Bern, Thought of you today...

I went down to Waterloo, IA this morning to pick up an item I bought on Govdeals.
Drove by a NH dealer on my way down so decided I would stop on my way back to get a quart of their paint. Nice old guy selling parts. I asked if the place had been a Ford dealer back in the day.
He said it was. I asked if they still had any old Ford parts in inventory and he said, yeah some.
"You wouldn't have a steering wheel for a 4200 would you?"
He said, "Row Crop.
You know, we used to have a couple of steering wheels here. Let me look it up."
Then he said, "But I think they were for a 6000."
So I'm thinking, "Bern! Bingo! Maybe...?"
So he went upstairs and looked.
Came back and shook his head.
"Nope. It's been a few years since I even looked at it but it's gone."
He did have a box in his hand.
Too small to be for a steering wheel though.
He took the part out, let me handle it and said it was the half wheel from an 1801 with cable steer.
It was a beautiful, perfect part in a Ford box.
Really nicely made! Kind of an ivory/white color.
I never knew they used such a thing on any Ford tractor. Maybe someone here knows.
Anyway, I would have been alllmosst as happy to have found an NOS steering wheel for you as I would to have found one for my own tractor.
I guess we'll all have to keep looking.

Wow - that's really cool! Too bad that's only half of a steering wheel or else I'd make it fit on something. I wonder how many other dealers are sitting on stuff like that, or even if they have it listed to where other dealers could see it on their computers.

I'd have my dealer do a nationwide search for the original steering wheel for my 6000, but if you look in the parts catalog, the number supersedes to a E0NN3600BA, which is no different than you'd find on a 7610 or similar later model.

Thanks for thinking of me!

Hi,

Do you know how much they are asking for it?
Which dealership is it? Thank you

I did not ask about the price.
If you want it why don't you email me.
They are a small dealer and I wouldn't want them potentially bombarded with phone calls for it.
Do you know if they used these on the 1801s?

Yea indeed they did! The half "steering wheel" was used to activate the cables to steer,as most "old" Ford flocks know. But the whole system wasn't the greatest!

Jerry, the parts department story reminds me of our 3 parts rooms well filled with stock, going back to the 30's. The main shop was built in '46, completed in '47. but the wood framed garage was older. One parts room had it's own loading dock, overhead door, 2nd floor built with heavy timber, then the 3rd parts room connected and lead to the sales counter.

We had quite a few parts on hand, and I remember a few stacks of NOS parts, a fair amount of tin, some used but nice shape, just bins and bins full of parts. I remember the red label boxes, being older than the later thousand series parts. There was a giant poster of a section through an S-O-S transmission on the wall in the show room. I still have the blue and white Ford PAM clock that hung over the parts counter.

I shudder to think about how much of that stuff got thrown out over the years. If only I had a time machine...

(quoted from post at 15:09:01 07/22/19)

Click to expand...

I'm assuming the CNH part no that shows currently as the part number for both the 4200 and 6000 steering wheel is incorrect and this is a substitute steering wheel. Don't like the price much either.

https://www.amazon.com/High-Quality...;creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07CHYJTNC

I take it the current CNH part is a replacement steering wheel that fits both the 4200 and 6000 and is not what you guys are looking for. Price sucks also.

https://www.amazon.com/High-Quality...p;creative=165953&creativeASIN=B07CHYJTNC

Correct. The E0NN3600BA wheel is your typical boring, round, 3-spoke steering wheel. The original 6000 wheel
is 2-spoke and has a deep dish in the center for a sizable emblem. The grip also changes diameter at the
top.

Me too, though none of this particular stock was thrown out, but it happens with this sort of thing across the board. Stashes of OEM NOS parts, owner loses storage or how many other things, ends up in scrap. I remember how cool it was that if something broke in the field or needs repairs, service, we had the place to do it. Fond memories of a lot full of thousand series tractors, used inventory, parts and a large repair shop.

My brother was the parts manager for a local Ford dealer, he was always checking dealer stock and warehouses for old parts and had a decent amount in inventory for 55-75 Ford tractors.
In the mid 90's the business burnt one night and was a total loose, talking about losing all that old inventory still brings tears to his eyes today.
Investigators determined the coffee pot in the showroom had be left on.

Here is a run of the mill steering wheel
next to a 4200 wheel.
The 4200 one us about 2 1/2" taller and
about 1" smaller in dia.
I've been thinking about trying to fix
mine. Make some kind of a mold around
the center hub and fill it with a
pourable epoxy or something.
A friend of mine has a Bridgeport with
an indexing head. You could mill the hub
fairly close then sculpt the rest by
hand.
I wonder what kind of epoxy you could
find.
Any ideas?

Last year we visited family in Galesburg, Il.
They where working on the main hwy and had us routed off on Il 164.
Just to the west of town was a old drive inn theater with several old cars and tractors setting around.
Never found out who owned the place but maybe some talers from that area would know or be able to find out.

Here's a few photo's I took.
There where 3 6000's but only have photos of 2
The early 4000 row crop on duals was neat
I've heard that weight box is worth a few coins.

I recall you posting those pics last year on this site. For as dull as the steering wheel on that Commander
looks, I'd bet it's in no better shape than the one I currently have. Unless I can somehow come up with a
"barn find", it looks like I'll be repairing what I have.