Norman Museum Showcases Impressive Ford Tractor Collection

By Bill Vossler
Published on September 23, 2010
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Cousins Dale (left) and Doug Norman merged their collections to create a unique tractor museum in Montevideo, Minn.
Cousins Dale (left) and Doug Norman merged their collections to create a unique tractor museum in Montevideo, Minn.
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Curt Berg drives the museum’s 1971 Ford 1124 Super Six.
Curt Berg drives the museum’s 1971 Ford 1124 Super Six.
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A series of Ford Diesel tractors. From left: 1961 961 D, 1960 821 D and 1958 841 D.
A series of Ford Diesel tractors. From left: 1961 961 D, 1960 821 D and 1958 841 D.
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Rear view of the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator.
Rear view of the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator.
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A close-up of the Select-O-Speed lever on the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator. The SOS was first offered in 1959.
A close-up of the Select-O-Speed lever on the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator. The SOS was first offered in 1959.
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Detail on the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator. The unrestored tractor was found in a grove of trees in southern Minnesota.
Detail on the 1959 Ford 971 gold demonstrator. The unrestored tractor was found in a grove of trees in southern Minnesota.
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Doug built this tandem tractor – a combination of a 1955 950 and a ’55 960 Ford – in 1962 to provide added power on the farm. 
Doug built this tandem tractor – a combination of a 1955 950 and a ’55 960 Ford – in 1962 to provide added power on the farm. 
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A 1951 Ford 8N with an Arps tracks kit.
A 1951 Ford 8N with an Arps tracks kit.
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A 1947 Ford 8N orchard tractor.
A 1947 Ford 8N orchard tractor.
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Dale Norman’s all-time favorite tractor is this 1958 Ford 861, which he bought new. “It’s what you’d call an older restoration, done in 1982,” he says. “I mow with it now, but that’s about the extent of it.”
Dale Norman’s all-time favorite tractor is this 1958 Ford 861, which he bought new. “It’s what you’d call an older restoration, done in 1982,” he says. “I mow with it now, but that’s about the extent of it.”
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A 1939 Wards Twin-Row tractor, serial no. 008.
A 1939 Wards Twin-Row tractor, serial no. 008.
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The museum’s 1961 Ford 961 Powermaster doing belt work on Bill Velleckson’s threshing machine at the Minnesota Valley Antique Power Assn. Steam Threshing Show at Heritage Hill in 2006.
The museum’s 1961 Ford 961 Powermaster doing belt work on Bill Velleckson’s threshing machine at the Minnesota Valley Antique Power Assn. Steam Threshing Show at Heritage Hill in 2006.
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Doug Norman drives the museum’s 1964 Ford 4000 agricultural model during a show parade.
Doug Norman drives the museum’s 1964 Ford 4000 agricultural model during a show parade.
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This 1966 Ford 4000 has only 19 hours on it. It was made into a complete tractor from its former stance as a power train used for high school instructional purposes.
This 1966 Ford 4000 has only 19 hours on it. It was made into a complete tractor from its former stance as a power train used for high school instructional purposes.

During the 1980s, Doug Norman and his cousin Dale Norman, Montevideo, Minn., were working on a few gasoline engines, getting them running and restoring them. “We had joined the Minnesota Valley Antique Farm Power Assn.,” Doug recalls, “and after a while we thought we could probably come up with some tractors.”
Today, the cousins’ collection has grown to 65 restored tractors, most built in the 1950s. The tractors are housed in the Norman Museum in five buildings on the old Norman farm four miles east of Montevideo. “I guess I’m one of those guys who never got very far,” Doug quips.
Most of the tractors in the museum are Fords, including unusual and rare models like a Ford tandem tractor, a Fordson crawler, a Ford half-track and a Ford orchard tractor. Other rare pieces include Silver Kings and a Wards Twin-Row, which are joined by more common Massey-Harris, Oliver, Case and John Deere tractors. The tractors are displayed in a pair of 100-foot-long buildings, a 50-foot building, a grain bin and a pair of reefers (refrigerated trailers).
Not that the tractors need to be frozen: Minnesota winters take care of that. “We don’t charge for a tour of the buildings, and we’re open by appointment and by chance,” Doug says. “The buildings aren’t heated; tours during the winter tend to be quicker.”

Family Ford heritage

In 1940, Doug’s father, Ole Norman, was working with a 1937 John Deere A on a hillside. When he attempted to turn the tractor, it rolled over. “After that, he decided he wanted something short instead of something tall,” Doug says. That meant a 1940 9N Ford, the first of its kind in the area. That heritage is at the heart of Doug’s interest in Ford tractors.
Doug grew up driving the 1940 9N, a 1953 Ford NAA Jubilee and a Ford 960. Ford NAA Jubilee tractors were made in 1953-’54, but only 1953 models are called “Golden Jubilee” tractors, as that year marked the 50th anniversary of Ford tractors. “Serial numbers have to be checked to determine which year they were made,” Doug explains.

Collection standouts

The 1947 8N orchard tractor is a rare model. “There have been 17 national Ford shows,” Doug says, “and there’s been an orchard tractor at only two of them.” 
He bought the orchard fenders from a collector in Willmar, Minn., who would not divulge where they’d come from. The fenders were particularly beat up, as if they’d been used in dozer work, Doug says. “They were the next thing to being destroyed,” he recalls. “We worked on those a long time, hammering them out and welding in patches. After that, it was an easy restoration.”
Another unusual piece is the 1924 Fordson tractor with a crawler conversion. “The conversion kit was made by the Full-Crawler Co. of Milwaukee (a division of Trackson Co.) and the kit came from a salvage yard in Tyler, Texas,” Doug says. “I had to buy a tractor to complete the whole project. The kit was designed to fit any Fordson.”
The Ford tandem became a reality out of necessity. “We needed more power on the farm in 1962,” Doug says, “so I hooked two Ford 900s together, and we used that as our big tractor for three years.”
Doug removed the front wheels of a 1955 Ford 950 tractor and mounted the rest of the tractor on a bar running from the drawbar on the front tractor (a 1955 Ford 960) to the drawbar of the rear tractor. “I made hand controls for the throttle and clutch, so I could drive it from the front and control both tractors,” he says. “I installed instruments that I could read in the front to keep track of the back engine. It handled very nicely and was really fun to drive. It certainly stirred up the neighbors. Some of them said, ‘What is that Norman kid up to now?'” The family used it to pull a 21-foot tandem disk and 6-bottom plow.

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