# Help ID'ing my Ford 420?



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Help!

I have found some more numbers on my used Ford 420. It just adds to the mystery. Can someone help me figure out what I have?

Here are the previous numbers I found on the flat portion behind the starter on the right side.

B886256
OE26
D1014C

The new information I have is numbers embossed on the flat engine rail under the oil dipstick. It reads like this....

*K418092* AA
6507 3J6

What does all of that mean??

Thank you and God bless


----------



## Guest (Mar 8, 2018)

Long story short, this is the engine serial number I had mentioned to you last week. Wow, that's easy to read. Perhaps someone can tell you what the ancillary numbers/letters mean, I suspect the K prefix may mean Industrial.


----------



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Graysonr said:


> Long story short, this is the engine serial number I had mentioned to you last week. Wow, that's easy to read. Perhaps someone can tell you what the ancillary numbers/letters mean, I suspect the K prefix may mean Industrial.


Yep, but I don't know what the numbers/letters all mean.


----------



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Graysonr said:


> Long story short, this is the engine serial number I had mentioned to you last week. Wow, that's easy to read. Perhaps someone can tell you what the ancillary numbers/letters mean, I suspect the K prefix may mean Industrial.


I was looking in the I&T shop manual FO-31 on page 2 where it talks about engine serial numbers. Nothing seems to coorespond.


----------



## Guest (Mar 8, 2018)

If I remember properly, hadn't it been determined your tractor was built in England? English built throws a wrench in the numbering code business. Also, FO-31 is for the thousand series built thru 1975. Your 420 although seemingly built from assemblies of 3000/4000 and some special new assemblies, and was built between 1975 and 1978?
Sorry no answers there.


----------



## Guest (Mar 8, 2018)

I just checked FO-31 page 2 against my known tractor ID and FO-31 is out to lunch even on mine! a 2000 built in 68 in the US!


----------



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Graysonr said:


> I just checked FO-31 page 2 against my known tractor ID and FO-31 is out to lunch even on mine! a 2000 built in 68 in the US!


I am beginning to think that I have a Frankentractor.

Like the FEL cast numbers start with 770.... I looked at the 770 loader diagrams and my loader is NOT a 770 FEL My loader assembly looks like the one on a Ford 540A, but without the brush grill. Ugggghh

Is there anyone on these forums who can help with the codes on tractors made in UK?


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2018)

For what it's worth, when I looked up 420 on tractordata.com it said attachments were 771 and 772 loaders. Can you go back to your first post on this thread and edit the title to say "Please help translating British made ford id and engine serial number codes" ? If not I think I would start a new ford thread with that title and just copy and paste your first post from this thread.


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2018)

Ok, your immediate issue is I think the metal hydraulic line. That sounds like a part ford would have used on several models without changing it. When you call the companies I told you about, you can tell the parts people the pickle you're in identifying your tractor and you may find you can get more id info from one or some of them. Can you get any info on the history of that tractor from the guy u bought it from?


----------



## Guest (Mar 9, 2018)

Yes, it may be frankentractor. When bought new the tractors got good care because they cost real money.....more than a good new automobile. But as they aged and were resold over and over, for less money, they fell into the hands of people that would do no routine maintenance......and do only jury rig repairs when the tractor totally broke down. Phrases like, "That ought to hold it", "That's good enough", and "hand me another beer" (I'm not totally against a beer, but too many spoil the repair) were commonly heard when repairs were finally made. So here we are 40 or 50 years down the hedgerow. Read my article "Living with an older Tractor" and you'll see I've had my share of problems too. Thing is, Fords are fallen flag tractors just like many others and official documentation was not kept, knowledgeable people from the time these tractors were in their prime are moldering in retirement communities or otherwise unavailable for various reasons. Which assemblies of your tractor are original and which were make do substitutes. I don't know. You don't know. I doubt your NH parts guy knows or has any resource to look it up.


----------



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Graysonr said:


> Ok, your immediate issue is I think the metal hydraulic line. That sounds like a part ford would have used on several models without changing it. When you call the companies I told you about, you can tell the parts people the pickle you're in identifying your tractor and you may find you can get more id info from one or some of them. Can you get any info on the history of that tractor from the guy u bought it from?


----------



## Donald A. (Feb 24, 2018)

Nope, I will not be able to get any info


----------

