Are you talkig about 55 net HP or 55 PTO HP... or more specifically... a 420 or 520 model? I'm not really sure about the 400/420 other than to say they're an entirely different tractor than the 520. They had the air cooled engine. The 520... was liquid cooled. Guys I know that have them... and get along OK doing what you want... have mostly simplified the electrics. Move the battery out beside the engine and use a single large 12V with large cables. That solves most of the starting problems. No doubt a Delco or some similar western alternator will keep it charging. The rest can be rewired fairly easily to western standards.
Hydraulics are rather convoluted. I forget how everything worked now... but I know the pump was shiftable... the three point was funny but basically just worked on a spool and had down pressure. The PTO had a master shift on the floor and then a clutch/brake setup on a lever to the right for daily use. It also had a ground drive setup so it could be reversed. Lots of odd little things... Beyond that... most of them around here died long before their western counterparts. PTO bearing assemblies was one treasured failure on many. Others busted every gear in the front axle. Some were broken in two at the clutch housing... I refrain from calling it a bellhousing because it wasn't... and probably why they broke. Engines are not that great either... head gaskets seem to fail on them, or did here. The one we had... was rebuilt before we ever got it. I think in it's first year. I know of another guy that has a pair of more recent models (5260?) and has broken the cranks in BOTH... It may be that some people have gotten some good ones and got along well with them... but there's a lot of people out there that have had problem children... Quality control was poor. One guy I know that has them... likes them. BUT... He's now on his third. Killed two already... his basic way of looking at it is that he buys them for little/nothing and uses them up. Fixes some stuff to keep them going until the engine cooks and then sends it off to the consignment sale. For him... they work well enough for what he does. But remember that he really doesn't care what happens to them, he doesn't depend on them, is never stuck for that tractor... and when it does come up to a repair that will cost more than it's worth... he has no sentiment about scrapping the damn thing. In that context they're great tractors. If you had to feed cows with one every day you'd more than likely think differently.
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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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