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Rare 1937 Ford Tractor Is The Only One Left
When he bought a dilapidated old Ford tractor at an auction in 1982, Richard Cummings had no idea what he'd just purchased. But the Rochester Hills, Mich., collector soon learned he had a one-of-kind tractor on his hands.
"It's the only remaining 1937 Ford prototype in existence. These tractors were scheduled fo
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Rare 1937 Ford Tractor Is The Only One Left TRACTORS Antiques 22-1-23 When he bought a dilapidated old Ford tractor at an auction in 1982, Richard Cummings had no idea what he'd just purchased. But the Rochester Hills, Mich., collector soon learned he had a one-of-kind tractor on his hands.
"It's the only remaining 1937 Ford prototype in existence. These tractors were scheduled for production in 1938 and were slated to sell for $250," Cummings says. "However, Harry Ferguson sued Henry Ford over the tractors hydraulic system and it was never produced. Only three prototypes were built. The two that were powered with ęstraight six' engines were scrapped out. The third was powered by a 100 hp V-8 Ford engine. That's the one I ended up with."
Cummings' tractor was donated to Greenfield Village, the Henry Ford museum in Michigan, where it was used daily as a working tractor until it went on display from 1954 to ę58. It was removed from the display floor in 1958 and sat outside until it went on the auction block in 1982.
There was a lot of restoration work to do because of the years it spent exposed to the elements. Cummings did 95 percent of the work himself.
"It was a lot of work because all the re placement parts had to be fabricated from scratch," he says. "For example, I had to re build the engine out of parts from five differ ent 1930's era Ford truck engines.
"Ford used parts that were already in pro duction for other trucks and cars to build the prototypes. The tractor had 600 by 16 in. fron tires off a 1935 Ford car or pickup and the grille shell and radiator out of a 1 1/2-ton Ford truck. The radiator had a lot of weird angles which makes it tough to replace."
He worked on the restoration for more than 10 years before finishing it in 1993.
Meantime, the tractor has become a fa vorite at the annual Tri-State Gas Engine and Tractor Show held over Labor Day weekend in Portland, Ind.
Cummings says he doesn't know what the tractor's worth - and he doesn't really care.
"I've had some extremely excessive of fers for it but it's not for sale at any price," he says.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rich ard Cummings, 2287 W. Auburn Rd., Roch ester Hills, Mich. 48309 (ph 248 852-4311 fax 8149).
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