Ford 641 tractor

[T-Nason]

Well I have a 9n that has been my gopher the past several years.
This winter I decided to restore it and now I hate driving it for
work! Might scratch the paint!

I miss having a little utility tractor and found a ford 641. It has
the round hydraulic pump. It seems to run good, owner says it
has just been tuned up. Paints faded but no rust. Any major
weak points on these machines? How have you guys liked
yours?

 

[Steve in IL]

We still use my dad's 641 around the farm. Great little tractor for light utility work. It still has the original 6V system, and generally starts in most all Ohio winter conditions. It is a big upgrade from a 9N. But... It does not have a few features that are really useful around the farm for serious work... No live PTO/2 stage clutch, No power steering, No diff lock, 4 speed transmission is a bit fast in 1st (for things like a rototiller), and a bit slow in 4th (for driving anywhere)... But I still won't trade it for the world!

 

[old]

If you like the 9N you will like the 641 even better. Live hyds, and maybe power steering since it was an option. But like the 9N no live PTO

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley]

HiYa T-
Yes, OLD nailed it. When the 134 CID OHV Red Tiger Engine was released in SEP 1952, the new 1953 Jubilee (NAA) began a whole new chapter in the FORD tractor industry. It would end the reign of the 4-Cylinder Flat Head engine forever. The Overhead Valve engine was a huge improvement and the 134 OHV engine would continue with the 600 Series in 1954, then adding the 500 and 700 Series. The new tractor/engine had many improvements over the previous N-Series Models. The 9N Ford-Ferguson introduced the world to a whole new adventure in farming with the design of the 3-Point Draft Control System. This was a concept of Henry Harry Fergusons and engineered by his crew of Archie Greer, Willie Sands, and John Chambers, the actual inventors of the 3-PT DRAFT, not Ferguson as often he is incorrectly credited for. He simply owned the patents. Harry sailed to Detroit in October, 1938 with his 1936 Ferguson-Brown Type A Tractor that had a crude system of the 3-PT Draft to demonstrate to Henry Ford. Fords reply when he saw it was, Eureka! Thats it!. The two men then sat down, discussed a proposal whereby Ford would manufacture the tractor and Ferguson would handle distribution of it and all implements, and made the famous handshake agreement then and there with the details only known to the two men, and no friends, relatives, observers and certainly no lawyers privy to their conversation. Both men despised lawyers. The FORD N-Series tractors made America great again by providing a better and more efficient farming lifestyle. Ns are great little workhorses and many are still in use today. Uses include hobby farms, food plots, small gardens, mowing/brush hogging, snow removal, and much more. Today in rural areas and some cities as well, in my state of MI, you cant throw a rock without hitting a FORD Tractor and many are an N Series model. It may be ironic that when Ferguson was hired by FORD in 1938 to help design the new 9N, one feature he wanted was an Overhead Valve Engine. FORD engineering vetoed that idea. It may have been a more revolutionary tractor in hindsight. Finally, it is a fact that virtually every tractor manufacturer today incorporates some version of the original 3-PT Draft Control System on their models.

Get the Essential Manuals for your new tractor - best investments you can make. Don't worry about paint -paint doesn't matter on mechanical operation. Do your own research and homework, and don't take all teh PO says about it - he is trying to sell you a tractor so can say anything he wants. Look for signs of a blown engine, n oil leaks, and what all will be needed to keep it running right.


FORD 600/800 ESSENTIAL OWNER/OPERATOR/PARTS/SERVICE MANUALS:

Tim Daley(MI)

 

[Sean in PA]

The Overhead Valve engine was a huge improvement and the 134 OHV engine would continue with the 600 Series in 1954, then adding the 500 and 700 Series.

There was no 500 series. The 5xx tractors started with the 501 series as part of the rest of the '01 series. There were 600, 700, 800 & 900 series from 1955-1957, and then the 601, 701, 801 & 901 series started production in 1957 for the 1958 model year. The 501 offset series didn't start until late 1958 for the 1959 model year.