My research on the Willys Farm Jeep keeps leading me back to the Ford 9N tractor. In my May 2022 Farm Collector article (“Jeeps on the Farm”), I noted that the 9N was the Farm Jeep’s main competitor. Charles E. Sorensen, Henry Ford’s production executive before becoming president of Willys-Overland (just Willys hereafter), played a key role in development of the 9N. That Sorensen would copy the Ford 9N tractor as he worked on the Jeep is no surprise. That the little 9N saved the Willys Jeep and the Jeep brand we know today may take some explaining. Let me connect the dots.
Search the Farm Collector archives online, and you will find several articles on Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson. Most readers will be familiar with the “million-dollar handshake” that brought the Ferguson 3-point system and Ford’s tractor engineers together in 1938. Within a few short months, a very small group of engineers designed the iconic little tractor and put it into production. Sorensen was there for all of it.
The role of “Cast Iron Charlie”
Charles Sorensen was Henry Ford’s right-hand man for 40 years. His nickname, “Cast Iron Charlie,” stems from his metallurgy skills. His many talents also included engineering and production expertise. As America went to war for the second time in the Henry Ford era, Sorensen found himself in charge of military contracts,
