Fordson Model F

Name: Fordson Model F
Brand: Fordson

Standard tractor · 1917–1928 · Gasoline/kerosene

The Fordson Model F was the world's first mass-produced tractor, launched by Henry Ford in 1917 to mechanize agriculture the way the Model T had mechanized personal transport. Small, light, and dramatically cheaper than rivals, it put tractor ownership within reach of the average American farmer for the first time. Production eventually spanned Dearborn, Michigan and Cork, Ireland, with hundreds of thousands built before the model was retired in 1928.

Compare this tractor All Fordson models

Weight: 2,920 lb (1,324 kg)
Displacement: 251 ci (4.1 L)

Overview
Type	Standard
Production	1917–1928
Factory	Dearborn, Michigan, USA; Cork, Ireland
Original price	$750 (1917 USD)

Engine
Make	Ford
Fuel	Gasoline/kerosene
Cylinders	4
Displacement	251 ci (4.1 L)
Bore × stroke	4.00x5.00 in
Rated speed	1,000 rpm
Cooling	liquid-cooled
Aspiration	Naturally aspirated

Power
Nebraska test	Nebraska Test 173

Transmission
Transmission	constant-mesh gear — 3 forward, 1 reverse
Chassis	4x2 2WD
Steering	manual, worm-and-sector

Hydraulics & hitch
Rear PTO	transmission

Dimensions & capacities
Weight	2,920 lb (1,324 kg)
Wheelbase	63 in (160 cm)
Fuel capacity	21 gal (79.5 L)

History

Henry Ford incorporated Henry Ford & Son, Inc. in 1917 specifically to build a mass-produced farm tractor, and the resulting Fordson Model F combined a simple four-cylinder engine, unit-frame construction, and Ford's mass-production expertise into a machine far more affordable than the large, expensive steam and gasoline tractors that had come before it. It went on sale for $750 in 1917.

Production scaled rapidly — 36,781 units in 1921 alone, rising to over 99,000 by 1926 — and a dramatic 1922 price cut to $395 triggered a price war that pressured rivals like International Harvester to accelerate their own tractor development. The Model F helped democratize mechanized farming across America and, through Cork-built export production, much of the world, before Ford consolidated tractor manufacturing and retired the Model F in favor of the Fordson Model N in 1928.

Specifications