First off I am not going to put a picture of the Foose tractor here because a) most of those pictures are copyrighted and b) it's tacky, well maybe not tacky, just too busy for my taste. He has too many things going on with the tractor distracting you from the overall image. The New Generation line of Deere's tractors, of which the 4020 is the prime example, were quite often noted for their simplistic design beauty. These were the first tractors to look like they were completed at design. There are no extra bumps in the hood for hiding a starter, no brackets sticking out the sides, no 4 or 5 color paint scheme.
I saw the videos Chip Foose made while designing and building the tractor. In his original drawing he had a couple of neat ideas. Turning the side vents 90 degrees gives the tractor a streamlined look. The height drop and smooth belly pan add even more streamlining. I am not sure about the black streak down the side or the extension up front where the weights belong. Those might actually look ok if you remove the garish vertical yellow stripe from the middle of the tractor. The chrome exhaust is not bad but it makes mounting the tractor a hot prospect unless you crawl over the back. The right side looks better without the exhaust so it makes me want to find a better routing of those pipes. Here is one sketch Chip came up with.
I saw the videos Chip Foose made while designing and building the tractor. In his original drawing he had a couple of neat ideas. Turning the side vents 90 degrees gives the tractor a streamlined look. The height drop and smooth belly pan add even more streamlining. I am not sure about the black streak down the side or the extension up front where the weights belong. Those might actually look ok if you remove the garish vertical yellow stripe from the middle of the tractor. The chrome exhaust is not bad but it makes mounting the tractor a hot prospect unless you crawl over the back. The right side looks better without the exhaust so it makes me want to find a better routing of those pipes. Here is one sketch Chip came up with.
I like the exhaust in this one. The narrow black stripes on the yellow middle make me think that stripe could stay, or not. He also has the side vents green in this sketch. Yeah, love the green side vents over the silver ones.
Love to have the money to do one my way.
I never cared for the look of the Foose 4020 from the first day I saw it. I have never liked the idea of trying to "improve on perfection". And I am not even a John Deere guy. I figure the 20 series tractors are close to equaling the 57 Chevy as an icon of American design simplicity. Of course I've seen some terrible things done to 57 Chevies as well..
ReplyDeleteRalph,
ReplyDeleteI know what you mean. I once saw a red Corvette with 18" high decals down the side that said "Corvette" in canary yellow.