John Carson, Logansport, Ind., let us know that he appreciated seeing a Ford 960 tractor pictured in a previous article. It was a 1955 Ford Model 960 from the William Hedrick and family collection, Battleground, Ind. They have over 80 collectible tractors, including a handful of Ford models.

The Ford 960 caught Carson’s eye because it brought back memories of his own tractor of the same model.

Dear editor:

I would like to express my sincere appreciation of your acknowledgement of the Ford 960 tractor as a 1950s workhorse. I farmed with one of those tractors from 1958 until about 1980 or 1981. By that time, it had rolled up 15,000 hours of extremely reliable service. It was also worn out by then.

For the last 15 years of its life, it pulled a four-bottom, Ford #101 semi-mounted plow with ease. From then on, those who ridiculed the lowly Ford kept their opinions to themselves.

It was indeed a sad day when this once proud tractor left the farm as salvage. Its departure was accompanied by a heavy heart and maybe a few tears, but it had earned a well-deserved rest.

Many operators like myself regard the Model 960 as one of, if not the best, of Ford tractors.

— John Carson

Ford plow

The Ford 101 plow which Carson mentions also earned a reputation as a good moldboard plow. It was available as a three-bottom or four-bottom plow.

According to internet sources, it was supposedly originally made by Ford, and later made for Ford by Oliver after Oliver was bought by White Motor Corp.