Ford Tractor

FORD 8N Ford 8N tractors made their debut in 1947, with production continuing until 1952. This model used a Ford-milt four-cylinder engine with a 3-3/16 x 3-3/4-inch bore nd stroke. Fierce competition By the end of World War I the competition between several tractor manufacturers was fierce. International Harvester could no longer simply rely on their past successes. Chief competitors included Massey-Harris, Case, and Deere who had just entered the tractor business in 1919 when they purchased the Waterloo Boy outfit. In addition to these established companies, the automaker Henry Ford had established a separate company called Henry Ford and Son for the purpose of producing farm tractors and in 1917 Ford's tractor company introduced the Fordson. This smaller, lighter tractor was so well accepted that in 1923 Ford produced more than 100,000 of them. International Harvester countered with the 10-20 McCormick-Deering in 1922. This was a smaller version of the 15-30 that they had introduced in 1921. Case and John Deere also brought out new, smaller, lighter, less expensive models. However Ford still had more than 60% of the market. Tractors in 1910 averaged 500 lbs per horsepower and the American farmers were ready for smaller tractors. International Harvester Co. took the lead ahead of Hart-Parr. Competition was fierce. Henry Ford had shipped 7, 000 small Fordsons to England by 1918. In 1918 International Harvester come out with the International 8-16 which weighed 3,300 lbs or 206 lbs per hp. The Fordson tractor that Ford introduced that same year weighed 2,700 lbs or 150 lbs per hp. Fordson passed International Harvester's tractors in production. To force a showdown, Ford cut his price by $230, to $395. International Harvester was forced to fight back by cutting the price of the Titan 10-20 to $700 and the International 8-16 to $670, including a plow. At this point both companies were selling below cost. International Harvester did not have the auto revenues that Ford had so they were fighting for their existence. Their salesmen turned every Fordson demonstration into a field contest, and International's tractors won each time. By the end of 1924, International Harvesters sales increased as their engineers continued to test general purpose tractors targeted at the Fordson's failures which included low ground clearance and its wheel placement that required too much maneuvering room.

	1952 Ford 8N with Dearborn Road Maintainer Dearborn's catalog was extensive and included this Meili-Blumberg Model 19-35 road grader for mounting on Ford's 8N or 2N models.The Model 19-35 stretched out the small tractor, yielding a 14-foot wheelbase and a 39-foot turn circle. Combined weight was 6,900 pounds.
On April 9, 1952, Harry Ferguson accepted U.S. Judge Gregory Noonan's settlement agreement with Ford. Dearborn Motors reimbursed Ferguson $9.25 million for patent infringements. During the 54 weeks of the trial, many of Ferguson's patents had entered the public domain. Ford agreed to discontinue production of the hydraulic system using Ferguson's reservoir-side hydraulic pump by the end of the 1952 model year. Ferguson, who had begun producing Ford 9N look a likes that he marketed as Ferguson TE-20 and TO- 20 (for Tractor, Europe, 20 horsepower, and Tractor, Overseas, 20 horsepower), suffered in the final settlement for his success. He had manufactured nearly 140,000 of the 9N clones without Ford's permission for the tractor design. Dearborn Motors already had a successor waiting. It was Henry II's idea, a tribute to his grandfather and his devotion to farin tractors, in honor of the corporation's fiftieth anniversary. DMC's product-planning groups, always happy to have something new to plan, produce, and promote, liked the idea and they pushed for the Golden Jubilee model.