American Coleman FWA axles

[chtrout]

Greetings, I am a new member.

By way of introduction, I am researching a pending book on the history of American Coleman, Littleton, Colorado.

In addition to building Coleman Trucks, aircraft towing tractors ("tugs"), and SnowBlast rotary snow plows, Coleman was also shipping as many of (14) truckloads a week of steerable Coleman FDAs (front drive axles) to various truck manufacturers for installation on their various assembly lines on a "special order" basis.

Additionally, many of these Coleman FDAs also went to farm tractor assembly lines, with most going to the International Harvester "Farmall" series, and then smaller numbers going to Oliver, Case, Minneapolis-Moline, Massey-Ferguson, Cockshutt, and perhaps others.

Virtually all of the tractor manufacturers preferred the term "FWA" (Front Wheel Assist) rather than "4x4," and some instead used variations such as "Mechanical Front Drive," or similar wording.

Request ? My questions to those tractor buffs who my be willing assist are essentially two-fold:

1. Many of the FWA axles provided by Coleman "appear" to be the Coleman "Model-9" FDA, with minor modifications as appropriate. Can anyone confirm the use of Coleman "Model-9" axle? Has anyone encountered other Coleman axle models used in FWA applications?

2. IH Farmall models with the "Coleman" FWA axles seemed to be the 806, 1066, 1256, 1456, 1566, and perhaps others. Can anyone add to this list? Also, can anyone provide the main model numbers that Oliver, MM, MF, Cockshutt (and others) used Coleman FDAs as their FWA axles?

Thank you is advance for any assistance or suggestions...

Craig H. Trout
(Researching Coleman Trucks)

 

[Billy NY]

This may be of help, you could contact them regarding your question, given their history since 1919 and still in business today.
Howe Brothers

 

[wisbaker]

I was in the Air Force, I've wanted an MB-4 tug since then, one of the later ones with the 318 Chrysler engine

 

[mj]

I worked with an old fella(about 80 in 1972) that had been a rep for Franklin Air-Cooled in the '20s. He knew a lot about Coleman trucks as the factory was close to his job with Franklin. He told me that they used to test the rigs in the Cherry Creek there in Denver. One day, we were discussing 'ghost towns' and I wondered aloud: 'I sure would like to know how they got all of that heavy mining equipment into Holy Cross City'! 'Well' he said 'they hauled a lof of that stuff in with Colemans!' So, if a gold field 'bloomed' late enough it was trucks instead of oxen and mules! But, it had to be a significant accomplishment, none the less, as most of that road was corduroyed across some very marshy ground and was a great jeep trip!

 

[chtrout]

Consider joining our Coleman Trucks page on Facebook. We frequently comment on various MB-4s coming up for sale. Their American Coleman model was the "G-40" and it sounds like you may be looking for a G-40-G or G-40-HA variant.

 

[chtrout]

Yes, in the early days of Holmes, then Plains, and finally Coleman trucks (corporate name changes), these rugged brutes were often the very first truck to ever reach some of the highest
mining operations. One Coleman could reach a very high mine on extremely steep grades in 2-3 hours, when before, it had taken a team of 10-14 horses a full day or two to struggle up the
same hill with a similar load. Colemans, with their very low gear ratios, were a true game-changer in Colorado mining operations.

 

[chtrout]

Yes, Howe Brothers became an authorized Coleman dealership in about 1929 until their dealership was summarily revoked in December 1950 for substituting unauthorized parts and causing warranty problems for the Coleman Motors Corporation. After that, Howe Brothers developed their own unauthorized "Howe-Coleman" knock-off of a true Coleman FDA (front drive axle), but after many, many filings, were never able to get a patent since it was not "different enough" from a true Coleman. Legal tensions continued for many years.

The take-away from this story is that Howe-Coleman FDAs were so similar to a legitimate Coleman FDA, some parts "may" be somewhat interchangeable. Wayne Howe still has a rapidly dwindling supply of NOS Howe-Coleman parts on the shelf, but it is truly hit-or-miss whether they will fit on a true Coleman FDA.

 

[morepower02]

I have a Coleman on my Moline G706. It could use new wheel bearings but they are pretty steep money. Can still get parts thru case ih. Would be nice to have a source for more parts.

 

[morepower02]