Ford 550

[Nick Drew]

Here is a Ford 550 that I had the occasional shift on when I was working for Swanwick Construction back home in Southampton.

Anyone one else got any Ford 550/555 photos to share here ??

[topkit]

I have a about 200 plus old photos that i need to scan some of which are ford 13-6 Autodig, 420, and 550 as well as alot of tower cranes. As soon as i get a spare few hours i will scan some and start putting them on here.

[usedjcbdave]

hi Nick,here is a Ford 550 spec sheet out of my collection,anybody remember Robert Hudson Ltd being the main West Yorkshire distributor based at Cinder Lane,Castleford ?

[jcbjohn]

Hi nick, will post some photos of my two 550's and much loved 13/6 in the near future. Just wanted to know how you rated the 550 ? The one we use around our smallholding is very nimble and handy to get in and around the tight sheds where a 3C would take a lot more shunting around. In it's time, a great machine and still plenty around holding there money john

[Nick Drew]

Hi nick, will post some photos of my two 550's and much loved 13/6 in the near future. Just wanted to know how you rated the 550 ? The one we use around our smallholding is very nimble and handy to get in and around the tight sheds where a 3C would take a lot more shunting around. In it's time, a great machine and still plenty around holding there money john

Hi John,

I must say I am not a fan of loader backhoes to be honest, I started out on them but once I got on the 360's I never looked back, however I must say I quite enjoyed my times on the 550 it was a good machine and very quick compared to the JCB's of that era. They just seemed a bit more nimble didn't they

Looking forward to seeing your photos

Nick

[jcbjohn]

Nick, yes I know what your saying, I am sideboom op now which has taking me around the world but when summer comes to an end I jump on a 360 back at home. But I cut my teeth on 180's firstly serving my time on them as a fitter then switching to operating them, 3C 3CX and 555 but like you never went back to them. But my father is a different story, 40yrs on 180's and never wanted anything else. Saying that, I have 6 now in my collection, 3 fords and 3 JCB's.

[newjcb123uk]

Heres a 550 I bought and sold a couple of months back - I bought it quite cheap and therefore was able to sell it quite cheaply also, so it sold very quickly indeed. But not before I had a good couple of hours play on it It brought back many childhood memories whenever my dad drove one over the summer holidays doing some sewer repairs on the family farm - I sat beside him full time and still remember the fish and chips we had were the tastiest ever (probably had something to do with the excitement of the 550 tho )

They had a brilliant stearing lock, good visability and a lovely sound from the engine. The backend was bulky but had good reach and I remember the ford digging buckets were long rather than round and deep (odd shape ) If you forgot that the dif lock was on it was impossible to steer and felt like the front end was full of helium balloons Good old Ford

[martyn williams]

Loved the 550's ,cheap to run and easy to maintain.You could get them into tight corners that a 3c could not get into.
Those 3 cyl engines were great plodders.
Martyn