This just in . . . according to the current (and 2nd) owner, it is an F-20 built in 1937. Pictures of the Serial Number from the engine casting and the frame:
On the Frame:
I read this last one as "100531" which doesn't seem to match the number on the engine from the other side of the tractor.
The tractor was purchased for the purpose of display from the grand-daughter of the man who bought it new in 1937. I won't go into the details, but the man saved it from the scrap yard.
I took shots of what I found to be interesting or curious features:
The (missing) Magneto (owner says he gave it to someone who needed it):
The governor (owner has the carb):
Some do-dads at the oil pan, of all places --I have no idea what these things are:
The front featured a hand crank (owner demonstrated how the motor still turned freely; his youngest son fashioned a fitting for the spark plug hole and pumped grease into one of the cylinders several years ago):
The rear wheels were definitely home made from another identical set (owner claims tractor shipped with rubber rears, but posited that since there were no tire stores in 1937, steel wheels soon replaced the originals):
The current owner claimed that the most unique feature on the tractor was it's Hi-Low box mounted on the front of the transmission, like the creeper gear on a Cub Cadet:
I was fascinated by the grader. It turns out that the unit was designed to be drawn by horses and had originally shipped with two small wheels at the front:
The current owner thought that the unit was originally manufactured by a company called "Galleon" or "Gallion" (based on his pronunciation):
(On Edit) Note: The operator of the original stood on a platform attached at the four bolts in the picture above, with reins in hand --can you imagine?
Anyway, I thought it was cool:
Closeup of the serial number tag in the last shot:
So, in the words of Frank Currier, what you have here is a "confuguliation" of a tractor; it certainly isn't a restoration. The current owner did not think it feasible to restore because the engine had been allowed to freeze up and crack the block (the exhaust manifold was in two pieces). His youngest son spent some time with it, freed the engine up and "got it to fire a lick or two," but it has not really been run since it was parked years ago. It simply sits on a corner lot, strung with Christmas lights awaiting the season to celebrate.
