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I only have second-hand knowledge of it from two sources - one was a long time IH mechanic in a local dealership, the other from someone who worked there sometime in the 60s. According to what I was told.....an Illinois farmer who was frustrated by the large gap between 4th and 5th gears on his Farmall H or M had the inspiration for how to double the speed of gears 1-4 to add four speeds between 4th and 5th, thus making a "9-speed" transmission. He, with the help of one or two others, managed to make this work, and quite well. From that product, the M&W Gear Company was born. Since Farmalls, particularly the H and M, were one of the most successful lines of tractors in the corn belt, there were a LOT of farmers who jumped at the chance to install this package in their tractors. Many IH dealerships would even install this kit on a brand new tractor for a small fee if the customer wanted it. Flush with the success of this product, M&W went on to manufacture the "live pto" hand clutch unit, and pioneered the installation of live hydraulics on the Farmall line with a pump behind the distributor. I think this was available before IH decided to do the same thing. Eventually, they added oversize thin-wall sleeve and piston sets, gear-reduction starters, stroker crankshafts, improved governors, throttle levers, and a basketfull of little gizmos like more convenient levers for the pto and belt pulley drives. Many of their designs were copied by competitors such as Heisler, and to some degree, IH itself. As the H and M tractors evolved into the 350 and 450, the Farmall lines no longer provided the continued source of new tractors to improve. M&W products did, however, keep many old Farmalls working in the field alongside newer tractors for many years. The company was eventually bought by outside investors, product lines changed, to include wagon gears and grain dryers. They no longer make the parts for the old Farmalls.
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