Ford 420 industrial information

Hi All
I picked up a nice Ford 420 industrial with the loader yesterday
from what little information I can find the tractor was only made a few years
My question is why didnt they make it any longer than a few years
was there something wrong with them
the tractor seems to be built pretty strong
It only has 1500 hours on it and we bought it from the original owner
Thanks for any information
 
According to my records, the 420 was made from 1975-1978,. It replaced the earlier 3550 and was replaced by the 445. The 420 is nearly identical to the earlier 3550 except for the upgraded electrical system with the alternator that all of the Fords got in 1975 when they came out with the x600 series tractors. The biggest difference from the 420 to the 445 that replaced it was that the 445 had fully hydraulic steering while the 420 had the same mechanical steering gear and linkage with power assist that the 3550 had. I assume that they changed to the 445 with the fully hydraulic steering out of customer demand or because they decided it was either better or cheaper for some reason, or both. There were no problems with the 420 that I am aware of, they just moved on to newer steering technology and changed to a new model number for essentially the same tractor with the newer steering setup.
 

I hear this model is catching on in Washington State too.
That would be ironic to have someone now using a Ford 420 tractor to plant their now legal crop.

Did the 420 come with a 3pt hitch? or option for one?
Most of the pictures I can find have a backhoe on it like my 3400 is. I have a PTO but no 3pt hitch.
 
According the parts diagrams, the 420 could have a 3 point lift and/or a PTO, depending on the options chosen and paid for when delivered I suppose. It looks like the power reverser/torque converter trans did not have a PTO option, but the 8 speed crash box and the manual reverser did.
 
(quoted from post at 23:29:55 08/22/14) This one has a 3pt hitch and a pto
6 forward gears and 4 reverse gears

That's the 6x4 manual reverser trans. So the model number stamped into the bell housing and on the sticker under the hood should be one of the ones listed below:

KD112K
KD122K
KD212K
KD222K

It would have the KD1 at the beginning if it was made between 1/75 and around 9/76 , and it would be KD2 if it was made after that, and the next digit would be a 1 if it has a diesel engine and a 2 if it has a gas engine.
 

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