While not an Atlantic Tarpon, or Mexican wrestling legend César Cuauhtémoc González Barrón, or even the Hunt brothers who attempted to corner the world’s silver market a few decades ago, this tractor is also known as a Silver King, and for me, it’s the real Silver King. This 1938 Silver King R66 can be found here on Facebook Marketplace in Roberts, Wisconsin, and they’re asking $1,750. Here is the original listing. I couldn’t resist sending in this one when I saw it. I hope there are a few vintage tractor fans out there.
This is about the only flaw I see in this 88-year-old three-wheel tractor, the pounded-out dent on the right side of the engine cowling. That’s amazing after having been on the planet for longer than most of us. I’m sure there are a few Barn Finds fans who are in their late 80s.
Plymouth’s Silver King (not that Plymouth) has an interesting history. In 1882, a gentleman named J.D. Fate, a brickyard worker in Pennsylvania, started a business making brick-making machinery for extruding clay into bricks in Plymouth, Ohio. In 1909, he founded the Plymouth Truck Company, but the company went out of business in 1915. About that same time, a customer asked Fate if he could figure out a machine that could replace the mules that moved rail cars around his company’s railyard. Plymouth Locomotives would be the culmination of that effort. Almost exactly a decade ago, our own Jamie Palmer showed us a small Plymouth Locomotive here on Barn Finds.
By the late 1920s, Fate’s business, then Fate-Root-Heath, was prospering, that is, until the stock market crash of 1929 came, and things went downhill quickly. Orders for their yard locomotives and clay extrusion machines slowed enough that they were scrambling to find something to bring them out of the depression. They found it in Plymouth’s agricultural region. After a try with small tractors, they came upon an engineer who designed a three-wheeled tractor with steel wheels. Every time they delivered one, they’d bring a set of optional rubber tires, and legend has it that they never brought back a set of rubber tires.
In case you were wondering how they could use the name Plymouth, it stems from the fact that they built exactly one Plymouth car in 1910, well before Chrysler used the name Plymouth. After Chrysler lawyers learned of that fact, both companies worked out an agreement whereby Chrysler would pay them for the Plymouth name. Sadly, they only got one dollar for it, but now the search was on for a name for what the builders thought was the “king” of tractors. The name Silver King stuck, and this 1938 model R66 (R66 tractors had rubber tires, S66 tractors had steel wheels) is typical of what the company made. This ’38 R66 had a new, rounded radiator grille. You can see the nice condition this tractor appears to be in. I can’t believe this tractor is less than $2,000.
WWII brought yard locomotive orders to biblical proportions, with crews working around the clock filling much-needed orders. Sadly, with business booming in post-war America, they lost interest in the tractor business, and that side of the company went away in 1954. This R66 is powered by a Hercules four-cylinder liquid-cooled engine with around 24 horsepower, with a 4-speed manual with reverse providing movement. It had around 20 hp at the belt and 16 hp at the drawbar. The seller says this one isn’t currently running due to what they think is a carburetor issue. They also say the distributor is in rough shape, but I’m not sure what that means. I’m sure most Barn Finds fans could have this 10-foot-long, 6-foot-wide Silver King up and running in no time. For $1,750, this would be one super fun project. Are any of you into vintage tractors?
Very unique tractor. And I’ve never heard of them either. File this under the “Just Learned Something New on Barnfinds Today” category. It looks like it has a rather low center of gravity. It honestly looks like a great design. And this one looks like its been restored. I’m wondering how many Silverking tractors are still around? Thank you for a very well researched write up and find Scotty. I enjoyed it!!!
Check out Aumann Auctions, they’ve got a bunch listed.
“A few vintage tractor fans”??? Well, there aren’t as many as there was a while ago,,but I guarantee, a smile results in every tractor we remaining gearheads see, this is no exception. Vintage tractors represent the utmost with the most basic. No electrics, all mechanical. You didn’t sit on your tush pushing buttons, you literally worked with the machine and optimum performance was figured out in your head, not a computer. This appears to have a gear reduction at the wheels, and not sure why 3 wheels, but must have worked. I read, farm tractor production before the depression was almost 200,000. In 1931, dropped to 19,000, but by 1935, farm tractors sold over a million unit, thanks in part, to smaller tractors like this. I read, almost 190 farm tractor makers before the depression, reduced to 39 after. Silver King was one that made it. At a cost of about $800 new, it was affordable, and some sites say, they built 4-5 tractors a day or about 1,000/year. Great find, if you can operate it, that is. Typically, anyone that is reading this, woud probably know what to do.
why is it each time i see a tractor like this i start thinking of Oliver Wendel Douglas in Green Acres. ;)
yeah his was a fordson model F…1917-1928…..but at the beginning of each show (the intro) he is driving a late 1920s John Deere model GP (general purpose) lol….
Cool tractor. Very informative write-up, Scotty. I learned about another tractor I never heard of today, along with what an Atlantic Tarpon is….
Great job, once again.
In my experience, tractors and cars, those statements are code. Someone has messed with the distributor and the carburetor, and now can’t get the thing to run.
So long as it has compression, this can be fixed.
I read the original listing and the seller says this is a “3198 motor”. It is really a Hercules IXA engine, and you can still get a manual on Amazon. Parts from Jobbersinc.com.
Well, not always. I have a 1957 Massey Ferguson model 50. When replacing the engine bearings. (From underneath due to coolant in the oil leaking from the wet cylinder liners) I noticed that the cam distributor drive gear and the distributor driven gear were shot. No replacements at the time. (About 15 years ago) It also needed the governor to be rebuilt. Also no parts available. Since the tractor came with a front end loader I watched for a replacement tractor. I found a 1958 Massey Ferguson model 65. And with a little work the front loader was adapted to the newer unit and has been working great. The newer tractor started seeping coolant into the oil. So I drained and flushed out the coolant and changed over to 0w20 synthetic motor oil for the coolant. That way, if a little seeps into the engine oil. No big deal. It has worked grat now for over 10 years in an old tractor that gets used regularly. The parts for the old ’57 are now available. So when ever the current project list is used up. The ‘Ol ’57 will graduate from lawn ornament to restoration project.
Marvel carb, Delco distributor, no problem getting parts. Single front wheel for cultivating corn, the hole in the casting above the front wheel is for cultivators. Give 1500, cheap fun.
A buddy had one of the wide front models. After much searching he found out that it used a Studebaker truck clutch. Bought one through NAPA, worked like a charm
As the adage goes: “Necessity is the mother of invention.” I never knew much about Silver King other than what I read in old tractor publications. I certainly never saw a trike. But obviously there was the need for such a beast. There’s a more conventional one that I’ve encountered every year when I venture to an annual truck and threshing show. I don’t know much about the one I submitted except that it’s an exceptional restoration.
Love the way the seat looks. The old agricultural equipment are great finds. 🌽 🚜 thanks SG.
cool piece of yard art
Great write-up Scotty! These historical treatises are what (among other things) keep me looking forward to this site each morning. Thanks!
I’m a John Deere guy, but I remember reading about the Silver King tractors in one of my books. IIRC, they were very fast in road gear. Seems I remember, about 35 MPH. Seems dangerous, especially with a single front. My old Deeres, a 1950 and a 1953, have top speeds of 10 and 11 MPH, and they are both wide fronts.