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Len Rahilly
10-24-2007 09:42:47
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Re: F-20 My new Purchase! What about a road Gear? in reply to Nebraska Cowman, 10-24-2007 05:40:05
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As Nebraska Cowman says, IHC offered an optional fourth gear that gave about 7 mph. Great speed for hauling loaded wagons on country roads. The regular fourth on 36" rear tires would probably give about 5.5 mph. When people began putting rubber on these tractors in the mid-30s, they could choose to put on a tire that had about the same outside diameter as the original steel wheels (40" diameter), thus keeping the speeds close to the speeds on steel. The trouble with this was that the rims would not clear the brake drums, and the wheels had to be turned out all the time. VERY wide and probably clumsy in some of the circumstances that come up on farms, where you want to work in close quarters. The other choice was 36" rims, which DID clear the drums, but gave a much larger outside diameter (I estimate 48" or thereabouts). The result was a big increase in ground speeds. Again, estimates: First, nearly 3 mph, second, nearly 4 mph, third about 4-1/2 mph, and fourth, between 5 and 6 mph. The factory listed speeds on steel as 2-1/4, 2-3/4, 3-1/4 and 3-3/4 mph, so you can see that the 36" tires gave quite an increase. It is interesting that on rubber, the tractor would pull the same load at about 4 mph in second as it was supposed to pull in second (or sometimes, third) on steel. Steel wheels waste enormous amounts of engine power--this is why the early tractors always listed the rated drawbar horsepower as about 1/2 belt power (10-20, 15-30, and so on).
I never had any experience with the aftermarket overdrives, like the Heisler, so can't advise on that. If they really did give high road speeds, I'd want d.....d good foot brakes, so I could slow both wheels at the same time. If you have only that single brake lever on the left side, and give it a good yank at high speeds, you can expect the tractor to veer to the left. I have seen an add-on right brake lever, but I don't know whether it was an IHC part or an aftermarket part. In any case, it would be real fun to steer and still use both hands to pull on the brake levers! This tractor is a big and heavy brute, and needs to be treated a little like you'd treat a young bull full of testosterone.
Afterthought: The factory road gear reversed the positions of third and fourth, as I remember.
Where the original fourth gear was between first and second (back toward the driver), with the factory road gear, fourth was low and forward and third was between low and second. Anybody who has seen one of these lately, correct me if my memory is not right on this.
Spent over 10 years of my misspent youth driving what I thought of back then as state-of-the-art, but what are now antiques: 10-20, "Regular" Farmall, F-20, F-12. I remember them fondly, but
I also remember how uncomfortable, rough and noisy most of them were. The F-12 on rubber was the most comfortable of the lot, especially because the seat did not hang out the back like a see-saw. The Farmall and F-20 both required a firm hand on the wheel in rough ground, because they would whip the wheel right out of your hand if the front wheels dropped into a furrow. The iron steering wheel was like a flywheel, and, I think, amplified the kickback from the front wheels.
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