50s Ford Tractors Converted To FWD
Charlie Hardesty says his 7-decade love of Ford tractors began when his dad acquired a Ford 8N in 1965 to keep him and his brother out of trouble. “We were typical junior high kids who weren’t afraid to take anything apart, so fixing up that 8N was perfect. We helped Dad overhaul it, painted it with spray cans, and put it at the end of the driveway with a for sale sign on it. It sold quickly, and we soon got others to work on, making money on restorations.”
Ten years later, after Hardesty’s father passed away and his 28 tractors were sold at auction, Charlie decided it was time to start his own collection. He bought an old Fordson to restore and, as he says, “was hooked.” Over 40 years, he’s owned several Ford 8 and 9Ns, 600s, 800s, 900s, and Jubilees. He’s repainted, restored, and taken many of those to shows. He’s sold several, while others remain in his Ford stable. Two of his favorite projects are Fords with Sherman-NAPCO front wheel drive (FWD) conversions.
“I was at a show in Portland, Ind., where a collector had an FWD kit that I’d never seen before,” Hardesty says. “I bought it not knowing if it was aftermarket or just from someone’s backyard. It turns out it was a Sherman-NAPCO, just right for my 1955 model 650. It was missing a part that I bought from Damon Bruns in Arizona. He told me he’d buy the tractor as soon as I finished it because he’d never seen that setup.”
Over the next 6 years, Bruns frequently contacted Hardesty to buy the 650, but Hardesty always turned him down. “I was just having too much fun driving and showing it,” he says. Hardesty needed almost a year to install the kit on his tractor, which required splitting it in half so new drive gears could be placed between the transmission shaft and pinion output. He removed the original PTO lever assembly and installed a new transfer case on the outside of the transmission. That’s driven by a double row of chains connected to the internal drive gears. He swapped the standard front axle for a modified version driven from the transfer case. After installing the FWD, he installed the LP kit.
“In 2022, I had the tractor at a show in Minnesota and met a collector from Iowa who owned a fully restored 841 with a Sherman-NAPCO,” Hardesty says. “I bought it and completely checked it over, did some detailing, then called Damon and told him he could buy it. He gladly accepted my offer, and now it resides in Arizona.”
Hardesty says his 650 with a 134-cu. in. engine is an agricultural model that carries a Ford 3-14 mounted plow. The 841 he sold was an industrial model with a 172-cu. in. engine. When Ford built that model, the wheel tracks weren’t wide enough for a plow furrow, so the tractors were used as loader tractors or to operate forklifts. Both are finished to nearly “factory-new” condition. Each one had two coats of primer, two coats of acrylic enamel, and one coat of hardener without wet sanding or brushing.
“Where I grew up, we didn’t see these FWD conversions on farms, even though Sherman-NAPCO and ELENCO made kits,” Hardesty says. “They’re very unique tractors that I really enjoyed working on.”
Now retired from working as a tractor mechanic for several years and for municipal water departments, Hardesty has plenty of time for more restorations and serving on the Ford Tractor Collectors Association board. His current project is restoring an 8N orchard model.
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Charlie Hardesty, 418 N 475 W, Valparaiso, Ind. 46385 (Ford700@juno.com).
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50s Ford Tractors Converted To FWD TRACTORS Antiques Charlie Hardesty says his 7-decade love of Ford tractors began when his dad acquired a Ford 8N in 1965 to keep him and his brother out of trouble “We were typical junior high kids who weren’t afraid to take anything apart so fixing up that 8N was perfect We helped Dad overhaul it painted it with spray cans and put it at the end of the driveway with a for sale sign on it It sold quickly and we soon got others to work on making money on restorations ” Ten years later after Hardesty’s father passed away and his 28 tractors were sold at auction Charlie decided it was time to start his own collection He bought an old Fordson to restore and as he says “was hooked ” Over 40 years he’s owned several Ford 8 and 9Ns 600s 800s 900s and Jubilees He’s repainted restored and taken many of those to shows He’s sold several while others remain in his Ford stable Two of his favorite projects are Fords with Sherman-NAPCO front wheel drive FWD conversions “I was at a show in Portland Ind where a collector had an FWD kit that I’d never seen before ” Hardesty says “I bought it not knowing if it was aftermarket or just from someone’s backyard It turns out it was a Sherman-NAPCO just right for my 1955 model 650 It was missing a part that I bought from Damon Bruns in Arizona He told me he’d buy the tractor as soon as I finished it because he’d never seen that setup ” Over the next 6 years Bruns frequently contacted Hardesty to buy the 650 but Hardesty always turned him down “I was just having too much fun driving and showing it ” he says Hardesty needed almost a year to install the kit on his tractor which required splitting it in half so new drive gears could be placed between the transmission shaft and pinion output He removed the original PTO lever assembly and installed a new transfer case on the outside of the transmission That’s driven by a double row of chains connected to the internal drive gears He swapped the standard front axle for a modified version driven from the transfer case After installing the FWD he installed the LP kit “In 2022 I had the tractor at a show in Minnesota and met a collector from Iowa who owned a fully restored 841 with a Sherman-NAPCO ” Hardesty says “I bought it and completely checked it over did some detailing then called Damon and told him he could buy it He gladly accepted my offer and now it resides in Arizona ” Hardesty says his 650 with a 134-cu in engine is an agricultural model that carries a Ford 3-14 mounted plow The 841 he sold was an industrial model with a 172-cu in engine When Ford built that model the wheel tracks weren’t wide enough for a plow furrow so the tractors were used as loader tractors or to operate forklifts Both are finished to nearly “factory-new” condition Each one had two coats of primer two coats of acrylic enamel and one coat of hardener without wet sanding or brushing “Where I grew up we didn’t see these FWD conversions on farms even though Sherman-NAPCO and ELENCO made kits ” Hardesty says “They’re very unique tractors that I really enjoyed working on ” Now retired from working as a tractor mechanic for several years and for municipal water departments Hardesty has plenty of time for more restorations and serving on the Ford Tractor Collectors Association board His current project is restoring an 8N orchard model Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Charlie Hardesty 418 N 475 W Valparaiso Ind 46385 Ford700@juno com
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