How to start and drive a 1923 Fordson F tractor

In this video we look at how to start and drive our 1923 fordson f tractor

[@julieanddavidmyers6641]

Boy that makes appreciate electric start. Sweet runner!

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, yes an electric starter would have been an amazing step forward. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@316jd140]

Thanks for making this video and showing us your Fordson. Just think, around 750,000 Fordson Fs were sold, and it was the most affordable tractor for farmers back in the 1920s. A lot of farmers appreciated having one of these tractors to farm their land.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, I am glad you enjoyed my video. Getting a Fordsons would have been a big step up from a team of horses, and even from some of the other earlier tractors like the International Titan D. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@keithammleter3824]

The cost of ownership was very much less than a team of horses and during harvesting could be operated 24/7 if required. Horses need to eat and sleep.

[@ODowney1]

As young lad I remember thinking profane language was how they were started. One could smell that TVO 3 miles away. Loved it. Thanks for fond memories

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, I am glad you enjoyed my video. I think the language defiantly helps them go. Can you still get TVO in England? It’s not easily avalable over here. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@michaellynskey7124]

Absolutely brilliant everything anyone should know when starting a model F fordson and explaining all the controls first class about a true classic of agriculture history.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, I am glad you enjoyed it. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@davidrobertson376]

Start and drive on Brookdale ! I love it. And can't get enough. I hope one day we see this tractor towing the old header in a fine crop of wheat.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi David, it’s a great old tractor. I am looking forward to fixing up the clutch so I can use it again. I have some good photos of it from a fiew years ago pulling a massy Harris reaper binder, and running a 3 blade sunshine chaff cutter with a flat belt, but unfortunately no Visio from that day. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@jimbritt2874]

Machines know when the camera is on and make you work for it every time 👍👍🇺🇲

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Jim, yes they do. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@AntiqueTractorsandEquipment]

Great/clear explanation of the startup process and what each control does. Also, it was very worthwhile you emphasising correct thumb placement on the crank handle. Nice video.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, I am glad you enjoyed the video. I see a lot of people who have never been shown how to correctly hod the crank handle now so thought I should show people to try and stop some injuries. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@keithammleter3824]

I helped restore one about 40 years ago. They are cantankerous things - you have to cut over to kero (use jet fuel now - its the same thing as power kero was) at the right time or it will conk out and refuse to go until it has cooled down. But when correctly set up they are very safe to crank as the magneto has an auto-retard feature that puts the timing well back until RPM is well above what you can crank at. They are heavy engines to crank - about 4 litres. It is a good idea to turn the engine over 2 full turns with the ignition off to draw petrol/air mix into the cylinders, then turn ignition on and it will usually start on one good pull up on the crank. Usually. If you think nice thoughts about it. I notice that many chaps take the vaporising laborinth off - they loose their cantanterousness and run happy on petrol then.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Keith, yes they are mostly cantankerous. I have used jet fuel in them in the past as well, we use to mix some oil with it to help it lubricant better. This one usually doesn’t run long enough to switch to kero. The impulse starter in the mag is great for retarding the spark and stopping it backfiring but I always like to show people how to use a crank handle properly. The Model T ford I have worked on was a great one for ripping the crank out of your hand. I have driven them with out the vaporise on them, and my Major has a later carburettor on it that makes it run much beter on petrol. I will try cranking it with the ignition off and then starting it next time I have it running. I am working on another one at the moment and hope to have that one running soon too. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@alexvenn4244]

Great detail mate thank you for showing us this tractor.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Alex, I am glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@johnjordan4647]

Thanks Mate for showing us the Fordson model F. Very interesting but basic. I have an E27N which is really a final updated model of that generation of tractor. Mine has the factory fitted Perkins P6 diesel in it and it goes OK. Just a hobby tractor. Thank you for the video

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi John, I am glad you enjoyed the video. Yes the model f is a really basic tractor. Fitting the Perkins p6 was a good upgrade for the E27N, but by the 1950s it was a very old design. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@ntme9]

Electric start must have been a blessing when it finally came standard on tractors 😅

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, yes it would have made a world of difference. Fordson was pretty slow on the uptake of starter motors, they didn’t put them on until after the Second World War. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@simonworman7898]

Right there with you, cranking Any engine in need of an overhaul behaves the same!

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, you need to be faire full even on an engine in good condition. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@alanwinter3316]

Great exploitation. It's a pity you can't tow these Fordsons to break the sticking clutch. As far as I remember you can't tow these. Because, in stead of a crown wheel and pinion, they have a worm drive back axle

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, I am glad you enjoyed the video. Yes you are right they have a worm drive in the rear end. Sometime I will split it in half and get it all working. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@davidcoyle7125]

Great video, many thanks, perhaps drive the tractor around for a bit holding the clutch in and with any luck the clutch plates will free up? Perhaps some molyslip or similar added to the oil may stop the plates sticking again?

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi David, I am glad you enjoyed the video. I had thought that driving it around with the clutch down would free up the clutch too. It seems to be well stuck. I will try some molyslip in it when I get it working again. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@graemeharley9342]

Pretty sure you will find that it is an early Irish model N. That air cleaner system is N Model.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Graeme, Thanks fro the information. I was going on the information on the end of the fuel tank, but like the engine, the tank has probably been changed at some stage. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@ericchapman399]

The engine is a transplanted model "N"

[@09amusement]

​@@ericchapman399 it's actually from an e27n. The starter blanking plate on the bell housing gives that away. Its an F, the clutch pedal gives that away. Regards 🇬🇧

[@peterd9940]

My grandpa had a fordson and a Wallis, he liked the Wallis better, but he said the moment he got a machine with an electric start, the other two were sent for scrap, too bad

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Peter, yes unfortunately that was the fair of a lot of old tractors. The Wallis is an interesting tractor and not many of them around now. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@PatrickN.]

Thanks for the video. Enjoyed. I have my grandfathers 1919 fordson in my shed. Wondering how much they are valued at today?

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Patrick, I am glad you enjoyed my video. The value depends on a lot of things, including which country you are in. In Western Australia I have seen them go from anywhere between $500 and $7000 for unrestored tractors. Yours is an early model with a full history which makes it a bit more collectable. If you have any of the original sales documents ect they can make it worth more. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@mistervacation23]

Where can I get a radiator for a 1923 Hoyt Clagwell tractor?

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, sorry I am not sure. I find a lot of parts on eBay and Facebook, even for some fairly rare tractors. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@noahjbarr]

When was the last time it started since the video

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi Noah, I think it was last started about 2years ago. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@Mika-pd8uf]

Moottori on E27N koska on startin paikka.

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, yes it is a later E27N engine in this one. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@davidtrollope6644]

Split my dads one in half took out two clutch plates still just as bad big grind to get gear

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi David, I believe that if you bend them so they have a small dish in them it helps them separate beter. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@davidtrollope6644]

They did an amazing job of increasing farm prodution and the genious of ford

[@davidtrollope6644]

Use to grind into top gear stop gears then bang into lower gear if put into low gear cold would move off with clutch in still running today down

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi David, I will try taking a couple of the plates out of mine. I have another slightly newer fordson that I am trying to get going at the moment so will get back onto this one soon. Thanks from Geoffrey

[@davidtrollope6644]

Grind it till you find it as the saying goes

[@rickybrown5817]

Why are 1923 tractor not going scrapped?

[@brookdalefarm7986]

Hi, they are now worth a lot more as a running tractor than as scrap. Thanks from Geoffrey