OLD TIRE ADS AND INFORMATION

Perhaps no other major change in farm tractors was embraced as rapidly as the use of pneumatic rubber tires. If it had not been for war time shortages of rubber it would have been much faster. a lot of war time tractors were sold on steel and with magneto ignition not because that was what farmers wanted but because it was all they could get. almost all rubber and lead was diverted to war production. In the years following the war when tires became available all the cutting and welding to convert to rubber tires could have caused global warming problems. Sure you still find a few that stayed on steel and others that have been converted back by collectors but most working tractors on farms of any size at all were changed to rubber. Programs like the one by Firestone shown below helped speed up the process. - The first tractor on rubber tires tested at Nebraska was an Allis Chalmers WC in 1934 (test # 223) which showed an increase of over 25% in both drawbar HP and fuel economy.

From the Firestone Farm Guide Book 1939

To go back to the Main Barnyard

Created 1-30-1999 - much more to come.