July 20,1950

TO ALL CROSLEY DISTRIBUTORS AND DEALERS:

On several occasions we have mentioned a new combination farm and road vehicle which we call the FarmOroad. Here at last is the machine people have been longing for and wishing for- as a tractor, a powerful work horse for farming, plowing, cultivation, mowing, and so forth--a fast economical vehicle for road trips--a rugged truck for hauling and towing--a mobile power plant for sawing wood, spraying, etc., all combined in one lightweight, low-cost machine. That is the Crosley FarmOroad.

It’s ideal for the “city farmer.” The regularly employed man who spends his spare time and weekends farming will find that the Crosley FarmOroad suits his needs perfectly. For it has the power, the ruggedness, the versatility to perform a complex variety of farming jobs. Also, the Crosley FarmOroad provides an additional car for business or passenger service, plumbers, service technicians, merchants, landscape gardeners and others who live in the country will find a Crosley FarmOroad a triple-purpose car--for farming, for business, for the family.

It’s ideal for the country place. This amazing vehicle eliminates the need for the many machines now required for the up-keep and maintenance of large lawns and grounds. Besides moving, the owner or caretaker can find many, many other uses for the FarmOroad--hauling, clearing snow from driveways, as well as plowing and cultivating a vegetable garden, spraying trees, sawing wood, etc., and the Crosley FarmOroad provides an extra road car or truck.

It’s ideal for big farms and ranches. The larger the operation, the more jobs there are for the FarmOroad to do. It does the extra jobs--pulling, towing, mowing and hauling--allowing the heavier machines to do the heavy work. Where an extra tractor is needed for lighter field work and odd jobs around the house, the Crosley FarmOroad “goes to town.”

It’s ideal for truck gardens, groves and small farms. The man who makes a living from the soil will discover that the Crosley FarmOroad is “tailor-made” for his needs. In addition to being lighter and more maneuverable than any comparable vehicle on the market, its economical first cost is only equaled. by its economical operating cost in field or road work.

It’s ideal for factories, warehouses, airports, railroad and ship loading docks. The rugged. maneuverability and. multiple gear ratios of the Crosley FarmOroad make it especially valuable for inside or outside use as a truck, tractor or for messenger service.

The Crosley FarmOroad replaces the man-killing hand-operated garden tractors and the smaller practical field riding-tractors. It easily does all the work of the hard-to-handle walking tractors and many of the jobs of the ground-packing heavier vehicles. It’s designed to do big jobs on small farms-- and smaller jobs on big farms. It does every job for which it is built...fast... thoroughly... inexpensively.

The Crosley FarmOroad may be equipped, at modest cost, with built-in hydraulically controlled drawbars to which a variety of farm implements may be attached. These implements may then be raised or lowered as desired with the touch-controlled hydraulic lift. Also, the Crosley FarmOroad can travel over fields or roads with implements attached, thus moving vehicle and equipment quickly from place to place. Think of the value of this feature from the sales point-of-view. At speeds up to sixty miles per hour you can take a plow, mower or other equipment out to the prospect’s land and put on a demonstration. A salesman can go into an area of country places or farms, small or large, and actually “ring doorbells” to create interest and demonstrate to the prospect on his own home place. Compare this with the necessity of loading a tractor and implements into a truck and the necessity of unloading and setting up the equipment before a demonstration can be made.

The Crosley FarmOroad goes to town in a hurry, for it is powered by the famous Crosley 26.5 HP cast iron block engine. Because of its six forward gear ratios, there is plenty of reserve power, too, for steep hills, and for pulling hay wagons, live stock trailers and other similar loads.

Even when roads and fields are muddy, “it goes to town.” Because of its light weight, the Crosley FarmOroad will travel over muddy fields and roads that would be impassable to heavier tractors and cars, especially when using dual rear wheels with the geared-power tires.

Basically the FarmOroad incorporates the four cylinder cast iron block Crosley motor, the new over-sized Rockford clutch, the standard Warner gear transmission and four nine inch Lockheed-Bendix hydraulic brakes. An auxiliary transmission unit follows the main transmission, with the shifting lever permitting direct drive through this unit or four-to-one reduction to the rear axle. From this unit comes the shaft which provides for front and rear power take-off for the operation of saws, sickle-bar mower, spray pumps, etc.

Through Hotchkiss drive with double universal joints the power is taken from the auxiliary transmission to a new heavy-duty Spicer rear axle which drives the rear wheels selectively six speeds forward and two reverse.

The FarmOroad is equipped with the new and novel hand brake which permits the locking of either rear wheel independently of the other rear wheel or it can be used as a conventional type of emergency and self-locking parking brake operating on both rear wheels simultaneously.

The ability to lock either one of the rear wheels separately and independently permits shorter turns in field operation of the vehicle and also is of great assistance in getting out of mud holes where one wheels is inclined to spin, because of differential action. By locking the spinning wheel with this selective hand brake, all the power is thrown into the other wheel to pull the vehicle out of the mud. This feature can, in many instances, be more valuable than four-wheel drive and in combination with dual rear wheels and light flotation, enables the FarmOroad to go most any place that any wheeled vehicle can navigate.

The FarmOroad is equipped with Goodyear-Crosley all-purpose non-directional tread tires all around. These tires have special ground-gripping characteristics for heavy pulling in soft going and at the same time provide a quiet long-wearing, highway-engaging surface.

The wheelbase of this vehicle is sixty-three inches; an entirely new extra-heavy rugged frame is connected to the axles with four semi-elliptical springs and Delco strut-type hydraulic shock absorbers. Standard equipment on the FarmOroad includes a two-passenger body with two seats and all of an attractive functional design. This body is equipped with lay down safety plate glass windshield, with one vacuum-type windshield wiper. A second wiper is optional equipment. The car is equipped with standard Crosley headlights, directional lights, parking lights, and stop light.

This vehicle, as described, is known as the FOR-1. In this form it is suitable for road work or use as a tractor. A pintle connection which may be attached to the center of the rear cross member of the frame is available as optional equipment from the factory for hooking it up to pull or horse-drawn types of farm implements such as mowers, rakes, planters, seeders, spike harrows, discs, etc. Or the FOR-1 can be used for pulling trailers, hay wagons, manure spreaders on the farm, wagons or trailers on the highway. The FOR-1 is ideal for factory, warehouse, airport, railroad and ship loading docks, for pulling trailer loads, parts, material, freight, baggage, etc. The factory list price of the FOR-1 is $795

In the beginning at least, all FarmOroads leaving the factory will be equipped with hydraulically-operated rear drawbar for raising, lowering and conveying various rear mounted farm implements and it is actuated by means of cross shaft with arms and connections. This rear cross shaft is, in turn, operated by an hydraulic cylinder. The hydraulic pump is forward of the crank shaft and the control valve is conveniently located near the operator’s right hand for raising and lowering same. They will also be equipped with rear and front power take-off operated from a shaft coming out of the auxiliary transmission unit giving three speeds forward and one reverse.

The FarmOroad with such hydraulic equipment and power take-off equipment will be known as the FOR and will carry a factory list price of $939.

At the time of writing this letter we have not yet been advised by the Bureau of Internal Revenue as to the exact status of the FarmOroad-whether it will be classified as an out-and-out tractor, which we think it should be, carrying no excise tax, or whether it will be classified as a truck carrying a five percent tax. We cannot conceive of its being classified as a passenger vehicle carrying a seven percent tax, although it is possible that an added rear seat, as an accessory, might be so taxed on the basis of seven percent for the seat alone.

BODIES AND TOPS: We have available a short, quickly detached body extending from the main front body to the rear of the frame and fastened in place with quickly detachable hood latches. This we call the Pick-up Body. It will carry a list price of $25 FOB Marion, Indiana. Inasmuch as this body does not overhang the back of the frame it can either be removed to make way for the rear mounted farm implements, or it can be left on the chassis and all of the rear mounted implements may be attached and operated with this Pick-up body in place. It can be used for carrying tools, extra gasoline, or even an extra farm implement to and from a job, or it can be used when going to town to carry such things as milk cans, feed sacks, etc.

A top is available which covers the two front seats and the pick-up body. Weather tight doors and side door curtains zipper into place and a rear curtain buttons into place to complete the top assembly. The necessary bows are supplied with the top. The list price is $75.00 FOB Marion,, Indiana.

The second body type we call the Hydraulic Lift Dump Body, which is supplied complete with necessary attaching means for holding the body under the chassis and also for connecting up the hydraulic equipment. This body hinges at the rear and locks firmly to the chassis until such time as it is desired to dump the load when the strong substantial latches are opened to permit the load to be dumped. Due to the overhang of this body it should be removed for use with the rear mounted farm implements. This can be done in less than ten minutes. The list price of this body, is $37.50 FOB Marion, Indiana.

A cross seat is available as an accessory for the dump body. This seat will carry up to three additional passengers. Access to this seat is by tipping forward either of the front seats. The list price of this seat is $28.00 FOB Marion, Indiana. it is provided with the necessary fittings for installation.

A top is available also for the vehicle when equipped with the dump body. It is the same as the top for the pick-up body, excepting that it is 14.5 inches longer. The side and rear curtains and bows are interchangeable for both tops. when both body tops are ordered, a deduction will be made for the duplicated side and rear curtains. The list price on the top for the dump body is $90 FOB Marion, Indiana, from which may be deducted the amount of the side and rear curtains to avoid duplication. The list on the rear and side curtains alone as duplicate items is $19.50 FOB Marion, Indiana.

Pick-up body: Inside width - 47 3/4 inches
Length - 21 1/2 inches



Dump body: Inside width - 48 inches
Length - 36 inches

Either of the above mentioned bodies serve a dual purpose. They are not only for carrying passengers or useful loads, but also provide the mud guards for the rear wheels, and one body or the other is really a necessity for safe road use on rainy days. The FarmOroad, of course, can be used without any rear body for most farm operations such as plowing and mowing without the need of rear mud guards.

DUAL WHEELS: Standard equipment on the FarmOroad consists of four Crosley all—purpose special non—directional tires, 4.50 X 12. Where extra traction is needed for on the farm use, such as plowing or other heavy field, farm, road or cross country work, dual wheels are recommended. The addition of two rear wheels provides flotation and distributes the weight over more ground and prevents the rear tires from slipping and sinking into the mud under most conditions. We recommend that the additional individual rear wheels be equipped with Sure Grip agricultural type of tires, 5 X 12. They may be quickly attached or detached by means of four cap screws. Adapter studs are supplied with each wheel. The agricultural type tires should not be used on the highway because they are not suited to stand wear at high speeds. Their slightly larger size would make them take all of the wear for road use. They should be removed before going to town. The list price on the dual wheels and tires is $46 per set FOB Marion, Indiana.

IMPLEMENTS: In designing and developing a line of implements for the FarmOroad we followed a plan of making available the most important or most used implements first. In developing the implements for this vehicle we have made no effort to build them in order to do the greatest amount of work possible under the most ideal conditions. However, we have undertaken not to overload the vehicle for the capacity of the FarmOroad under the worst conditions.

PLOW: It has been designed to work readily, cleanly and smoothly under the toughest soil conditions that we know, namely, wet clay and blue grass and alfalfa sod. You would be surprised to see the pulling qualities of the FarmOroad with this husky ten inch plow in such sod as there is here in February. The list price of the ten inch plow is $25 in Marion, Indiana. The plow is ready to attach to the drawbar with two bolts; installation time is two minutes or less. Beam of the plow is supplied with welded on fittings adjustable for a rolling coulter. A coulter is of advantage in plowing sod ground.

ROLLING COULTER: To be attached to be used with standard Crosley ten inch plow. This coulter may be quickly attached to the plow beam by means of welded on fittings supplied with the plow. Price is under $10 and will be announced in the near future.

DISC HARROW: This forty-five inch unit, divided into two sections of five twelve inch disc blades, provides adjustment of the two sections for depth of cut and soil movement. The necessary frame for attaching to the hydraulic lift drawbar is equipped with pan which will hold one or two concrete blocks or other weighing-down materials. The attaching mechanism not only permits complete lift out of the ground for transportation to and from the job but it also floats freely when in the ground-engaging position List price on the disc harrow complete is $75 FOB Marion, Indiana. It will be in production and available for delivery in about two weeks.

CROSLEY CULTIVATOR: This cultivator consists of a fifty-one inch frame to be connected to the hydraulic lift drawbar in about two minutes for raising and lowering the unit. The frame is universal in its design so that the cultivator steels with their standards and clamps can be adjusted to cultivate one or more rows to fit the crop and row width requirements. The cultivator frame carries a list price of $15 FOB Marion, Indiana. We have available a set of eight steels, standards and clamps at a retail list of $25 FOB Marion, Indiana, and we can supply plant protector shields, consisting of a standard, a clamp and a sheet of steel, to protect the young plants, such as corn on the first cultivation, the price on these shields is $4 a pair FOB Marion, Indiana.

REEL-TYPE MOWER: The Crosley reel-type mower consists of three twenty-two inch rugged reel-type mowers designed for power operations by a leading mower manufacturer. This mower cuts a swath sixty-two inches wide and the three mower units may be lifted clear of the ground by means of the hydraulic draw-bar in order that the complete mower unit can be carried to and from the job with plenty of road clearance. The reels have five extra heavy high quality steel blades and are mounted in self-adjusting Timken bearings. The wheels which have air cushion tires, are mounted on ball bearings. The hitching mechanism, of special Crosley design, may be connected to the drawbar in about two minutes. This type of mower is useful on large lawns, golf courses, cemeteries and large estates. List price is $167.50 FOB Marion, Indiana. The reel-type mower is in stock and available for immediate shipment.

CROSLEY CUTTER BAR MOWER: This mower is of special Crosley design. Its short Pitman arm provides positive registry of the cutter bar blades with the guards. The cutter bar and blade are of standard make, as that generally used on mowers. The simple rugged operating mechanism and frame is of unique Crosley design. This mower may be quickly attached or detached from the FarmOroad in about ten minutes. A great deal of testing has been done in the very heaviest type of blue grass meadow. Dual belts are provided in order to give ample power to the cutting of the toughest type of meadow. Of course, the sickle bar is operated from the power take-off through suitable pulleys and dual belts. The cutter bar mows a swath of four feet. Later it is contemplated producing this mower with a five foot cutter bar if desired, at a slight additional cost. This mower is provided with an automatic “brake-back’ safety feature so that if the cutter bar strikes a concealed stump or other obstacle it will snap back to prevent breakage of the parts and also can be quickly returned to normal operating position. The outer end of the cutter bar can be quickly raised to a height of about three feet by means of the hydraulic lift. At the same time the mower end of the cutter bar raises to a height of about eighteen inches in order to clear obstacles. The cutter bar can be raised manually to a vertical position when desired for road transportation, with the lower end raised well in the clear for transportation to and from the job. When the cutter bar is lowered to the ground it can float downward or upward to an angle of forty-five degrees or more and still operate for ditching and hillside trimming and the like. In fact, the blade is operable in an absolutely vertical position. The cutter bar is, of course, adjustable from two inches to eight inches by means of the adjustable skid units under the blade; this wide range of two to eight inches is so that it can be used for lawns or for clipping weeds in pastures. The Crosley sickle bar mower is now in production and probably available in about two weeks from this date. The final price has not been determined but will be in line.

HAY RAKE: The sixty inch hay rake has been designed for attaching to the drawbar with two bolts-—installation time is about four minutes. The tines are made of high carbon steel, heat treated, and there are four sturdy thills attached to the strong frame of the rake. These thills or cleaner-teeth prevent the raked hay from balling and tripping the rake prematurely and assure
that all of the raked hay is dumped. The hay rake can be raised off the ground by means of the hydraulic lift drawbar for transporting to and from the job. When the hay rake is in operation, it can easily be tripped manually at the windrows by means of a knotted rope; Delivery of the hay rake will be approximately two weeks from date, and it will be priced at a list of under $50.

ROW CROP SEEDERS: We will have available S.L. Allen seeders. One or two seeders can be connected to our universal cultivator frame so that two parallel rows can be planted simultaneously with a maximum space of forty-four inches and a minimum space of twelve inches between rows. Three seeders can be put on the universal cultivator frame, seeding three rows twenty-two inches apart. Prices and full descriptions of these units will be forwarded to you in the near future.

FERTILIZER UNIT: We have adapted the S.L. Allen power driven fertilizer unit so that it can be used in connection with the seeder to fertilize one or two rows and put the fertilizer properly into the seeding furrow simultaneously with the seeding operation. This fertilizer unit mounts on our universal cultivator frame and will be driven by means of a sprocket and chain from the left hand rear wheel of the vehicle. Full descriptions and prices will follow later.

ROW GUIDE: A row guide is available which is mounted on the left inside of the front bumper by two “U” bolts. This guide can be extended to the left to be in full view of the operator up to fifty inches from the center of the vehicle. List price of the row guide is $1.25 FOB Marion, Indiana.

GOVERNOR: Velocity type of governor will be available although not absolutely necessary excepting for where continuous work at constant speed for long periods is desired and for belt work such as grinding and sawing. As an accessory it is installed between the carburetor and the intake manifold. Price and delivery date will be available in the near future.

HAND THROTTLE: A hand throttle can frequently be used in place of a governor in order to maintain constant speed operation. This will be available as an accessory in the near future at a cost of about $3. It can readily be installed in the field.

ENGINE RADIATOR SCREEN: For use in mowing tall grass and weeds and other operations under very dirty and bug infested conditions, a radiator screen is available. This quickly snaps on to the radiator and is held in place with coil springs. Price information will be sent to you in the near future.

SPRING BLOCKS: When the FarmOroad is used for plowing, mowing or any other farm work it is necessary to block out the spring action. Such blocks are installed at the factory at an extra charge. These blocks are so designed that they may be quickly snapped out of the way so that full spring and shock absorber action is available on all four wheels for road use, giving the FarmOroad excellent riding qualities. The list price on the spring blocks is $6 FOB Marion, Indiana, for the four required. They are now available.

Publicity releases and pictures are being released from New York but these, naturally, will not reach all newspapers. This announcement brochure includes actual photographs and we suggest to our distributors and dealers that this brochure be shown to your local newspaper or newspapers. You will find several sheets which have captions that can easily be fitted to the>photographs, your local newspaper can select what pictures they would like to use in connection with their story. If you have an advertising agency, which every dealer in any sizable city should have, they can help you with this story for your local papers. You can lend the newspaper the pictures that they can use and have them returned to you for your brochure. If you would like to have additional copies of this brochure we can supply them to you complete with pictures. They will be available at a cost of $3 each which can be applied against your cooperative advertising account. However, these brochures will be available only in limited quantities.

Posters, literature and sales helps on the FarmOroad are at the printers now and will be released to you at the earliest possible date. Crosley FarmOroads can be shipped in combination with cars in truckloads and/or carloads, or they may be driven away. Our production will be governed by your orders on a first-in, first-filled basis. Prices, discounts and order blanks will be sent to you in another letter.

Specification Sheet for Crosley FarmOroad

ENGINE SPECIFICATIONS

Crosley 26.5 HP cast iron block engine with overhead valves, overhead camshaft, incorporating high efficiency and economy.

Clutch: Oversize Rockford

Transmission: Three speed and reverse Warner Gear

Auxiliary: Selective direct drive or four to one reduction gear with power take-off

Rear Axle: Heavy duty Spicer

Ignition: Electric Auto—lite generator, starter and lighting equipment - headlights with dimmer switch, parking and directional lights.

Hydraulic equipment consisting of pump, valve and actuating cylinder-Pesco

Height with windshield up: 56.5 inches

Height with windshield down: 45 inches (to top of steering wheel)

Length: 91.5 inches

Width: 48 inches

Weight: 1100 pounds

Tread: 40 inches

Wheel base: 63 inches

Tires: Tires: All service tread

Tire size: Tire Size: 12 X 14


The following farm equipment will be available initially:

Ten inch hydraulic lift plow

Cultivator

Three-gang 22-inch reel-type mowers cut swath 62-inches wide

Four foot sickle bar mower

Disc-harrow with 10 discs each 12 inches in diameter