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FITCH FOUR DRIVE TRACTOR COMPANY John H. Fitch was a problem solver who developed several innovative products. Long before he invented the Fitch Four Drive tractor Fitch had patented a Folding Berry Crate while working at a at a small sawmill and basket factory. He also was issued patents for a drill, a ratchet wrench, and a Self-Opening Street Car Switch Mechanism. Prior to the 1902 Fitch Switch invention a street car operator would stop the street car, exit the car, manually operate the switch to go onto another pair of tracks, remount the street car, pass through the switch, stop the car, exit the car, manually place the switch in its previous position, get back into the streetcar and proceed to his next stop. With the Fitch Switch the operator simply moved a lever in the street car and proceeded on his assigned route. Fitch’s farm in Michigan had some challenging areas to deal with and he felt that a Four-Wheel Drive tractor was the answer. The first attempt at building his four-wheel drive tractor began in 1910. Rear drive axles from two tractors were fitted to a chase with an engine mounted in the middle. Overcoming steering problems was accomplished by What is referred to as a Live King Bolt which allows the power to be passed through the pivot point of an articulated frame. In 1914 Fitch sold his ratchet wrench patent rights for $ 5,000 ($ 160,000m in 2024 money) to finance the development of his new design for an improved four-wheel drive tractor, “The Four Drive.” In October of 1914 patents were granted for his invention. In February 1915, Fitch completed his first tractor and headed out to test its ability on the hills of his farm. All the locals came out to watch as he traversed the countryside with ease. The next day he drove his tractor to Ludington, MI, seven miles away. When he saw what his tractor could do, and the impact it made on the local people, he decided to build them commercially. He built a tractor and a truck model and took them both to Detroit in February and March of 1915 to show off his inventions and to discuss their possible manufacture. Several automobile experts pronounced the truck as one of the most important automobile inventions of the past year. Fitch used a Waukesha engine and a Cotta three-speed transmission. The tractor had many features that were not on previous tractor models. Its short turning radius, improved suspension, trailer/plow attachment and two speeds were other items besides the four-wheel drive that made this an important improvement to farming. The tractor could go into difficult places where conventional tractors could not. It could come out of a ditch as well as break through snow drifts. There was no danger of getting stuck in sand or clay, the lightness of the machine and its equal distribution of weight prevented it from sinking into the ground to any appreciable distance. Although light in weight, its power enabled it to pull a very heavy farm tool. The increased power came from the fact that the tractor was gear-driven vice chain-driven like the tractors of that time. This allowed for more transfer of power from the engine to the wheels. One demonstration took place on marshy land, critics said it would bury itself as a team of horses would do in such ground, the tractor not only pulled itself out of the marsh but it pulled up a submerged tree trunk to which it had been fastened! On November 29, 1915, John Fitch incorporated ‘The Four-Drive Tractor Company’. Fitch was offered a deal from the town of Big Rapids, MI. A new manufacturing facility and power for five years to operate his business if the company moved their operation to Big Rapids. Fitch made the necessary arrangements and moved to Big Rapids in 1916, to a 45-by-200-foot building, in addition to a 30-by-40-foot blacksmith shop. After John Fitch’s untimely death in 1916 Vice-president, Elbert Jenkins became the President (it is unknown if company secretary Clay Olmsted was related to Charles Olmstead who invented a different four-wheel drive tractor in 1912). The company continued to make improvements on the tractor to fill orders that were placed in 1916. The company finally received the steel and other materials that were in short supply during World War One and were needed to produce tractors starting in 1917; however, the company struggled financially during the first few years. The Four Drive Tractor Company secured a solid footing during 1919 because of various improvements that were made to the tractor and the company. These changes lead to the firm selling its entire 1920 output before the year started. After Motor Age magazine of Chicago published a story on the stump-climbing tractor in March 1916, literally hundreds of letters poured into the Big Rapids post office. Inquiries came from every state in the country and every first-class foreign nation. French, English and even Russian firms wrote for information regarding the new machine. By 1919, the company established a Foreign Department in New York City to arrange for the sale of tractors to individuals and governments in foreign countries. The tractors were manufactured at the factory in Big Rapids and then were shipped from the factory to the purchaser by railroad and then by cargo ship a shipping port in that country. If you are fluent in the Finnish language, you can let us know what is said in this advertisement. Under the headline "The Four Drive Tractor is Going Strong," the flyer reads: "Four years have passed since the Four Drive tractor first interested the people of Big Rapids. Since that time a factory has been constructed and a large addition built. The company has passed through the vicissitudes usually incident to the swing of a new industry. Days of experiment and struggle have come and gone." "At the beginning of 1920 the Four Drive stands in a favorable position. The experimenting is done. The tractor is standardized. It is giving splendid satisfaction in the field. It is a good machine; many users and dealers regard it as the best on the market. Its motor burns oil. And my, how it pulls!" "The judgment of the men in charge is that the Four Drive has gone by the period of trial. Of late it has been making some money. The earnings are not large, but they give promise that, with production on a quantity basis, the earnings can be put up to a gratifying point. A dividend is now being paid to the holders of preferred stock. This stock is preferred for a 7 percent dividend, and the dividend on this stock must be paid when the company is making a net profit. It is estimated that the present net profit is between $2,000 and $3,000 per month on present production." "The demand for the Four Drive tractor is way beyond the present power to produce. A contract has been made which absorbs all the probable production for 1920. The problem is one of production and management." "The policy of the present management is to build upon accomplishment rather than upon promises and hopes. The accomplishments of the past year lend solidity to the belief in the future of Big Rapids' newest industry." An article from a Big Rapids newspaper reported that in September 1928, sales representative Evart W. Bogart set sail from New York on a four-month trip to French possessions to set up and instruct operators with the Fitch Four Drive Tractor. He went to Havre, France and then to Paris to meet with the French representative of the Four Drive Tractor Company. The two men planned to go to Morocco, Algeria, Casablanca, and other French colonies in Africa. The tractors had been sold to these colonies for many years and Mr. Bogart had several more on the ship with him. The company continued to produce tractors in 1929. The exact date that the Four Drive Tractor Company ceased operations or to whom all assets of the company were sold is unknown, the financially troubled company ceased operations after the stock market crashed in October 1929.

Not restoring this one, but would like to hear it run and then decide how to proceed with bringing this machine back into service. Bought it for $100 not knowing the condition of the motor. I figured the muffler, or the 4 matching wheels and tires, or the 8 speed trans were worth the price of admission. Gave it a good pressure wash this morning, then rolled it into the garage. Engine oil was low but clean, trans oil was full and clean (shifter boot is in perfect shape). Under the engine tins was…A MOUSE HOUSE … I was expecting that. Coil wire has been gnawed on but can be saved. Popped off the carb and the head. Thoughts on either? Carb has rust on the throat, but the bowl was clean and the needle was moving freely. Head has a lot of carbon. I do t know how to read what I I’m seeing so if someone can give me a “status” on the head, valves and standard piston that would be great.

68 Commando 8 with a 36" rotary deck, l sure do like the way it mows

I’m not an expert, but here’s my limited experience. Im interested in what others have to say. The semi-circular clean spot on the top of the piston indicates it has some blow by. My sons 312-8 looked like that 6 years ago. It still runs great with a slight puff of smoke on Startup. The lack of carbon on the exhaust valve and whiteish deposits makes me wonder if it was running hot. If they had been using it with that mouse nest blocking air flow that might be the cause. I would also check that the muffler doesn’t have any pluggage like a broken baffel. I would run it with some Marvel Mystery Oil and work it. @Achto Your thoughts on this engine?

Took a break from wrenching on the tractors today and started a little welding project. A friend of mine bought this bale mover a while back to feed their horses, he didn’t have any issues with the hand crank winch but his wife had trouble cranking it if she had to feed while he was out on the road so we are removing the old hand winch and replacing it with an electric unit. Gonna check and repack the wheel bearings, replace the old tire on the LH side, and repaint it while we’ve got it in the shop. Gotta brag on my old welding machine a bit too, it’s a 1979 Miller AEAD-200LE, fires right up every time I need to use it, and is one of the smoothest running machines I’ve ever welded with. I’d put it head to head with any new machine any day of the week. And before anyone cracks any 6.0 PowerStroke jokes The hood on the truck was only open to jumpstart the welder

@Tractorhead this is for when members get too rowdy

Here is the fool-proof spill-proof way to do that:

Head cleaned up, might do more cleaning while waiting for my Isavetractors.com order to show up (head gasket, carb kit) to start the reassembly.

If you place a wire alongside the funnel or put a drinking straw through the funnel it will act as a vent to allow the air to escape as the oil goes in.

Throttle shaft is nice and tight, so the carb is going for a swim for a few days.

I'm pretty sure I have a pair of check-valves like that. They came from Then & Now.

Thank you to all of my fellow crazy's here at the BEST tractor site on the planet for and about the WHEEL HORSE TRACTOR .... there is no other in my opinion better This Forum is the finest .... and the people here are the most Genuine !!! thank you all again !!! John

That looks cool, but what‘s it for? Spank your son's rear when he finishes your last beer? Or Hit on the fingers, if someone was unwanted touching your Wheelhorse?

Do NOT send one to BBT!!!

As long as you don't get rattled by a noisy birdie nearby......

Outstanding in it's field!

Turf repairs. Early, cool spring for a change. Always winter damage without a winter. Go figure...another pretty day. Gotta use em before it gets hot. Had supervision so should be good 😊

@Ed Kennell Let me know how much for the bucket of springs. When I first saw all of those buckets and the boat in the garage taking up space, the first thing I thought of was @Sparky 's garage!

She will light right off most of the time with a tug on the wheels, but I just let er pop em off while working. "I dont always listen to my hit n miss with a straight pipe, but when I do so do the neighbors."

You all know what's in my buckets by now, but here is a video. If you see anything you want dibs on, send me a PM and we'll seal the deal.

@19richie66 @cafoose second dibs for @Pullstart

Whew! A close call with whatever was chasing only managing to get a few bites of fender!

Just going to close this now.

It just looks cool on a shelf but could be used for all of the above if needed.

Drove to Houston last Tuesday to meet the local high school robotics team that I mentor at the 2024 world championship competition. Both our upper class team and under class teams qualified to attend the world championships, so we took both teams. The world championships are run with 8 divisions (running matches simultaneously on 8 fields in the giant convention center in downtown Houston), with each division having about 75 teams. There were somewhere around 600 teams there this year, representing 6 different countries and about 47 states. Wednesday was practice day, and qualification matches were run on Thursday and Friday. On Saturday, 8 four team alliances were chosen to compete in the double elimination playoffs. The winning alliance from each division then compete for the world title in another double elimination bracket. Our under class team ended up as a member of the #7 seated alliance. They made it all the way to the into the final round. Unfortunately, they lost there. However, they still had a great season, ending up rated #41 worldwide, based on scoring potential. There are about 3500 active teams worldwide this year. Our upper class team ended up on the #3 seated alliance team in their division. They ended up winning their division, advancing them into the playoffs for the world finals. In the world finals, they were dropped into the lower bracket in the 4th round. They won the 5th round, placing them in the best of 3 matches world finals! WE WON THE WORLD FINALS IN 2 MATCHES! The team captain was the district champion from Isreal. We were the second team on the alliance, hailing from Sedalia, Mo. The third team was from Philadelphia, and the fourth team was a rookie team from Phoenix. Winning the F.I.R.S.T. Robotics world championship was about the last of my thoughts when I rolled out of bed yesterday morning.

I also found the hood I bought from @squonk at one of the last couple Big Shows. Should I swap it out for the unpainted one? I also have the Bugatti kit car back in the shop for another round of upgrades and maintenance.

It’s been a too long while since I cut a furrow. Like a whole week! I turned up the garden and one of my food plots today. It’s rained some more this week and a few spots were pretty slick but I made the best of it. I sure love the sound that 20 horse Kohler makes!

This was on a 953 @Achto has custody of. Right now set up as a daily plow mule. Had intermittent fuel problems from the day we got it running. He finally had enough and put a electric on it. I says gimme the old one I'd like to play with it... I can't wreck it. The check valves & diaphragm in it seem to be OK. But in taking it apart I found this. Crap in it probably getting on the valves but might be some in the carb now. This tractor did sit outside for three or four years. Ran when parked tho... I've not seen valves like these before. All the ones I rebuilt had the plate with the tiny springs over the valve discs. This does have the primer lever.

That would be a "Colossal" miscalculation...

Trina spent a few hours rebuilding and transplanting the upper part of the rock garden that surrounds the "circle" in the backyahd.

Its a little time-consuming but super easy. You'll need a KNOWN FLAT surface. I've used a piece of flat glass. Tempered is best for safety. Nowadays we use a piece of known flat steel. I've read of others using something like granite or other stone. Get 3 or 4 pieces of GOOD sandpaper in grits from .. 150 (?) To 400 Tape the paper to your flat surface. Put the head down and sand it fore n aft (easiest human motion) for 25 to 30 strokes. TURN THE HEAD 90⁰ Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Some folks prefer side to side or figure 8s. Length of time on each grit depends how warped the head is. You'll see the clean shiny areas fairly soon. I like to run the 150 grit until the head is nearly flat. Then switch up to the middle grade. Run a few cycles. Switch to 400 for the finish surface. Usually the whole process takes 30 to 40 minutes. We've had one take a couple hours total over a couple weeks off n on but that's rare.

That's the trick we use here. Long straw. Tape it to the funnel. Pour slow but sure.

I have one fuel pump with similar check valves. It is a high volume pump with a removeable tin top. The bottom section is the same as the regular pumps.

Played in the dirt today. The goal was to loosen the paddock so that it would dry quicker. Looking promising so far and had a BUNCH of fun ofcourse.

Definitely has some piston wash, caused by oil getting past the rings. Full carbon cover on the piston indicates little to no cylinder leakage. The white carbon over the exhaust could be from a lean or hot condition. The gen 4 head having the spark plug directly over the exhaust valve, could be a contributing factor as well. With this head the cylinder heat gets concentrated over the exhaust valve. Moving the plug over the exhaust valve helped to detour flooding issues on start up. It is also of benefit if you run your engine over 4000RPMs. Not this is a factor with a stock engine, but a benefit on a modified engine.

Sounds like a patternmaker's lathe. I was given one of those too, Incomplete because it was originally run by foot powered treadle - I rigged up a stand for it and put in a 230v 3/4 HP motor with a VFD controller, to make small brass or aluminum parts.. This is the only pic I have of it - With the lathe I do more of boxes and bowls (my old one was a cheapo Harbor Freight lathe which I used on all of the following:) A simple bowl: This one is a 6-point bowl/dish I did.. And lastly, a valentine's day gift I turned out of a slab of walnut with ash wood base, for my sweetheart:

Jeesh, what a beast! Put me down for two. I gotta make room first, I do not want it sitting outside!

I love me a good stack!

I think you should just donate that beautiful Black Hood to me... I'll give it a good home away from cannibals that want to sacrifice it for an old C-101...

Mike that tractor looks better than just about anything I've started with. Nice save! As has already been suggested- run it!

SOLD If anyone is interested in an RJ58 project, I could bring Wally. I will probably not have the time or desire to complete this one. You can see the disassembly here. This Just Showed UP at My Back Door. - Wheel Horse Tractors - RedSquare Wheel Horse Forume. It is totally broke down in parts. I have not opened the transmission, but it functions freely in all gears and does not appear to have any water inside. It will need seals and axle bearings. The engine is not correct. It is a Briggs turns free. Fenders are excellent. Hood has not been cut, but does have a bump in the left front and some extra 1/4 " holes where a tool box was attached. The under seat too box is good and the seat may not be correct. Jim @oliver2-44 may want the seat. SOLD The deck shell looks good but spindles are locked. I have not opened the gears or attempted to free it up. Rear wheels are good, fronts are junk. I'm looking for $250 SOLD for everything or if no one is interested, I will part it out. PM me if you want detailed pics and price of a part.

Hello All! Yet another time I didn't sleep, however, productive. Power goes out before midnight, therefore my much needed fan is no longer making background noise and I know for a fact that coffee will be required soon (not for my purposes but safety. I say safety because for whatever reason, Folgers is the only elixir that staves off my fiance's Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde personality before she goes to work). Thank goodness for a Stanley thermos for holding a pot of coffee! So at 3 AM, liquid sanity is poured and life is not so bad, and I have an 'atta boy's in my favor. I now know my phone won't be melting from angry texts of how bad waking up was. At 4 AM and no power yet, I leave, pull the C125 out and remove the little deck ( not going to cut off chute) and install the 48 inch. After sharpening blades, greasing spindles, I wait for sunrise. Definitely worth the effort of servicing. Mowed 3 acres with no problems. Can't believe how even this cuts and comfortable to run. Love the Kohler exhaust thump at idle. Someone should make that a download for relaxing. Possibly between the distant thunderstorm and rain on a tin roof sounds ( cut me in for 2% legacy fee please). Lol 😅. Anyways, I have to know why it is that anytime I am by a busy road, the only time people stop and ask if I would sell a tractor is if a Wheel Horse is working. Had two men circling like vultures watching me. I'm about to put Not For Sale signs on the back so people get the clue. BTW, this guy got fed homemade ziti and butter bread for dinner since there was coffee this morning 🌞, wonder what she wants me to buy and if it requires a passport 😜

I paid $50 each for 15 used sliding doors from a nursing home that was changing a large sun room to private rooms. Built this sun room on the rear of my house and made a profit on the 10 that were left over.

Mice seem to like magnum coil wires. 2 years ago at our steam show there was a 10 yr. old kid on a beat to snot 312 bombing back and forth. Parks it across the way from my canopy and goes to eat. Comes back and it won't start. Wears down the battery. Now it starts to rain He askes if he can leave it under my canopy for the day. I print off a wiring diagram and the next day I check out his electrical system. I tell him he needs to take the engine tin off. After lunch he shows up with a tool box and tears off the shroud. Old mouse nest falls out and that coil wire is held on by a thread. How it ran the day before I'll never know. He got lucky and found a vendor at the show who sold him a coil for $20 and he got it running again. He was back at the show last year bombing around on that same tractor.

Spindles are out. Clamped the axle in a big vise and twisted the spindles with a 36" pipe wrench. All looks good. Also got the steering shaft and the fuel tank out.

Came with a few things…

Very nice tractor. Such an excellent find. Love the story too. And your above paragraph.... I have very few rules regulations and requirements for my existence with BBT. She does very specifically request that I make coffee every night for the following morning. In the nearly 9 years we've been together I've only forgotten or been sidelined a few times. Her rule is "no coffee, no talkie"

Twofer here. 1971 Bronco 14 with a 1975 C160 Automatic in the background.

@Sarthurs01 and @ClassicTractorProfessor Congratulations guys. You are winners. Please pm me and we’ll get the ball rolling. Thanks again for being here , Richie