1958 641 w/3 speed transmission and Sherman over/under unit

[gemutlich]

Gents,

Brand new member here. Friend of mine is wanting to let go of his 1958 641 with a dearborn snowplow and a unknown name 6ft bushhog, and I guess I'm his huckleberry.

Not knowing much about these old Fords I've been reading up on them and there's one thing about this tractor that really has me confused. The boss above and behind the starter is stamped very clearly 641, and beneath that is an equally legible serial number with diamonds before and after. The serial number denotes the tractor as a '58. Now for the confusing part: The dang thing has a three speed transmission!

Everything I've read the past few days leads me to believe there were only four and five speed transmissions available outside of the select-o-speed, and that three speed was long ago left behind.

Visually it looks like a 641 Workmaster, all red except for the grill, fenders and wheels. One-piece rear axles, engine-driven hydraulic pump, model-correct medallion up front, side mounted distributor, etc...

Dash has tach/hour meter (whatever it's called here), Fuel, Temperature, and Oil Pressure gauges. No amp gauge so I'm guessing that's what the red light immediately to the left of the steering column works in lieu of.

Fellas, that three speed transmission has me bugged. In all I've read I can't make sense of why it ain't a four. Can anyone shed a little light on that for me?

Thanks,

Mel

PS gear pattern is:

R 1
2 3

Thanks gents.

 

[gemutlich]

 

[Kirk-NJ]

R 4 1
2 3
Is the gear pattern. look again

 

[Hoochy]

Looking at the proofmeter (tach/hour) the needle also shows 4 speeds.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

here is a photo of the gear pattern.

Kirk

 

[gemutlich]

here is a photo of the gear pattern.

Kirk

Dang, man I saw the fourth gear range on that proofmeter too, and looked hard there at the shifter and neither of us could see the "4".

He'd never ran the tractor, inherited it from his Dad so knew even less than me about it.

The tractor sits alone in a barn about 90 minutes from me. Took those pictures last night, will forward the one you put up Kirk (thank-you Sir) to him and have him look again closer.

Like I said, confusing as it was it just didn't make sense. And jeez what's with the X pattern instead of an H anyway?!

Thanks fellas, I'll check back in and update y'all once I hear back from him (though I'm guessing you already know what the answer'll be... Lol).

By the by, how do those hours look for a '58? I don't have any concept of what would be low or high. As near as we can tell the tractor was pretty much only used for bush hogging a gentleman farm and plowing the driveway in the Winter. It looks to have been pretty well cared-for aside from sitting the past few years un-touched in a barn. Someone layed a coat or two of paint on it over the years, so decals are painted under for the most part.

 

[ovrszd]

Been looking for one to restore. Wish it was closer.

Howuch does he want for it?

As to the hours, I don't trust meters. Looking at the condition will tell more than the hour meter.

 

[gemutlich]

You know, I wasn't really looking for one. Had a 600-ish series 25 years ago or more with a Sherman loader and a Shawnee backhoe (or maybe it was the other way around) that I took in on trade from a Brother. The diff was stripped nearly gone, and I didn't have the motivation to pull the 'hoe to fix it. Ended up selling it for enough to pay a months mortgage payment which was pretty good at the time.

Honestly, my beautiful Wife has been wanting one of these for some time now and has the bug pretty bad. This friend of ours wants us to have it, as he has no sentimental connection to it.

We're talking about 2 grand all in with snow plow and bush hog. He also has an old drum of Valvoline 20w-20 (yup, never heard of that either) oil that's part of the package as well as the original owners manual.

As she's been parked for a couple few years, I'd like to pull the plugs and look down the cylinders to see what condition the walls are in before we attempt to start the old girl.

I don't think I can get hurt too bad at 2 grand, and even if it means tearing into it, if it causes my beautiful Wifes heart to smile then it will be money well spent... Right?

 

[ovrszd]

Happy Wife, Happy Life.

 

[gemutlich]

Happy Wife, Happy Life.

That's what we keep telling ourselves, isn't it? Hahaha