Recently purchased a Ford Tractor for the ground that I will be moving to. The bill of sale says its a 1959 Ford Tractor the side of the hood says Ford 641 Workmaster. I have a few questions that are below for those that can help out.

1) How do you tell what year a tractor is? I know there has to be some form of date coding on the thing. Reason I ask is because I looked on Dennis-Carpenter and the front nose emblem they have but they list it for a '54 and for '58 to '62 they have two different emblems for the nose a raised style and a flat style, neither of which appears like what mine has. Want to verify the actual year to order the correct parts for the tractor.

2) What temp are these things supposed to run at? I am trailering it back to the tractor lot I bought it from because the thing kept over heating on me. For a while it hovered just below 220*F which I think is way too hot for a four cylinder from the '50s. Then after that I kept running into where I would have to stop after each 5 minute pass and let the tractor sit as it was creeping up to 230*F. When I turn it off the radiator just boils over which tells me the thing is actually over heating. I think it might be a combination of the water pump and the fan belt but want the thermostat replaced with the correct temp one for that year.

 

Looks very similar to the '54 NAA we had, but is updated. This has a sn chart. 12v electrics are a clue to later models also.

TractorData.com Ford 641 tractor information

Another source:

Ford 641 Tractor Parts - Yesterday's Tractors

Yes, that is running way too hot.

That site shows a 160 degree thermostat for those.

 

Thanks for the reply, I did some reading last night before I finally went to bed. The links you provided I did come across, but what helped me on the thermostat was that Dennis Carpenter lists a 168*, a 188*, and a 198* thermostat for these tractors. I know for a fact in 1956 the standard thermostat for a Ford V8 was 160*. Most engines ran a 160* and I figured thats what this tractor calls for.

I will check it out later on to see if the thermostat is a 160 or if someone put a 180 in it.

On a side note I took the tractor back to the place we bought it from and they will check it out, they think it could be because the belt is loose but I pointed out that the water pump has side to side wobble movement but it doesnt leak. I think it should be replaced anyways cause tightining the belt up will put side load on it and cause accelerated pump seal wear since the pump has play in it already. Before we left they said they would go ahead and swap the belt out for a smaller belt since the alternator is almost at the end of its adjustment as it is.

This was orignally a 6V system but was converted to a 12V down the line later in life. I am seriously thinking about getting some reproduction stuff for the tractor electrical wise but just am not sure if a reproduction main harness could handle 12V. I know the battery cables can seeing as the 6V cables are way heavier gauge than a 12V cable.

But it is a great tractor the little I did get to use it. Ran great, never missed or lost power even as the temp gauge approached 230*. Only some minor nit picking things such as I can stand on the brakes and it really doesnt stop the tractor. If you try to brake the left or right wheel to increase your turn rate doesnt seem to really work. But I can look into that later on though. I am how ever looking at getting some wiring for it to rehook up the headlights theres no switch but where the switch mounted at there are plugs. I assume not all tractors had working lights but they were mounted anyways.

 

Interesting Fact: Early ford tractors were called Fordson tractors. Fordson stood for Ford & Son

 

What year did they stop calling them that? I saw some decals for Fordson but I have no idea if they would fit or belong on a '58 - '64 year model Work Horse tractor.

 

heres a little history of fordson ,,,,surprised me how far back it goes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fordson_tractor

 

this might help you Identifying Old Ford Tractors

 

Thanks for the two links, they were informative.

Update though, they called me about an hour ago saying that they were going to keep running the tractor till 5pm which is when they close but after they put a new smaller belt on and tightened it up they been running it and couldnt get it to go over 195*F. They will call me in the morning if its ready to be picked up and I will ask them if they were loading it to get it to 195* or not. If they were then that should be fine. I still how ever will probably pull the thermostat and check the temp of it later on and install a 160 if it isnt a 160 already. But 195* is a lot better than 220-230* though.