It’s not an All-Crop. It’s a straight through model, I can’t tell if it’s a 16-47 or what model, but those were built by Oliver I believe.

The early select-o-speeds were troublesome. What I can’t figure out is why they built them with certain gears that would allow them to freewheel going downhill. But the later blue models are pretty good from what I hear.

CrestonM wrote: It’s not an All-Crop. It’s a straight through model, I can’t tell if it’s a 16-47 or what model, but those were built by Oliver I believe. The early select-o-speeds were troublesome. What I can’t figure out is why they built them with certain gears that would allow them to freewheel going downhill. But the later blue models are pretty good from what I hear.

Free-wheeling in half the gears was because they used sprag clutches instead of an actual clutch. Short answer....cheaper to build that way.

In Ford's defense, I'm sure they were using some technology from their automatic transmissions in cars. "Bands" were common in those days so I imagine they used some parts they already had. I think where they failed (like AC did with the turbo D-19 deezel engine) was they were so excited about the new concept, they simply didn't give it enough hours of serious testing to see how it was going to hold up. D-19 turbo deezel…..they sure never tested it for 2,000 hrs of moldboard plowing, because if they had, the head gasket/overheating/cracked heads/sunken wet liners issues would have been uncovered. The 4020 Deere power shift tranny looks a lot like a Caterpillar D-6C dozer transmission, a totally different concept over the select-a-jerk tranny from Ford.

Edited by DrAllis - 05 Jan 2022 at 8:10pm

We had a 6000.  It was in a way, a sweet running tractor.  It was the first 6 cyl diesel we had on the farm, so that throaty idle it made was just cool to me.  I remember it had two marks on the tach, one for 540 rpm and one for 1000 rpm, so that engine would really wind up, yet run slow-ish for what we would use PTO for back in the day like square baling.  And it would really haul the mail on the road, seemed like 28mph or so?  Normally didn't run it wide open because it actually was a bit scary.  

It hard to imagine today that back in the late fifties that tractor was Ford Tractor biggest size, the 800 and 900 series tractors. I got a Ford and New Holland tractor and equipment book that talks about the Ford 6000 series tractor and it was going to move Ford into big horsepower tractors. But they talk about by time Ford Tractor got the Ford 6000 tractor ready to be introduced and on the market other tractor makers had bigger horsepower tractors on the market or ready for the market. That got to be the reason Ford push the 6000 out before it was really ready to be sold. But looking back today that was foolish on Ford part. I look on “Tractordata” the Allis Chalmers D-19 was about same horsepower, don’t think Massey Ferguson had anything bigger, the MF 90 was about closest tractor made by MF. International Harvester still had the 560, John Deere just introduced the 4010 tractor by 1960-61. I know there was a few bigger tractors but they were like wheat land models, no three point hitch. There been people that have said “ wonder where these companies would have been today if they wait till they got the bugs work out on their tractors back then.” I thinking most customers would have been brand loyal and probably would waited for a new model to come out, unless they just couldn’t wait ( like the tractor the farmer had just went down and wasn’t worth fixing ).

I was too young to know/understand/appreciate/remember anything about the accumulator hydraulic system.  I'm thinking that may have been one of our trouble spots?  I remember helping dad hook up a brush hog mower, we got it hooked up and he raised it to drive away.  Little brush hog for that size tractor, and anyway, about halfway up the tractor began to labor and labored for the rest of the lift and kept laboring a little.  The 3 point arms would not go down, even with the engine off.  Tractor sat for 3 days before the arms would lower.  And those brakes!  Dad assumed whatever was up with the hydraulics was part of the same issue, but never confirmed or debunked, but no matter.  I can remember dad actually practicing the brakes, trying for feel.  We had a gentle incline, and he'd let it roll, and gingerly touch the brake, little more, little more, little more and then LOCKED!  Was actually pretty funny.  There was definitely more going on than just short pedals you needed to get used to.  I remember the clutch being touchy, had to be careful hitching up to stuff, but fairly easily got the hang of that.  Until it developed mystery gear syndrome!  Became Guess-O-Speed instead of Select-O-Speed, because you never new what was going to happen.

According to “Tractordata “ the Ford 6000 came out in 1961. It seems bigger horsepower tractors just started coming out by all tractor manufacturers in the sixties.

Ford 6000 Commander was Nebraska tested in early 1961, while John Deere had their new 80 HP 4010 tractor tested in Sept of 1960. Ford was late and lower HP than Deere, but they also had a power shift transmission that didn't hold up well. Ford's engine choice wasn't much better with 223 cubes gasoline and 242 cubes diesel both at 2,400 RPM's. Smaller cubes at higher speeds, some of which was dictated by the smaller beefed up SOS tranny from the 800-900 series tractors in an attempt to make it live. I think they probably tried to argue that their less than 70 HP tractor would get as much plowing/discing done in a day due to the transmission being on-the-go, as would Deere's 80 HP stick it in one gear tractor and leave it there.

Edited by DrAllis - 08 Jan 2022 at 7:39am

That looks like an interesting little combine. Never seen a Ford one before.
Thanks for the posting and picture

Farmall had their 560 tractor out since 1958 at that 65 HP size and Ford (6000 Commander) and AC (D-19) were just now catching up with the 560. Deere now had 80 HP in the new pretty trouble-free 4010 tractor. Good times for Deere were just getting started.

Very interesting read on the Ford 6000. I had read somewhere before there were problems but first hand experience with them is a great read. It did seem in one fell swoop Deere had it all. A good tractor is a lead in for all equipment sales. A company can have the best tillage or hay equipment for example on the market, but if their tractor is second rate no one buys. Deere came out with a great tractor and then managed to sell their poor tillage equipment and self propelled threshing machines as being the best. And it worked. Our farm went from an A John Deere to a new WD45 then a new D17 SIII. Dad was dealing on a new 190XT. Then he drove our neighbors 1968 4020. Dad ended up buying a new 1970 4020 which I still own. That tractor then led to dad buying a JD disk. 7000 planter and 4400 combine. Great marketing program.

Edited by 1963D17 - 08 Jan 2022 at 11:45pm