His Passion Is Restoring Old Fordsons

His Passion Is Restoring Old Fordsons Dick Bosch says he thought he’d have a fairly easy restoration ahead when he acquired a 1918 Fordson Model N from an estate sale in 1990. “It looked in good shape, but looks aren’t everything. When I got it home, I hooked up the ignition to a battery, put in some good coils, added some gas, and it fired right up,” Bosch says. “I drove it down the driveway and, on the way back, the engine didn’t sound very good, and the rear end was a little noisy. That was the start of a major overhaul.” Bosch wasn’t deterred by the work ahead. A mechanic by trade, he’d restored several gas engines and at least one Fordson. After checking the compression and a few other engine parts, he decided that the 1918 needed a complete overhaul. “I disassembled the whole engine, including removing the old babbitt that was welded to the block. That was a big issue, so I made a jig for the new bearings, poured new babbitt, installed new pistons, rings and valves. The coil ring is bolted to the engine on that model, so I had to add and subtract shims between the coil ring and the block to get clearance of .020 to .040 between the magnets and the coil ring.” After success with the engine, Bosch turned to the transmission. “When you remove the cast iron carrier on a Fordson housing, all the gears are supposed to come out together,” Bosch says. “When I pulled this one out, everything fell apart. What a surprise! The gears and bearings were obviously bad. With the aid of a parts tractor, I was able to replace everything I needed.” Bosch also discovered that a worn axle and bearings caused some of the rear-end noise. He welded the axle surface to increase its diameter, then used a metal lathe to turn the shaft so it would fit new bearings. Bosch also replaced the incorrect rear wheels with ones that matched factory specs. After a few other minor repairs, along with total cleaning and sandblasting, he painted it the original manufacturer’s color. After finishing the tractor, Bosch learned that it was probably one of the oldest Fordsons in the U.S. The National Fordson Collectors Club examined it and confirmed that it was a 1918 model. “They couldn’t declare it the oldest because when a new block was installed in 1922, the serial number wasn’t transferred,” Bosch says. “They did, however, give our tractor the honor of being the second oldest Fordson in the U.S., behind a similar tractor in New York.” He and his son, Adam, own the tractor together, drive it in parades, and take it to shows. “It always attracts a lot of attention because it’s old yet still sounds and drives so smoothly,” Bosch says. The 1918 joins nine other Fordsons that Bosch has restored over the past 40 years. These include 1918, 1919 and 1923 Model Fs; 1935, 1937 and 1938 Model Ns; a 1950 E27N Major; a 1953 E1A New Major; and a 1960 E1A Super Major. “Originally, I wanted to restore a WC Allis like we had on the farm, but I couldn’t find one to my liking,” Bosch says. “I came across information about Fordsons, which were inexpensive at the time. My first one was a 1923 model that nobody else seemed to want, and I’ve been a Fordson collector ever since.” Bosch and his family all enjoy the tractors. They’re members of the Atwater Threshing Show, which Dick was president of for 25 years. “We feature different tractor models every year, and in 2026, we’ll be hosting the Minnesota Chapter of the Ford and Fordson Collector’s Club. We’ll have our tractors there and look forward to meeting other collectors.” Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Dick Bosch, 5444 Co. Rd. 8 N.E., Kandiyohi, Minn. 56251.

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