Posted by DFZ on April 29, 2010 at 13:53:35 from (75.175.43.122):
We have all worked on or used old tractors. Some good, some bad. I am sure most of you have wondered at one point in time... "WHY DID THEY BUILD IT THIS WAY?" or, "WHAT WERE THEY THINKING??".
I wondered what you thought were the worst design flaw in old tractors.
Some of the first flaws or just dumb designs that come to mind are:
Hand Brakes.... Not too good for an emergency stop if you have to steer around something....
Ford - Left brake next to clutch on left. Of course the worst mistake Ford ever did was not taking the blue prints for the 9N and enlarging them 40% and calling it a 10N, then again. Imagine in 1946 a Ford tractor with 3pt and a 280ci engine. Also the fact that Ford never made a row crop to compete with Farmall... HUGE Mistake.
John Deere - Brake locks that you have to be a contortionist to use. Even the newer 30 series were advertised as "Step up to farming Ease and Convenience". I don"t find anything easy about locking those brakes.
Farmall - Bad brake locks and how long does it take to design a dip stick for an engine.
All - One major design flaw in all early tractors was the lack of gears. Look at any old Farmall or AC and it has a large wasted space between the clutch and transmission. The first company that could have advertised a 10, 12, or even 16 speed transmission would have had a huge advantage over competition. But I guess a farmers time is not worth as much money as it is now...
So what do you think? I still love my antique tractors, but some days.... WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?
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Today's Featured Article - Restoration Story: Fordson Major - by Anthony West. George bought his Fordson Major from a an implement sale about 18 years ago for £200.00 (UK). There is no known history regarding its origins or what service it had done, but the following work was undertaken alone to bring it up to show standard. From the engine number, it was found that this Major was produced late 1946. It was almost complete but had various parts that would definitely need replacing.
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