What's up with the silver paint vs original color on the rear wheels of otherwise nicely restored Ford tractors? Collectors, please weigh in.

[techjeff]

I'm curious to get the opinion of serious tractor collectors on the subject or silver paint vs the original color on rear tractor rims. I keep seeing nicely restored Ford tractors with silver rims where everything else is nicely restored and pained in the correct original colors. I've even read posts where people think it is a nice contrast to paint their rims silver. Is this the new normal? Are tractor rims exempt from the same scrutiny applied to everything else in the world of vintage restoration? I've been seeing a lot of top dollar Jubilee's and Hundred series tractors sell with silver rims where the restorer would have certainly painted them the correct color if it mattered. If this is the case, it sure makes it easy to swap rims/tires between my vintage fords which are not all the same color of grey, and I could even swap rims between the Fords and International 424. Please let me know your thoughts.

 

[showcrop]

The manufacturers that Ford bought their wheels from going back many years ago painted them silver just like the wheels that AC, IH, Oliver, etc. all bought and used. Just as with the seats, gas tanks, radiators, light bulbs, radiator hoses, the manufacturers put them in stock then supplied them to the assembly line and installed them with the same paint on them that the vendor put on them. It has nothing to do with contrast. You can scrutinize all you want. I have a Ford AD 8320 Ford factory brochure from soon after the XX1 series tractors came out. It has actual color photographs. It is easy to see that the fronts were painted the same medium gray as the rest of the tractor, but the rears are plainly silver next to the gray pie weights. They were originally silver as the rim manufacturer shipped them.

I certainly appreciate your mention that you use different shades of gray as the Fords were originally painted as opposed to all medium gray as CNH expects us to do.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

If you want scrutiny, put a silver rim on a John Deere.

 

[Non-farmer]

Correct restoration = original colors on everything, without rationalizing that it's ok to deviate on items of your choice.

Disclaimer: I am not a serious collector, but I'm pretty sure they'd agree.

 

[techjeff]

Hey Showcrop, thanks for the info. I wasn't aware that X01 series came with silver wheels. I've seen a lot of pictures of original NAA and X00 series tractors all with matched paint wheels. Arrgh! I just painted the wheels for a '58 851 grey and already mounted the tires. I wish I had researched this sooner. This is the first X01 I've done so...
I'm painting the wheels for a Jubilee this week which is what sparked my question. I don't think ford put any silver wheels on the Jubilee's, yet there are a lot of pictures of nicely restored Jubilee's with silver rims.

 

[techjeff]

If you want scrutiny, put a silver rim on a John Deere.

Whoa!

 

[showcrop]

Hey Showcrop, thanks for the info. I wasn't aware that X01 series came with silver wheels. I've seen a lot of pictures of original NAA and X00 series tractors all with matched paint wheels. Arrgh! I just painted the wheels for a '58 851 grey and already mounted the tires. I wish I had researched this sooner. This is the first X01 I've done so...
I'm painting the wheels for a Jubilee this week which is what sparked my question. I don't think ford put any silver wheels on the Jubilee's, yet there are a lot of pictures of nicely restored Jubilee's with silver rims.

Where have you seen these pictures of original XX0 tractors with painted rims? I have the original rims to my 960 on a pallet up overhead. I will have to check them out. I know that the "hat rims" were Fords own but I doubt that later ones would have been painted since they were generic from wheel manufacturers.

 

[techjeff]

Where have you seen these pictures of original XX0 tractors with painted rims? I have the original rims to my 960 on a pallet up overhead. I will have to check them out. I know that the "hat rims" were Fords own but I doubt that later ones would have been painted since they were generic from wheel manufacturers.

In doing further research it seems that AI agents like Gemini and Copilot are adamant that Ford did not ship tractors with silver rims until 1962 when they began restyling for the thousand series. When asked where they get their data they point to many references including a discussion on this forum which includes a picture of an all original 801 Selecto speed which clearly has original paint with grey, not silver rims.

Working with AI's daily in my job, I recognize they can be wrong so I continued to query them to see if they would consider changing their position. They did not. They continued to argue that Ford was very specific about its paint schemes for brand identity. Gemini insists that the wheels, regardless of who manufactured them, would have been painted to Ford's specifications at the Ford factory. The tractor's assembly line received the wheels and painted them the standard color for the series. For the 801/901 series, this was the same Ford Gray used on the sheet metal and wheel centers. I even asked if it is possible that certain upgrade options may have been supplied in silver such as the power adjust wheels. Again, Gemini insists that Ford painted these wheels gray also. When I said I have a friend who has a brochure showing a xx1 with silver wheels it argued, the "silver" color your friend might be seeing in a brochure could be an artistic rendering. Brochures from that era often used illustrations or retouched photos that could make light gray look metallic or shiny under certain lighting conditions. It could also be a result of the printing process itself, as colors sometimes shift over decades. It's a well-known fact among collectors that sales literature is not always a 100% accurate representation of the final production product.

So, what to believe now? I've found quite a few posts where people are certain the correct rim color is silver, but the most compelling evidence to me is still photographs of tractors wearing their original colors. Does anyone else out there have compelling photos?

 

[showcrop]

In doing further research it seems that AI agents like Gemini and Copilot are adamant that Ford did not ship tractors with silver rims until 1962 when they began restyling for the thousand series. When asked where they get their data they point to many references including a discussion on this forum which includes a picture of an all original 801 Selecto speed which clearly has original paint with grey, not silver rims.

Working with AI's daily in my job, I recognize they can be wrong so I continued to query them to see if they would consider changing their position. They did not. They continued to argue that Ford was very specific about its paint schemes for brand identity. Gemini insists that the wheels, regardless of who manufactured them, would have been painted to Ford's specifications at the Ford factory. The tractor's assembly line received the wheels and painted them the standard color for the series. For the 801/901 series, this was the same Ford Gray used on the sheet metal and wheel centers. I even asked if it is possible that certain upgrade options may have been supplied in silver such as the power adjust wheels. Again, Gemini insists that Ford painted these wheels gray also. When I said I have a friend who has a brochure showing a xx1 with silver wheels it argued, the "silver" color your friend might be seeing in a brochure could be an artistic rendering. Brochures from that era often used illustrations or retouched photos that could make light gray look metallic or shiny under certain lighting conditions. It could also be a result of the printing process itself, as colors sometimes shift over decades. It's a well-known fact among collectors that sales literature is not always a 100% accurate representation of the final production product.

So, what to believe now? I've found quite a few posts where people are certain the correct rim color is silver, but the most compelling evidence to me is still photographs of tractors wearing their original colors. Does anyone else out there have compelling photos?

The brochure with the color photographs that I referenced is not a friend's but my own. The brochure does not have "colorized", as the process was called, but actual color photographs. The difference between the two is very easy to see. I will try taking a picture or two of the brochure to post. Don't be fooled by AI, you could also perhaps try following up with the brochure number that I gave you. 1962 could be when they started painting them white for the new "World tractor" I have had newer Fords with rims that were obviously white from the factory.

 

[techjeff]

In doing further research it seems that AI agents like Gemini and Copilot are adamant that Ford did not ship tractors with silver rims until 1962 when they began restyling for the thousand series. When asked where they get their data they point to many references including a discussion on this forum which includes a picture of an all original 801 Selecto speed which clearly has original paint with grey, not silver rims.

Working with AI's daily in my job, I recognize they can be wrong so I continued to query them to see if they would consider changing their position. They did not. They continued to argue that Ford was very specific about its paint schemes for brand identity. Gemini insists that the wheels, regardless of who manufactured them, would have been painted to Ford's specifications at the Ford factory. The tractor's assembly line received the wheels and painted them the standard color for the series. For the 801/901 series, this was the same Ford Gray used on the sheet metal and wheel centers. I even asked if it is possible that certain upgrade options may have been supplied in silver such as the power adjust wheels. Again, Gemini insists that Ford painted these wheels gray also. When I said I have a friend who has a brochure showing a xx1 with silver wheels it argued, the "silver" color your friend might be seeing in a brochure could be an artistic rendering. Brochures from that era often used illustrations or retouched photos that could make light gray look metallic or shiny under certain lighting conditions. It could also be a result of the printing process itself, as colors sometimes shift over decades. It's a well-known fact among collectors that sales literature is not always a 100% accurate representation of the final production product.

So, what to believe now? I've found quite a few posts where people are certain the correct rim color is silver, but the most compelling evidence to me is still photographs of tractors wearing their original colors. Does anyone else out there have compelling photos?

Copilot asked me to show it a scan of the brochure depicting and 801 with silver wheels. I don't have a copy of the brochure, so I gave it the same reference identification you mentioned "Ford AD 8320 Ford factory brochure" and it replied with the following.

The Ford AD 8320 brochure for the 801 Series tractors does appear to show tractors with rims that look silver or metallic, based on the scanned images available from restoration archives however, this appearance may not reflect the actual factory paint used on production models.
The brochure includes photographs or illustrations of 801 Series tractors (e.g., 820, 850, 860).
There are a few reasons why the rims may appear silver in the brochure: Lighting and printing effects: Gray paint can appear silver in professionally lit photos or due to printing techniques.
Illustrative stylization: Some brochures used enhanced or stylized artwork that didn’t match exact factory colors.
Dealer-prepped tractors: Occasionally, tractors in brochures were prepped by dealers with non-standard paint for promotional purposes.
Factory Paint Records: Despite the brochure’s appearance, restoration experts and factory documentation consistently list Ford Medium Gray as the original rim color for the 801 Series 2. Silver or off-white rims became more common in later models, especially post-1962.

 

[techjeff]

The brochure with the color photographs that I referenced is not a friend's but my own. The brochure does not have "colorized", as the process was called, but actual color photographs. The difference between the two is very easy to see. I will try taking a picture or two of the brochure to post. Don't be fooled by AI, you could also perhaps try following up with the brochure number that I gave you. 1962 could be when they started painting them white for the new "World tractor" I have had newer Fords with rims that were obviously white from the factory.

When I said " a friend" I was referring to you.

 

[techjeff]

The brochure with the color photographs that I referenced is not a friend's but my own. The brochure does not have "colorized", as the process was called, but actual color photographs. The difference between the two is very easy to see. I will try taking a picture or two of the brochure to post. Don't be fooled by AI, you could also perhaps try following up with the brochure number that I gave you. 1962 could be when they started painting them white for the new "World tractor" I have had newer Fords with rims that were obviously white from the factory.

Btw, I'm not easily fooled by AI. Try as it might, I catch in in lies, misinformed, or misinterpreted conclusions daily. You have to keep querying it or even tell it that it is wrong to get it to change its position or re-reference archives until it gets it correct. But beware that you don't query it until you get the answer you are hoping for, because it will eventually circle around to that also.

 

[Non-farmer]

AI has repeatedly underwhelmed me with answers that are simply wrong on too many occasions. I avoid it now. It's not ready for prime time imo.

 

[techjeff]

AI has repeatedly underwhelmed me with answers that are simply wrong on too many occasions. I avoid it now. It's not ready for prime time imo.

Hold on to your hat, AI is progressing rapidly. The advances we've seen in the past couple of months are dizzying. I still get wrong answers but when I contrast those to what I achieve with it, they are insignificant. When it gives you a wrong answer, press it correct the answer, and it will often take a second swing and hit it out of the park. I routinely use it in my work configuring and programming complex cyber security structures. Rather than sifting through documentation, forums, and vendor support pages for hours or days, I can present a complex problem to the AI, and it gives me a fully formed solution, often with explanations in seconds, allowing me to achieve in minutes what used to be a long, tedious process. It's not just an improvement in how we engineer, it's a fundamental shift in humanity. Scarry huh?

 

[techjeff]

The manufacturers that Ford bought their wheels from going back many years ago painted them silver just like the wheels that AC, IH, Oliver, etc. all bought and used. Just as with the seats, gas tanks, radiators, light bulbs, radiator hoses, the manufacturers put them in stock then supplied them to the assembly line and installed them with the same paint on them that the vendor put on them. It has nothing to do with contrast. You can scrutinize all you want. I have a Ford AD 8320 Ford factory brochure from soon after the XX1 series tractors came out. It has actual color photographs. It is easy to see that the fronts were painted the same medium gray as the rest of the tractor, but the rears are plainly silver next to the gray pie weights. They were originally silver as the rim manufacturer shipped them.

I certainly appreciate your mention that you use different shades of gray as the Fords were originally painted as opposed to all medium gray as CNH expects us to do.

It appears the brochure you referenced "Ford AD 8320 factory brochure" does not contain actual photographs. It was produced with "offset lithography" a four-color printing process (CMYK). The original photo would be color-separated into these four components and then printed using halftone dots. If you use a magnifying glass you can see the individual dots. It's not a photo, it's a printed representation of a photo. This process often exaggerates shiny objects. But since there is no silver ink in the 4 color process, it is an illusion. It's also quite possible that the ad agency got ahold of a picture that was not really representative of what they were shipping. But regardless, no matter what photos they started with, a human was responsible for the color separation, and another human was responsible for adjusting contrast brightness and tone on each of the of the plates used to print the image. So, in the end what looks like a photo from a distance, is actually an artist's rendering of a photo.

 

[showcrop]

It appears the brochure you referenced "Ford AD 8320 factory brochure" does not contain actual photographs. It was produced with "offset lithography" a four-color printing process (CMYK). The original photo would be color-separated into these four components and then printed using halftone dots. If you use a magnifying glass you can see the individual dots. It's not a photo, it's a printed representation of a photo. This process often exaggerates shiny objects. But since there is no silver ink in the 4 color process, it is an illusion. It's also quite possible that the ad agency got ahold of a picture that was not really representative of what they were shipping. But regardless, no matter what photos they started with, a human was responsible for the color separation, and another human was responsible for adjusting contrast brightness and tone on each of the of the plates used to print the image. So, in the end what looks like a photo from a distance, is actually an artist's rendering of a photo.

As I am sure you are aware your description is an oversimplification of the process. Many of us here had color capable cameras and color film back in the fifties when these photos would have been shot. Anyone with interest can read all about it on Wikipedia.

 

[Smalltowner]

I'm curious to get the opinion of serious tractor collectors on the subject or silver paint vs the original color on rear tractor rims. I keep seeing nicely restored Ford tractors with silver rims where everything else is nicely restored and pained in the correct original colors. I've even read posts where people think it is a nice contrast to paint their rims silver. Is this the new normal? Are tractor rims exempt from the same scrutiny applied to everything else in the world of vintage restoration? I've been seeing a lot of top dollar Jubilee's and Hundred series tractors sell with silver rims where the restorer would have certainly painted them the correct color if it mattered. If this is the case, it sure makes it easy to swap rims/tires between my vintage fords which are not all the same color of grey, and I could even swap rims between the Fords and International 424. Please let me know your thoughts.

I beg to differ with anyone who says original hat rims on the 8N and the jubilee were painted … they were not painted at all….. They were either cadmium or zinc plated. Collectors and restoration guys use a silver paint that matches the original cad color. You will find different shades of this silver paint used by different restorers.
Walt/Tx

 

[techjeff]

As I am sure you are aware your description is an oversimplification of the process. Many of us here had color capable cameras and color film back in the fifties when these photos would have been shot. Anyone with interest can read all about it on Wikipedia.

Yes, we had color film, and I'm sure the original images were color photographs. But brochures were not produced with chromogenic print. They were produced using lithography. A process where artists made 4 printing plates each applying one of the 4 colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). It was the artist's scrutiny as to amount of each to get the effect they wanted. Hence, an artist's rendering of a photo. Use your magnifying glass to see the dots of the brochure. There are no dots on photographs. You can read about it on Wikipedia, or for more in depth information, ask your favorite AI.

 

[techjeff]

I beg to differ with anyone who says original hat rims on the 8N and the jubilee were painted … they were not painted at all….. They were either cadmium or zinc plated. Collectors and restoration guys use a silver paint that matches the original cad color. You will find different shades of this silver paint used by different restorers.
Walt/Tx

I wasn't aware of that either.
I just stripped and painted a set of wheels for my Jubilee this week. The paint I removed appeared to be period correct in that it was nitrocellulose lacquer. It was also the correct color of grey which leads me to the assumption that it was painted sometime in the 50's or 60's when lacquer was still the paint of choice. One of the wheels had very thin zinc or cadmium plating. It was so thin you could see through it in places the other had no sign of plating. It's likely the zinc was all consumed by nature on the one wheel which had almost no paint and on the other wheel that had good paint the zinc is thicker where the paint was thicker protecting it from the elements.
Arrgh! Once again, I've painted wheels without doing enough research first. At least I haven't mounted the tires yet so repainting them to silver won't be quite as painful. Unfortunate though that I painted them with acrylic urethane when I have silver acrylic lacquer of hand which looks like zinc. You can't shoot lacquer over urethane, so I also have to seal with epoxy first. Oh well, what's one more day of my life...

 

[Smalltowner]

I wasn't aware of that either.
I just stripped and painted a set of wheels for my Jubilee this week. The paint I removed appeared to be period correct in that it was nitrocellulose lacquer. It was also the correct color of grey which leads me to the assumption that it was painted sometime in the 50's or 60's when lacquer was still the paint of choice. One of the wheels had very thin zinc or cadmium plating. It was so thin you could see through it in places the other had no sign of plating. It's likely the zinc was all consumed by nature on the one wheel which had almost no paint and on the other wheel that had good paint the zinc is thicker where the paint was thicker protecting it from the elements.
Arrgh! Once again, I've painted wheels without doing enough research first. At least I haven't mounted the tires yet so repainting them to silver won't be quite as painful. Unfortunate though that I painted them with acrylic urethane when I have silver acrylic lacquer of hand which looks like zinc. You can't shoot lacquer over urethane, so I also have to seal with epoxy first. Oh well, what's one more day of my life...

I spent three years at nights and weekends, restoring my Jubilee. I wanted as close to original as I could get and so I followed the advice of a fellow named John Smith, and another fellow name Tim Daley (both deceased)
There is another Ford club on the Internet that has an excellent library of “How to” advice from real experts that you might find very useful as you restore your jubilee or any of the older Fords.
My jub pic;