When discussing the most influential forces in American industry, most readers are familiar with the likes of Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, Harvey Firestone, Andrew Carnegie, John Rockefeller, Samuel Morse and Harry Ferguson, to name just a few. One name, just as important, that you probably haven’t heard of is Raymond Loewy. Even though he wasn’t an inventor or major industrialists, his influence over almost every aspect of manufacturing was immense. His gift was that of vision and creative design. His ability to sell his ideas would change the way things looked around the world. INDUSTRIAL DESIGNER RAYMOND LOEWY Raymond was born in Paris in 1893, the son of a Jewish father and Catholic mother. As a young boy, he loved art and constantly sketched everything from locomotives, automobiles, planes and boats. As a young man, he served four years in the French army during World War I. Returning home, he found that both his parents had died of the Spanish flu, which killed millions worldwide. He was left with no inheritance and a bleak future. He decided that his fortune lay across the ocean in the United States and with the last of his money, booked a passage to New York, where he planned to apply for a job as an engineer with General Electric. However, it was his sketch book that caught the most attention. His vision of everything from appliances and locomotives to cars was sleek, stylish and modern. His vision was that of Industrial Designer, a new concept to most Americans. Loewy wrote, “The country was flooded with refrigerators on spindly legs and topped by towering tanks. Typewriters were enormous and sinister looking.” His core belief was, “Between two products equal in price, function and quality, the better looking product will outsell the other.” Simply stated, it was form over function. Through the late 1930’s Loewy had landed design contracts with Sears and Roebuck, Westinghouse, Pennsylvania Railroad and Studebaker to name just a few. Lowey was amazingly prolific. Just a few of his designs over a long career included: the Boeing 307 Stratoliner, Schick electric razors, International Harvester Metro Van, Lincoln Continentals, the design for Air Force One, interior for Air France Concorde, the Exxon and Royal Dutch Shell logo, the Sunbeam Alpine sports car, John F. Kennedy stamp and in 1958, the Cockshutt 500 Series tractors. (photo #1 and #2) JAMES DUNCAN PUSHES MASSEY-HARRIS INTO THE MODERN ERA Although Loewy never did any work directly for Massey-Harris, the overwhelming influence of his industrial designs were found everywhere. The idea of building a tractor based on the Loewy concept of form being just as important as function had been studied by a young man living and working in Paris, France. That young man, James Duncan, would eventually lead the Massey-Harris Company into the modern era. Born in Paris in 1893, he was exceedingly ambitious and joined the company at seventeen years of age in the Paris office. After working in France for several years, he was transferred to branches in Germany and then Argentina. In 1935, he was transferred from Argentina to Toronto, accepting the position of General Sales Manager. His roots were in the implement business but he had acquired the deportment of a well-traveled gentleman who spoke several languages and understood the cultures and customs of the different countries where he had previously worked. He never forgot his fascination with the industrial designs of Raymond Loewy and began his search for a way to incorporate the sweeping lines into a new, modern model of farm tractor. However, the first challenge he faced was dealing with the current Massey-Harris General Manager, B.W. Burtsell. It was the middle of the Great Depression and Burtsell was intent on downsizing the company by shuttering the extensive operations in the United States and many of the European branches and factories as well. Duncan argued that the worst of the depression was over and closing the company’s foreign holdings would destroy the company. Duncan told the Board of Directors that he would guarantee losses for 1936 would be less than $250,000–chump change by today’s standards. Duncan was proven correct and promoted to General Manager–Burtsell resigned. (#16, new scans) THE 1938 MODEL 101 SETS NEW STANDARDS Duncan traveled to Racine, Wisconsin and hired new members for the engineering staff, explaining to them the Loewy concept of industrial. This revolutionary new tractor not only had to look smooth and modern but had to sound different that most machines on the market. One group of engineers began developing design sketches of what this new tractor would look like. The other group started work on adapting the L-head Chrysler six-cylinder engine for tractor specifications. The Oliver Corporation was having great success with a six-cylinder engine of their own design in the Model 70. However, Massey-Harris did not have the time or money to begin research and development of their own in-house built engine. So, an engine of proven reliability and availability was agreed upon. THE CHRYSLER 201cid 6-CYLINDER ENGINE The choice of the Chrysler built engine was a wise move by James Duncan and his engineering staff. This is the same engine that was used in thousands on Dodge trucks, which meant that parts were available at Dodge dealerships throughout Canada and United States. Dodge trucks had come standard with electric starting for years, which meant that the Model 101, would also feature electric start engines at no extra charge–a first for any major tractor manufacturer. The new engine literally purred, had a bore and stroke of 3.125 x 4.375 inches and ample lugging power even at half the engine speeds when it was used in truck application. Careful examination of the engine block will reveal a letter stamped into the casting: “P” which stood for passenger car, “I” meaning industrial and “T” indicating truck. (#14) Regardless of these different designations, all three engines were almost identical. The one significant difference was the engine marked “industrial”. It used sodium filled engine valves and hardened valve seats. Pennsylvania resident, Barry Hall, who is very knowledgeable about Chrysler engines, explained that the valves were drilled out and filled with sodium powder, which help dissipate the heat. This is why many of the industrial engines were incorporated into constant use, stationary applications, such as running pumps or powering generators. The Chrysler 201 ci engine used a drop-forged crankshaft made of high carbon steel. The engine is “balanced” by using seven counter-weights, which offsets the loads from the six pistons and the connecting rods. The pistons made from a ultra-modern light weight aluminum alloy. The exhaust valves are silichrome and provided with specially hardened seats. The compression ratio is 6.7 – 1 and designed to operate on 68-70 octane–leaded–gasoline. The crankcase capacity is five quarts of oil under 35-40 pounds of pressure. NEBRASKA TEST RESULTS Tested on September 9-30, 1938, the tractor did extremely well. The Chrysler 201 ci engines produced 70 hp @3600 rpm in a car application. Operation in third gear in the maximum drawbar test, on rubber tires, the tractor developed 31.50 hp. In the two-hour maximum load belt test, the same tractor, operating at 1500 rpm produced 35.40 hp. Then with the tractor in the “Twin-Power” position, which ran the engine up to 1,800 rpm, the tractor developed 40.64 hp. These rating were greater that what the company had been advertising, which allowed dealers to brag to potential customers that the Massey-Harris 101 was actually under-rated and had more power than advertised. But, an even more impressive result came from these tests. The tractor went on the set a new record for fuel economy, using regular gasoline. In the one-hour maximum load test on the belt, the tractor required only 0.521 pounds of regular gasoline for each horsepower-hour. This established a new record for spark ignition tractors. The Model 101 delivered 2-3 plow power on the drawbar and 3-4 plow power on the belt with the economy of a 2-plow tractor. (#11,12, 13) CHRYSLER ENGINE PROBLEMS There was one drawback to using a truck engine in a farm tractor application and that was low engine speeds. This Chrysler engine was designed to reach maximum horsepower at 3,600 rpm whereas the tractor was generally operated at around 1,500 rpm. This meant a constant strain on the engine when lugging power was needed at lower rpm’s. This often resulted in premature engine wear. Since the rest of the tractor was very durable, Massey-Harris offered a program of dealer installed replacement motors. There was even a program to retrofit larger displacement Chrysler motors in older tractors. Canadian dealers even offered a program to refit a Chrysler T-120 engine, with 250 ci displacement into a Model 101 tractor. This was mentioned in a 1948 Farmer’s Handy Catalogue from 1948. (replacement motors) (#15) THE TWIN POWER FEATURE The Twin Power feature on the Model 101, gave a drawbar engine speed of 1,500 rpm and a belt speed of 1,800 rpm. This meant that the tractor, in fourth gear, had a road speed of almost 20 mph–unheard of in 1938. Even though that was about one half the engine speed when used in the Dodge trucks, there was more than enough torque to get the job done. I have heard stories of farmers who would hook a piece of string to the governor arm. When the string was pulled back in fourth gear, the tractor had a stunning road speed of almost 35 mph! A somewhat dangerous undertaking! The Massey-Harris 101 also came with an impressive array of standard features which included: muffler, battery, battery ignition, electric starter, instrument panel with three gauges–ammeter, oil pressure and water temperature–thermostat, full fenders, operators platform, fiber-faced belt pulley, swinging drawbar and adjustable tread width on Row Crop wheels. AN OFF-THE-SHELF TRACTOR As stated earlier, time was of the essence in getting the Model 101 into production. The clouds of World War II were gathering in Europe and there was the possibility of being pressed into war production. So everything from engines to fenders were purchased from other manufacturers. This had mixed results. On one hand, it saved huge amounts of capital that would usually have been expended on research and development of components. Plus, you could look at the track record of your suppliers reliability. Additionally, when bids for parts were let, your engineers could usually design the tractor around existing components, thus saving a lot of money. Plus, if supplies were limited or a particular part proved unsatisfactory, a new supplier was used. The flip side was the fact that the final cost of the tractor was usually higher than a machine that was built totally in house. For example, Henry Ford’s 9N tractor, introduced in 1939, sold for $585 including rubber tires, power take-off, Ferguson System hydraulics, an electric starter, generator and battery. Almost every component on the N-Series tractor was built by the Ford Motor Company. The 4-cylinder engine used was actually half of a Mercury V-8 and the tires were manufactured by Henry Ford’s good friend, Harvey Firestone. As you can see, from the accompanying images and chart, parts for this new tractor came from all over the United States. Some of the companies were small and some were affiliates of larger corporations such as General Motors and United States Steel. Regardless of size, all of these different companies produced a quality component that resulted in a finished machine that would last for decades. In essence, we have a Canadian company, producing a high quality tractor with all American made parts and labor! Duncan had staked his future on the introduction of the new Model 101 and it paid off. He hired Lester Píost–a student of Raymond Loewy designs–and appointed him Chief Tractor Engineer. Lester was tasked with designing a new tractor that would set high standards for both visual appeal and durability. The designs Duncan approved resulted in a hard-working and reliable tractor whose looks were years ahead of most other tractor manufacturers. Many years ago, I was visiting with Massey-Harris Field Test legend Leeroy Gordon–at my kitchen table–when the topic of the Model 101 came up. He remembered–when he first started with the company–seeing some pencil sketches of the proposed Model 101 designs and wondering to himself if farmers would embrace such a modern looking machine. I guess the answer was “yes”! In 1958, the Cockshutt Company introduced their 500 Series tractors that were designed by Raymond Loewy himself. They were streamlined and very efficient, however, this was twenty years after Massey-Harris unveiled their 101 Series. What would a serious collector pay for those original pencil sketches? The personal success of James Duncan continued and in 1940, after the death of the company’s ninth president, Thomas Russell, Duncan was promoted from General Manager to President of the Massey-Harris Company. Duncan would not only continue to push the company’s profitability but it was he would oversee the acquisition of Harry Ferguson’s three-point hitch and other tractor designs and patients. (#17, new scans) The new Model 101 was made up of parts furnished by a wide range of companies. Every part was purchased from an independent supplier and then assembled at the Massey-Harris factory in Racine, Wisconsin. At this time, no tractors were produced in Canada. Notice that some of the same parts were produced by several different companies. This would explain why there are discrepancies on Massey-Harris tractors often within the same model range. Some of the major parts descriptions and their suppliers were as follows: Part Supplier Location 1. Bearings Timken (#3) Canton, Ohio Bearings Tyson (#20) Massillon, Ohio Bearings Marlin-Rockwell (#21) Jamestown, New York Bearings New Departure, General Motors (#23) Bristol, Connecticut Roller Bearings Hyatt, General Motors (#26) Harrison, New Jersey 2. Wheels French & Hecht (#6) Davenport, Iowa 3. Oil Bath Air Cleaners United Air Cleaners (#7) Chicago, Illinois (2 different ones used) Donaldson Air Cleaners 4. Paint Sherwin-Williams (#8) Cleveland, Ohio 5. Cast Frame Chicago Hardware & Foundry (#9) North Chicago, Illinois 6. Carburetor Marvel-Schebler (#10) Flint, Michigan 7. Engine Chrysler Corporation (#11) Detroit, Michigan 8. Starter and Generator Auto-Lite (#12) Toledo, Ohio Optional headlights 9. Steel Components & U.S.S. Carilloy Alloy Steels (#13) Chicago, Illinois Transmission gears 10. Bliss & Laughlin, Inc Cold Finished Steel (#14) Buffalo, New York 11. Flat Belt Pulley Rockwood Manufacturing (#15) Indianapolis, Indiana 12. Platform Plates Inland Steel Co (#16) Chicago, Illinois 13. Gears / Final Drives Perfection Gear Co (#17) Harvey, Illinois 14. Roller chain coupler Link-Belt Co (#18) Indianapolis, Indiana 15. Wheel Fenders Stolper Steel Products (#19) Milwaukee, Wisconsin 16. Gauges in Dash Rochester Gauges (#22) Rochester, New York 17. Woodruff Keys, Taper Pins John Gillen Company Cicero, Illinois 18. “U” Frame, Drop Forgings Davenport Besler Corp Davenport, Iowa THE 1938 MASSEY-HARRIS MODEL 101 The 1938 Model 101–which preceded the Model 101 Super introduced in 1939–was designed for manufacturing flexibility, allowing the tractor to evolve without having to go back to the drawing board for engineering upgrades. As better quality parts or different suppliers became available, changes could be incorporated. The 1938 Model 101, Twin-Power was released to dealers in the late summer of that year. As a result, it doesn’t appear in any of the 1938 dealer or retail price books. One would have to assume, the company simply sent supplemental price sheets to all of the dealers. However, the model is listed in the 1938 parts books. The Row Crop retailed for $1,135 and the Standard for $1,125, which included rubber tires. This wasn’t cheap even by 1938 standards. This price didn’t include optional power lift for $56, PTO extension for $15, lightening kit–less battery–for $16 and a deluxe seat with back for $8.15. The new model received rave reviews from many different publications. One which appeared in the July 23, 1938 issue of Implement & Tractor Magazine, posted this extremely positive evaluation. “With an appeal both in appearance and mechanical detail, the new Model 101 take its place as another notable Massey-Harris development in a long tractor linage of which the 4-cylinder Wallis Bear of 1902, the Wallis Cub of 1912, the Wallis Model J of 1915 and the Twin-Power Challenger of 1938 have been conspicuous landmarks.” Notice that this is one of the few times that I have seen the first Wallis tractor referred to as the ”Bear” in trade publications. Beginning in August of 1939, Massey-Harris conducted one of the most ambitious demonstration campaigns in the history of the industry. The goal was thirty per week in every branch house territory. Farmers stepped on the starter and the smooth six-cylinder engine roared to life as easily as the engine in their car. Farmers also bought into the argument that a self-starter would cut their fuel bills by at least 10%. Most let their engines idle when waiting between jobs because hand cranking was too much bother. THE TRACTOR BEGINS TO EVOLVE The changes to the 1938 model began to appear almost immediately. For the sake of clarity, I will use the term very early for serial #255001 through about #255015 for the Row Crop and #355001 to about #355012 for the Standard model. The term early, will apply to the first forty production models, serial # 355,001-355040 in the Standard and the first sixty production models # 255,001-256,060, in the Row Crop version. These serial numbers were obtained from the 1938 Massey-Harris Company Model 101 parts book. The changes were in some cases subtle and began almost immediately in the 1938 production year. Most noticeable, the very early models had four chrome strip on the front grille, subsequent models only had three. There also was four strips on each side of the side panels. Many collectors think that there were only a three-strip configuration, so we have included a view of the 1938 parts books book, which list a description and parts number, which should settle that issue. (#3 images of Grille parts) One of the most unusual features on the very early Row Crop models–first few tractors–was a braking assist mechanism that coupled the steering mechanism to the right or left wheel brake. When the steering wheel was turned hard to the right or left, a rod engaged the respective brake petal. This was marketed as an aid to cultivation, allowing the tractor to make a hard turn in its tracks and come right back on the next row. (#2 braking assist pedestal) On the very earliest models the front name plate was cast brass riveted to the grille support. A two-piece, cast iron name plate was used at approx. #219 for the Standard and #486 for the Row Crop. After that, a single piece, cast iron name plate was used. Both models had a small gear shift lever and an oil pressure gauge registering 50# instead of 75#. A 16” steering wheel which was standard equipment with a 17-¾” and 18” wheel available on the later models. (#4, 5) THE 1938 HOOD MEDALLION (sidebar) The crown jewel of the 1938 Model 101 is the front hood medallion. Appearing on the 1938 models only, most of these beautifully made pieces are missing. The reason being they were attached to the hood by two small studs that were soldered on to the back of the stamped brass badge. The vibration and shocks absorbed by the hood often caused the soldered fasteners to break loose. If the tractor was doing any tillage work, the medallion was lost forever. It appears, that the plating is nickel not chrome and the black and yellow colors were fired enamel. As you can see from the different examples of original condition pieces, these medallions did not weather very well over the years. Thanks to Daren Meyers and Mike Popp for photos of the original medallions and Keith Oltrogge the new one, still in the box. All 1938’s had screw-in bearing caps on the front wheels and flat-top fenders. Row Crops had individual wheel brakes located on the left and right platform, making it impossible to operate both brakes and the clutch at the same time. Standards had only one single brake pedal on the right platform. Also available was an optional deluxe leather seat with backrest, while standard equipment was a steel pan seat painted black. (#7, 8) The very early tractors had United air cleaners, which was later replaced by Donaldson. You will find the early governor arms were brass. The radiator assembly and fuel tank supports were redesigned in later 1938 models. The Marvel-Schebler carburetor in early models was changed from a TRX-19 to a TRX-22. The Standard model had 24”, deep-bead rims with a pressed disc center, mounted to a six-bolt cast iron hub. The Row Crop had the same design but with 36” rims. The later wheels were a complete cast center with deep-bead 36” or 24” rims. These rims were of the two piece design with a removable bead. If not handled correctly, these rims could prove very dangerous to tire shop employees. It also should be noted that steel wheels were available on both Standard and Row Crop. The very early models had a dish-shaped Rockwood belt pulley, the early models had cast steel pulley and the later tractors went back to a spoked-design, fiber faced pulley again made by Rockwood. All models had a pressurized oil supply to the belt pulley shaft. Another option was a PTO shaft with large shield. Lights could also be ordered on all 1938 models. (#9, 10) The engine color is hotly debated by collectors of the Model 101 tractor. Daren Meyers remembers his grandfather, who owned a Massey-Harris Dealership in Northwestern Ohio and his mother who was the parts person, commenting on the 1938 models with the “…black Chrysler engine.” My friend Ken Reichert from Ontario has an early 1938 that sat in a fence row for many years with the head off the engine. A replacement engine was installed but years later, Ken found a black engine block in the barn that was from the original engine. Ten different collectors were consulted and all concurred that the 1938 models had black engines. The motors came from the factory with silver paint and most of the people I consulted with concurred that starting in 1939, the engines probably retained their silver color, which had been applied at the Chrysler plant. NEW VARIATIONS ARE ADDED IN 1939 Realizing the popularity of this new design, the next year, Massey-Harris added a 4-cylinder model called the Junior. This 1939 Junior sported a 124 ci Continental engine, which included electric start and rubber tires. Priced at $895, it was designed to complete with lower priced tractors from other companies. Also in that 1939, the designation Super was added to the Model 101. In 1940, a new 217 ci Chrysler engine was added to the Super, give it close to 50 hp on the belt. This gave it the distinction being the most powerful wheeled tractor at the Nebraska Tractor tests in 1940. In 1942, the Super became the Senior, which used a 6-cylinder Continental engine. We will continue information on the 101and 102 Series tractors in an upcoming issue. Special thanks: I would like to especially thank Daren Meyers, who supplied many of the images, most of the brochures and his knowledge about this special tractors. Also, Ken Reichert, Rodger Brough, Chris Kessel, Keith Oltrogge, Bob Dougherty, Luke Swetland, Barry Hall, Harry Bowen, Allen Rhoades, Dennis Brown and Ervin Chew who owns the 101 Standard in the centerfold and loaned me valuable brochures. Also Jeff Noah who owns the 101 Row Crop on the cover. All of these collectors supplied their opinions and experience working with the Model 101 tractor. We would welcome any input and/or additional information on this article. Write to: Legacy Quarterly, PO Box 129, Rushville, OH 43150 or legacyeditor@columbus.rr.com Captions #1 The sport 1953 Studebaker Starline designed by Raymond Loewy and his team, received rave reviews and opened the door for designs such as the Ford Thunderbird and the Chevy Corvette. #2 Lowey’s K-4 locomotive designed for the Pennsylvania Railroad again shows his classic design. Notice the rounded nose accented by the chrome strips on the front of the engine. #3 The three different name plates in the order in which they appeared. We will write more after placement Gary: The Massey Family tree in Mollie Gillen’s book “The Masseys” shows four sons: Charles Albert, Chester, Walter, and Fred Victor and of course Hart’s daughter Lillian. These were the children who grew to adulthood. Hart and Eliza did have another son Georgie born in 1852 but died soon after birth. In fact he was buried in Daniel’s lot in the Bowmanville Cemetery and if you look back at the original 100 or so photos I sent you, you will see his name on one of the faces of Daniel’s monument. The figure that I have for the value of Hart Massey’s estate is indeed $2 million (from the book “Hart Massey” and is the figure in my documents (original and abridged versions). The value of Lillian’s estate at death in 1915 was also $2 million.