Fordson identification help

[G502]

I have a Fordson that has been identified as a 1929 but I am not sure. It has one piece dash with no writing. A parking brake lock. Brake is internal. Radiator sides do NOT say Fordson but do have the square hole in top rear. Worm stearing gear and no support for stearing wheel. Radiator tank says Fordson and does NOT have ribs. Fuel tank says "Made by Ford Motor Company". Does NOT say where. Fuel tank is dual fuel.
Anyone have any hints what year? Possible that this is a built up unit?
See pics at link.
[url=http://johnnypopper.smugmug.com/Hobbies/1929-Irish-Fordson-Tractor/26259229_8bxJDB#!i=2186459449&k=34Xpc2R]Fordson pics[/url]

 

[G502]

Forgot to mention: no serial number. Doesn't look like there ever was one. Boss is smooth and clean.
 

[cdmn]

That is an interesting tractor. It might be an Irish Model N. I've never seen that lettering on the gas tank before. The dash appears to be home-made welded up from plates. (I wonder why, the real item is not that difficult to find.) The steering gear looks like it came from an E27N. The steering column would have enclosed the shaft. By the way, the serial number is not where you showed the scraped-off paint. It is on the otherside just below the head gasket toward the front of the engine.
The parking brake appears to be an accessory, but it may have been used on the Industrial models, since that seemed to be required in the British Isles. If it is an industrial model, that explains the lack of fenders. The agricultural models had fenders and floor pans to protect the owner-operator from dust. They seem less concerned about that for industrial use, especially when only hired hands did the driving. If it is an industrial, the rear axle speed ratio will be for high speeds. Industrial also could have had head-lites installed. Also, Industrial tractors did not use the water washer air cleaner, which would be located just in front of the dash.

Your tires and spoke wheels are worth a considerable sum. They could be Electric Wheel, or F & H. Some industrials had hard rubber wheels, but I imagine pneumatic tires were added as soon as available. For agricultural tractors, steel lug wheels were standard for a few more years.
 

[G502]

Wheels are F&H. Rear axle Housing say TOP on each side. Has dipstick to check engine/trans oil level.
 

[cdmn]

That seems like the block was replaced. If it had been a complete engine, I think it would have had a number. Maybe there's disagreement about this, but Ford had the tradition of numbering engines. After they were installed, they became the number of the car, truck, or tractor. If factory-rebuilt engines were sold by Fordson, they got a new number out of a special series of numbers. I suppose the old number was ground off. I've seen that for motor vehicle titling purposes, the old number was supposed to be stamped on the new engine block by the dealer. Later Fords had the serial number stamped on the transmission housing, so that solved that problem.
 

[Mike Farmer]

Hi If you go to the archive and look under 'Fordson fuel tank information request' I posted an information sheet showing all the known tank ends. I am not suggesting it is complete but it may help. To all intents the Forson 'N' and the E27N had the same steering box set up and yours doesnt appear to be from either. I would be thinking along the lines of hybrid F/N mixture plus bits. But I really dont know. Please keep us in the loop because this is interesting. Mike Farmer
 

[Butch Howe]

Didn't we go through all this on the Smokstak?
 

[G502]

Here is what I think I know. Steering gear appears to be a gear from a Model A Ford. Dash is well build fabricated copy. The real question is why. Maybe a really bad accident? No way to know but it was really well done.Interesting.
 

[Steve Welker]

Just like I said on the smokstak, If you ever drove an irish fordson (or american for that matter) on rubber, you would want to change the steering! They steer incredibly hard! Sitting still it feels like you will break the steering wheel before it will turn! The original steering is very quick (and therefor takes alot of effort), about 1 turn lock-to-lock. The steel wheels tend to have a much smaller contact patch and steer much easier. Using a regular steering box with this homemade dash would have been like adding power steering. The english Ns from 33 thru 37 are better steering but not great. Then in 37 they added a regular steering box similar in design to your homemade setup. These steer very nice.

Also with the dipstick for checking oil level, It would be a 1931 or 1932 as prior to 1931 oil level was checked with 2 petcocks on the oil pan. My bet is a 1931 because in 1932 the ribbed radiator and lettered side started to be used.
The fuel tank say Ford Motor Company Ltd. The Ltd (Limited) is what ford had on there overseas made tractors. This is an Irish tank from the 1931 time period. The 1930 and earlier tank said Ford Motor Company, Ltd. - Cork, Ireland. Later in 1931 the tank said Ford Motor Company, Ltd. - England - Made in Irish Free States. Your tank was used for a short period of time in 1931 and was used in conjuntion with a cast iron dash plaque that said Made in Irish Free States.
The no serial number is very common. Ford did not number replacement engines until after the end of model N production in 1945. This is when the high compression E27Ns started blowing up engines left and right there became so many replacement engines they started using separate numbers for these to better keep track of how many engines a given tractor had. Your engine could be from the early 30's thru 1945. Only by opening it up could you narrow down this time period.

As I said on the smokestak, your tractor is most likely a 1931 with a replacement engine and homemade dash.
-Steve