Ford 8N tractor

J

jmaotto

Junior Member
I have a ford 8N tractor. Is this engine basicaly the same as the model? I know there are diffences but it looks a lot like the model A. It does have inserts that the A does not.
 
Before you go to far with your thinking remember that this engine is MUCH smaller displacement and if you put it in an A you probably won't like it.

Charlie Stephens
 
The only things the same as the A engine are the name,number of cylinders,and the flat head.They are nearly half the HP.I've worked on tractors all my life,and never had much use for the N series tractor.They are great for running things like post hole diggers,hay rakes,tedders,cordwood saws,and a few stationary pieces of equipment.When asked to do any real work they fell flat on their faces.But,back in their day they were the first of the utility tractors that were so badly needed by dairy farmers.After the 8N Ford seemed to have their act together and I can't think of a lemon after that.
 
The 8N engine is identical to the 4 cylinder used in the early 40's cars and pickups. The only difference is the fuel pump on the car and pickup engines. Some parts are interchangeable with the flathead 8's (such as the intake valves. This engine came along in the late 30's, and no parts interchange with the A or B engines, but the crank does resemble a counterbalanced B a lot (although it is different).
 
They were in some trucks,I never heard about them in cars,but that doesn't mean they didn't have them.There is a 41 pickup in town that has one.It has no miles on it,the original owner could drive into town but to get home he had to take a route that was 5 miles longer than the trip in.He couldn't make the hill with anything in the truck.So,he went a roundabout way that slowly climbed to his home on the hill over a 3 mile route.The truck was sold to a neighbor who planned to yank the engine and put something else in,(Chevy)but last I knew he was thinking the truck was too original for him to cut up.His daughter has contacted me about getting it to my shop,getting it running and going through the brakes so they can use it.The guy that owns it now remembers very well how much of an agony it was to use.
 
Here's one
 

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jmaotto said:
I have a ford 8N tractor. Is this engine basicaly the same as the model? I know there are diffences but it looks a lot like the model A. It does have inserts that the A does not.
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I have both and the only thing I see that is the same is that they both have 4 spark plugs. (the observation from someone that knows little about either machine)
 
Amen! Keith , I disliked my 52 8N before I restored it and I disliked after I restored it! I thought it was just me! It's good for running a sickle bar, but thats all. I even had the Howard rotovator with the Howard low gear. Give me an International "H" or "M" anytime. Yet some folks love these machines (8N) The thing that made the 9 and later 8N was Harry Ferguson's 3 point hitch. I liked my 1938 Allis Clhalmers Mod B a lot better!
Terry

Keith True said:
The only things the same as the A engine are the name,number of cylinders,and the flat head.They are nearly half the HP.I've worked on tractors all my life,and never had much use for the N series tractor.They are great for running things like post hole diggers,hay rakes,tedders,cordwood saws,and a few stationary pieces of equipment.When asked to do any real work they fell flat on their faces.But,back in their day they were the first of the utility tractors that were so badly needed by dairy farmers.After the 8N Ford seemed to have their act together and I can't think of a lemon after that.
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The two things I disliked most about Dad's 9N was :

1 ) Radiator was rotten and Dad wouldn't spend the money it have it recored.

2) Starter crumped-out and Dad wouldn't get that fixed either.

It was a decent little machine (when it was running) for our purposes (house & several acres in the country)... we had a garden plot, so we used the two-bottom plow and disc-harrow on that, a very crudely-made early brush-hog for mowing the fields, and the "back-blade" for snow removal...

Dad's machine has the Sherman 2-speed "step-up" transmission, so that's a nice feature.

It's been sitting for nearly 30 years, but I'm going to try to resurrect it...

It may not have been a "Real" tractor for big work, but as a replacement for the Fordson and with the 3-point hitch and integral hydraulics, it was a ground-breaking machine ( no pun intended ).
 
It really was the pioneer tractor that almost all other utility tractors followed.When it came out there was nothing else like it.Well,almost nothing,there was the Harry Ferguson,and he designed the 8N.You could jump on and off all day,no climbing up and down.They got around good too.You could cut and rake hay right into the corners of the fields.That Sherman three speed makes it into a much more useable tractor.They steered pretty good,and had nice brakes when kept after so a woman or kid could run them pretty safely.No live PTO,so whatever you were running would quit whenever you stepped on the clutch.I would have to look it up to get the details,but when Ford stole the 3 point hitch from Harry Ferguson he stopped short of stealing the live PTO design Harry was working on at the time.
 
The 9N engine was used in some Ford pickups, maybe through 1940 but wasn't really a popular option. The horsepower is closer to the model T than the model A. The 9N used a distributor and coil similar to the early flathead V8. T 8N used a more modern style distributor and coil that was easier to work on and caused less problems. The N series tractors are very dangerious. They are very slow and can rare up and turn over even at speeds of maybe 9 mph in high gear when trying to get from one field to another if you hit a bump. A lot of people love them and still use them in my area. I liked my old 51 Massey Harris 30 Much, much better and the Ford 2000 gas tractor that I had back in 72 was a real tractor that would run 30 mph or better if needed. Nothing from the 8N will fit on the model A
 
I've never heard of Ford's N series tractors being dangerous. With their 3-point hitch and draft control, they pretty much eliminated the problem of flipping over backwards during field work. With their low center of gravity, I think they would also be less likely to flip over on the road. I would think a tricycle type of tractor (like a Massey 30) would be much easier to turn over. They may not seem so special today, but they were revolutionary at the time.
 
Doug I almost met my "waterloo" on my 8N. Was going up a small hill, one rear wheel started to slip on the wet ground, front end started to lift off the ground (no way to steer it when this happends-my brakes were also not working) and she turned and headed toward a cliff that would have been about a 20 ft drop. Got her stopped just in time. Went home and got my D2 Cat to drag her home-did not want to get on her after that for awhile. But she is still a good tractor if a person does not do some stupid things like I do sometime.
 
Ford listed parts for the later 4 cylinder auto engine as late as 1950. There are excellent illustrations and breakdowns of it in the 1950 Ford passenger car/light duty truck parts catalogs. My feeble recollection is that these engines were used in pickups and maybe as stationary power plants.
 
Lack of traction was one of my main complaints. That damn thing would get stuck when the humidity went up! Many times I pulled it out of a rut with my I H C "H" . It took mud up the axles to stick the H and then you could throw a log through the rim and "Hump" it out.
Terry




Fred K-OR said:
Doug I almost met my "waterloo" on my 8N. Was going up a small hill, one rear wheel started to slip on the wet ground, front end started to lift off the ground (no way to steer it when this happends-my brakes were also not working) and she turned and headed toward a cliff that would have been about a 20 ft drop. Got her stopped just in time. Went home and got my D2 Cat to drag her home-did not want to get on her after that for awhile. But she is still a good tractor if a person does not do some stupid things like I do sometime.
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