TRACTOR TRIVIA and other interesting stuff 6/1/2024

[953 nut 55,242]

Speedex Tractors

Speedex Garden Tractors was one of the four garden tractor companies that can trace its success back to the Shaw Garden Tractor.

Harold Pond, along with his brother Elmer and brother in law, Glen Heilman all worked for Shaw Manufacturing of Galesburg, Kansas, a company which produced walk-behind garden tractors at the time. Elmer Pond and his son Cecil later formed the Wheel Horse Garden Tractor Company, Glen Heilman started Gard’n Mast’r, Bush Hog bought Shaw Industries and Harold Pond was assigned the territory of Ohio and Pennsylvania as Shaw’s sales representative. In 1935 he left Shaw to form the Pond Tractor Company, later called Speedex, in Ravenna, Ohio. Elmer and his son Cecil assembled and sold Speedex tractors in South Bend, IN, prior to beginning Wheel Horse.

Harold Pond’s Speedex walk-behind garden tractors were simple to operate and ruggedly built. Offered in two sizes, the hefty Model A came with a 6-horsepower engine and the smaller Model C with 1 ½ or 2 horsepower. Early models came with steel wheels and in 1939 rubber tires were offered.

In 1936 work began on a new design that was about to revolutionize the garden tractor industry, a four wheeled riding garden tractor. This new mechanical wonder called the Model B was introduced to the world in 1938. It had lever steering, steel wheels, Briggs & Stratton Model ZZ five horsepower air cooled engine, a Ford model A transmission, and Ford model T rear axle. By 1940 it was sold with rubber tires. The model B remained in production until 1948 with few changes.

During World War Two many non-defense manufacturers had great difficulty obtaining materials and supplies. The Speedex continued to build the Model “B” in limited production with strong demand from people maintaining “Victory Gardens.”

Seeing a need for a larger garden tractor Pond developed a Model FG (Farm and Garden) tractor in 1942. The Model FG was a purpose-built smaller version of a doodlebug in many respects. It used a Ford Model A Four-cylinder engine, a Ford Model A Transmission and a modified Ford Model T rear axle. They even had the bright chromed Ford Radiator shell.

In 1948 Ford Motor Company was no longer producing replacement engines and transmissions for the Mode A Ford so Pond developed their own line of transmissions and rear axles for his tractors. A new “M” series tractor was introduced which more closely resembled the “B” series but now had all Pond drivetrain components rather than Ford.

Harold Pond sold the Speedex Tractor Company in 1957 and returned to Galesburg, KS. He may have returned to Shaw Industries but there is no definitive information on that.

New owners Maury Foote and Jerry Stowe designed a facelift for the Speedex with an attractive steel hood and made it more user friendly by adding a steering wheel replacing the lever steering. The S-Series line of Speedex Tractors would become the most widely sold models of the Speedex Company. They had an interesting way of designating their model numbers, the number had nothing to do with horsepower, the Brigs & Stratton engine model number became the tractor model number. Horsepower ratings varied from 6 to 14. Early models had a “slide clutch” where the engine would slide forward to tension the drive belt.

The first S-Series tractors were produced in 1959 and would be continued until 1974 when a numbering system was adopted. These tractors incorporated the transmission and axle designs that Harold Pond developed for the Model M. Also, Pond’s full line of accessories had been developed and was carried over to the S-Series. The Model S-18 and S-19 used Peerless four speed transmissions. Production of the S-Series reached approximately 1000 units per year and remained stable until the company was sold in 1969.

New owners, General Combustion Company, increased sales to over 1500 units per year. They developed the first fully floating mower deck and as the years progressed, an improved frame and new model lines would be introduced. They were the first American company to produce a diesel engine garden tractor, the Model 832 had a single cylinder engine, hydraulic lift and Cat. 0 three point hitch.

In an effort to broaden the market for Speedex products Eagle Tractor Company merged with Speedex and offered a line of riding lawn tractors including the Eagle and Falcon. These were your basic Big Box store mowers with plastic body panels.

Production of Speedex tractors continued in the Ravenna, Ohio facility until 1994.

In 1997, Speedex Tractor Company was acquired by Trans Tech International in Bolivar, Ohio. The last USA Made Speedex tractor was made in 1999 when the Speedex Tractor company introduced the Model 2032. Only a handful of 2032's were ever produced. The Speedex Tractor company is still in existence but, tractors are no longer in production.

Speedex Mink Feeder