in a parade. Steel wheels aren't exactly "asphalt-pavement friendly". I would like to find a set of the old Goodyear diamond-tread pattern tires, but they are alleged to have been discontinued. The search continues...

I have found Timken roller bearings for the front wheels (inner & outer bearings and races were about $80 per wheel, special-ordered) but don't know the answer for the rears... Adam? Enlighten us, please.

One last thing, Larry -- do yourself a favor & buy a Fordson owner's manual. (You can usually find them on eBay for 10 or 15 dollars, as long as you don't mind a few grease smudges or minor tears. The pristine copies usually bring upwards of 50 or 60 dollars, depending on who's watching the auction.) The manual has exploded and/or cutaway diagrams of all systems on the tractor -- this will be really helpful when you are rebuilding your machine.

It's good to hear a Fordson F question in this forum again! I was beginning to think folks had forgotten about these old beasts and were only interested in Dextas and Power Majors...

Good luck with your project, & keep us posted!

-- Maine Fordson

question 2: i have the paint formula for grey and red. it is a Ditzler formula, do you have a parts store that retails Ditzler???

question 3: have rebuilt more fordsons than i can count, maybe have only used two new head gaskets that i can remember. if you are careful removing the head and if the gasket looks good, reuse it, often i use some #2 permatex sealant (does not harden) around the water jacket passeges.

if you find the serial number post it here and i can tell you what year the engine is, if you want i can also post the paint codes too.
ADAM