Rare Vintage Ford Tractor

Rare Vintage Ford Tractor The Rosetown Antique Power Club has one of the rarest of rare tractors. No authenticating documentation or even a serial number exists. However, it appears to be a 1916 Ford Model B, one of only 30 ever built. The very unique tractor features two large (54-in.) drive wheels at the front end and a steerable 28-in. dia. wheel below the operator’s seat. The design and components perfectly match the drawing in the patent application for the Ford Model B. According to a company brochure, specifications for the tractor include a 16-hp, 2-cyl., 4-cycle gas engine and an air-cooled radiator. The 3,880-lb. tractor had a top speed of 3 mph under load. It was 11 ft. long with an outside wheelbase of 6 1/2 ft. The Ford Model B tractors were manufactured in Minneapolis, Minn., with a price tag of $350. How one ended up in southwestern Saskatchewan is a mystery. It was originally donated to a threshermen’s club in a neighboring town. When that club dissolved, several members joined the Rosetown club. They brought the Ford with them. One member described the tractor as being in running shape when it arrived. “It didn’t run very well, but we discovered it just needed a spark plug,” he recalled. In an article in the May/June 2025 issue of Vintage Tractor Digest, members recalled that the magneto had been replaced, and the fenders were not thought to be original. They replaced the water hopper with one built to specifications and cleaned the fuel tank. One last change was to add rubber tread to the wheels to make the tractor more drivable for parades and shows. The rare tractor is known more for what it wasn’t than what it was. It wasn’t a successful tractor design, nor did Henry Ford build it. It may have been introduced to capitalize on Ford’s reputation or, more likely, to force him to buy the company so he could claim the name for his own tractor brand. Instead, he introduced his tractors as Fordsons. The Ford Model B’s most significant contribution to agriculture may be its faulty engineering. Complaints about it led to what became the Nebraska Tractor Test in 1920. The Rosetown Ford Model B is one of a handful that survived, and according to a club member, may be the only one still operating. One other was mentioned nearly three years ago in a FARM SHOW article (Vol. 46, No. 6). It’s on display in Boise, Idaho, as part of the J.R. Simplot collection. Another is on display at a Nebraska museum, and one is known to be in the U.K. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Rosetown Antique Power Club, Rosetown, Sask., Canada (www.facebook.com/RosetownAntiquePowerClub).

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