By 1937 a new version was available of the N aimed at the North American market and called the All-Around. This was a tricycle configuration tractor with vee-twin front wheels and adjustable sliding rear axle, designed specifically as a row crop tractor. But this year also saw a much more prominent change when a new orange paint was introduced known as Harvest Gold. Also an oil bath air cleaner replaced the old water-washer version.
The old Fordson engine, basically similar to the original, was now pushed even harder with higher compression and an engine speed increase to 1200rpm, pushing more power from the unit. Unfortunately this caused some engine problems particularly with oil consumption and bearing failure but the old Fordson still proved to be generally reliable. The orange tractors were still available either on steel wheels, as the Land Utility version on pneumatics, row-crop tricycle model or in industrial form.
By now the Fordson was the best selling tractor in Britain and sold much better than any of the competition which were generally more sophisticated American machines. It was beginning to get a bit of a reputation as a temperamental machine to start however, a fault not helped by the changes made to its engine which made the orange tractor very prone to oiling its spark plugs once it was up and running! Despite its faults the orange Fordson N is a popular choice for tractor preservationists and collectors today. Most steam rallies, tractor road runs and agricultural shows are brightened up by the presence of at least one such machine.
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The orange Fordson N brightened up the agricultural scene in the late 1930s and was also more powerful than its predecessors.
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A tricycle version of the N was also introduced giving the versatility of the American style row crop machines and indeed it was mainly the American market that these
machines were aimed at.
Eventually the cheerful orange paint scheme had to be consigned to history however as the onset of World War II in 1939 saw a change to green paintwork – apparently to try and make the rows of tractors at Dagenham look a bit less conspicuous to overflying enemy aircraft. This would be the last incarnation of the Standard Fordson and become the only tractor produced in large numbers during the Second World War. The change to green also meant a few alterations to the tractor itself and the difficulties associated with the engine problems on the orange tractors were addressed when head and piston alterations were made.
With the outbreak of World War II the Fordson would once again be called upon to help Britain survive under the threat of food shortages. With this in mind and the war looming on the horizon, the British Government and the Ford Motor Company agreed a deal whereby the government would stockpile 3000 Fordson tractors in readiness for the effects of the coming conflict. According to some sources the stockpiled tractors were all painted an all-over yellow colour to help identify these particular machines. When the war did arrive in August 1939 the 3000 Fordsons were ready and waiting and, with the Dagenham plant still producing them, they were soon joined by thousands more throughout the war.
The Dagenham factory was now producing the green Fordson N tractors at the incredible rate of up to one hundred a day and soon, on 10th November 1943, the 100,000th Dagenham built tractor came off the end of the production line.
Shortage of raw materials did lead to a few changes, such as the narrowing of the rear mudguards in an effort to save steel supplies. Apart from this the tractor remained the same throughout the war years, although various different experiments were carried out with regards to engine types and different transmissions and many were used by the military as aircraft tugs and for general haulage duties, often with specially built modifications.
With most vehicle manufacture coming to a halt because of the need to produce war materials, the Fordson was the only tractor available in any quantity and soon became an even more familiar sight than it had between the wars. One great advantage of the Fordson N was that it was basically a very simple tractor and, although it certainly had its moments, it was actually a very reliable machine and it proved to be the tractor most often encountered by a band of hard working women known collectively as the Land Army. Due to the shortage of farm labourers, women were drafted in to replace the men leaving the land for the front. The newcomers had a crash course in agricultural techniques including tractor driving.
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A beautifully restored green Fordson N busy ploughing with a trailed plough typical of what was used with these tractors when they were new.
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This example has not been restored but still runs extremely well and it is a good contrast to the earlier tractor. Note the wider rear mudguards which means this is an earlier machine than the restored example which has narrower wings due to lack of raw materials later in the war.
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Were the 3000 Fordsons stockpiled before World War 2 painted yellow? The owner of this one, Don Gurr, believes so and says that this tractor was one of them.
The Model N remained in production until 1945, including the tricycle row crop model with special wheel centres imported from America. By the end of the Second World War many thousands of Fordsons were at work in the fields of Britain and several had also been converted for a multitude of different uses, both in agriculture and industry. Roadless Traction, based in Hounslow, Middlesex, built its first crawler conversion of a Fordson back in 1930. Originally they were of full track configuration with the tracks themselves made with special rubber-jointed track plates.
The RAF were a great user of the Roadless crawlers but preferred a half-track version.
Used on runway work on the hundreds of grass airfields that sprung up all over the country during the war, it was soon found that fitting a front axle to the crawlers and making them into half-track machines helped them to retain their stability when hauling heavy loads. Industrial versions of the Model N were also used by the RAF for aircraft tug duties, some of which were fitted with Brockhouse torque converter transmissions. Other Model N Fordsons found themselves as the base unit for various conversions, from road rollers and dump trucks to drainage machines. The tractor was often fitted with an extra slow reduction gearbox to help cope with the slow speeds necessary for such work.
Some Fordson N’s were even converted to diesel power and fitted with Perkins four cylinder diesel engines. The diesel engine was slow to be accepted, but as the technology improved and they became more powerful farmers gradually came to see what benefits they had to offer in terms of reliability and fuel economy. The Model N was never offered as new with these power units as a factory fitted option, it would be left to a new generation of tractor to make this great leap! And so the scene was set by 1945, for a new Fordson to appear to replace the long running Model N and bring the story started back in 1917 to an end.
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Many Fordson N tractors were converted by various companies and dealers for a variety of uses including this narrow orchard version which was probably built in Kent.
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This Fordson N is one of several that were later converted to diesel power, provided as in most cases by Perkins.
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