Ford 8N tractor

I've worked on a few of these N series tractors that went over backwards.When I worked at the JD dealership it seemed like every older farmer had a story about burying the radiator cap in the ground behind them.The most common thing I heard was,before I knew it,or,in a split second,or,I never saw it coming.The all seemed to be doing almost the same thing.I was chained to a stump,or a rock,wound her up tight,and popped the clutch.The position of the drawbar let the tractor pivot on the rear axles.Up and over.If you could step on the clutch you were OK.You would slam down again.On the old Fordsons with the multiple disc clutch,once it had a heavy load on it you might not be able to push the pedal down.After the N series they moved the pin for the drawbar further up the belly of the tractor,when you pulled with one of them the front end wanted to pull down. If people ask me what to restore for an old tractor,I tell them an N series Ford.They are like an A,you can buy everything,and at a reasonable price.A set of K-Mart tools,a floor jack and some blocking,and a newbie can redo his tractor.
 
Fred, Terry, and Purdy - you probably already figured it out, but I own a 2N ford, so maybe I'm a little bit prejudiced. Oh well, I also have a D John Deere to pull the Ford out of the ditch. :-)
 
I wasn't really throwing off on the N series tractors. All tractors are dangerous, some more than others. The closest call I ever had was with the Massey Harris. On uneven ground or roads, the trycycle type tractors could tip over to the side like a trycycle. I had the heavy weights on the back wheels to help prevent this and to aid traction. One morning I was going down hill where the road slanted slightly to the left. Suddenly the right rear wheel lifted up off the ground, it didn't turn over but it leaned far enough that the battery that wasn't properly secured fell out and I ran over it. I didn't know that the battery had fallen out until I made it back home, a short distance. It ran off the generator untill I turned it off. The bad thing was it was the only battery that I had at the time and used it in my truck also . I backtracked and found the battery half buried up in the sandy road. Needless to say the case of the battery was cracked pretty bad. I patched it up with bondo, not a good fix but I got by with it untill I could do better.

Things I really liked about the old Massey Harris was it had a three point hitch, A power take off on the rear and another on the right side. There was a jack shaft between the engine and the transmission. You could replace the clutch without having to take the tractor half in to like other tractors. If you ever had to break one down in the field you will know what I mean.
 
Same pistons as the 239V8. Also the oil pump screen from a Model A fits the 8N oil pump. IMO the '50s to 60s Oliver/Cockshutt orchard tractors (if we're talking 8N similar sized tractors) had the 8Ns and Fergusons beat by a country mile for power and versatility, 3pt hitch and a live, separately clutched PTO, and 6 spd transmission.
 
Well, I should hope "the '50's to '60's Oliver/Cocksutt orchard tractors" had the N Fords and Fergusons "beat by a country mile"!! After all, they had almost 20 years to copy and improve. I can hear the Oliver guys now: "Let's just wait until that 3 point patent runs out and then we'll get 'em"!
 
Keith True said:
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.
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Keith i have 2 NOSR dist caps [standard brand] for a 4 cyl tractor,but the wires come in to it 2 on each side like a crab type.Not from the top or bottom. Are these tractor caps. Would take $50 for the pr. if you can use ship included.Or 25 for one if you can use them ??? ken ct. Im not into tractors or make me an offer?
 
I don't fool with the Fords too much.I bet it has been 25 years since I worked on a Ford with a front mount dist. About 1950 they went to the conventional dist.mounted sticking out the side of the timing cover.I had our old road agents Ford tractor for a while.It was the first wheel loader backhoe in town.1950 8N with a Lord loader and a Pippin backhoe.You climbed up,then down in.You peered over the hoses,pipes,braces and bars to run it.The backhoe seat was at nose level right behind your head.If you spun your head too fast you could slice your nose on the edge of the steel seat.It beat a gang with a shovel though,and he thoroughly wore it out.Before that he had used a Bay City swing shovel,powered by a Model A engine.My uncle had sold him the A engine,and the chassis it came out of is under one of my A's today.
 
On the 9N's and 2N's, the cutout relay on the generator is identical to the Model "A" cutout relay. Has the same part number also.
 
I've got a 1947 8N with the Sherman overdrive that I have used to pull my John Deere 4300 tractor out of the field where it died more than once. The Deere dealer just loves to hear that when they come to pick the 4300 up for repairs!
The old 8N's are great but you gotta be careful because that front end can get light quickly! I hung four tractor weights on the front of mine and it helps considerably.
It's like riding on a cloud with the saline aolution filled tires though. Much better riding than my newer Deere.
 
Bob, The 1947 must be a 9N. 9Ns came out in 39, 2Ns came out in 42 (really just a 9N with a few upgrades) and the 8Ns came out in 1948. At least that is what I've been told. 9Ns and 2Ns are three speed forward. 8Ns are four speed forward and have a much better 3point control. 48 is when Ford dumped the handshake agreement and Harry Furgeson with it. Harry sued and when the dust settled he only got a settlement large enough to pay his lawyers. This was partly because he was so successful with the TO 20 and TO 30 models of his own tractor.
 
As I understand it, in mid 41 Ford put the tractor engine in some pickups and delivery vehicles. It replaced the 60. The tractor 4 cyl. had no fuel pump, gravity feed. The pickup 4 cyl. had a fuel pump and was mated to an automotive transmission.
I recently sold a stationary unit on the bay; search # 200638255750 for several pictures.
 
The change to the 9N to the 2N wasn't really an evolutionary change,it was a way around the US government.Ford had been getting the 9N tractors out in the fields,selling them at a break even price or a loss to make them visible to the farmers.What better advertising than to see them all over the place.When he was ready to price them where they should have been the feds put a price freeze on certain things,ag machinery being one of them.Ford could,however,set a new price on a new piece of machinery,so the 9N gave way to the 2N.Same tractor with just the improvements that it would be getting anyway.When I worked at the tractor dealership we saw a lot of these go through the shop.We saw a few with fuel pumps,and just assumed they were engines that were originally meant for industrial use.Almost every tractor engine made also was available skid mounted for a power unit.I had an A engine on a skid with a self contained radiator,clutch,fuel tank on the top,full shrouding and hood.I still have a Westinghouse welder that is A powered.Neither of those engines are numbered.
 
Don McNeill said:
As I understand it, in mid 41 Ford put the tractor engine in some pickups and delivery vehicles. It replaced the 60. The tractor 4 cyl. had no fuel pump, gravity feed. The pickup 4 cyl. had a fuel pump and was mated to an automotive transmission.
I recently sold a stationary unit on the bay; search # 200638255750 for several pictures.
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Not one of Ford's better ideas - replacing the already anemic 60 hp V-8 with the 20/23 hp four in an over-the-road vehicle... :rolleyes:

In additional to the gravity fuel feed, the tractor fours also had a governor mounted on the back side of the timing case... the truck application probably eliminated this.

I'm pretty sure I remember Dad's 9N having a flat boss on the right side of the block, where a fuel pump would go...

I first discovered the non-agricultural use of the tractor four in a 1935-'42 MoToR's shop manual... they referred to it as the Commerical Four.
 
8N's came out in July 1947 and were sold alongside new 1947 2N's at the dealerships. Most of what Keith True has posted on the N's is good info. I have found restoring the N series tractors to be as rewarding as is Model A's. The N's are the Model A of the tractor world IMO. I have read that there are more N series tractors STILL being used daily on farms than any other model tractor. Not bad for a 50 year old design.
 
Another interesting tractor is the LOVE. My cousin in Benton Harbor, MI has one. It was built in Michigan and has a Model B engine. Do a Google search for "LOVE tractor" and you will find some interesting information and pictures.
 
I know of a couple of Worthington tractors around with B power.They used the 32 radiator shell,hood,and part of the cowl.One old fellow keeps his barn door open just a little bit so people can spot the grille as they drive by.There are rubber marks in front of his house from people slamming on the brakes thinking they just spotted a 32 Ford in the barn.He is an ornery old cuss,if anybody stops to ask about it he lights into them.Did you see a for sale sign? What makes you think it's for sale? Or,if you show me $20,000 in cash I will let you look at it.I've also seen a Toro Groundsmaster with a B engine in it.I had seen plenty with the Ford flathead six in them,but none with B's.
 
midgetracer said:
Bob, The 1947 must be a 9N. 9Ns came out in 39, 2Ns came out in 42 (really just a 9N with a few upgrades) and the 8Ns came out in 1948. At least that is what I've been told. 9Ns and 2Ns are three speed forward. 8Ns are four speed forward and have a much better 3point control. 48 is when Ford dumped the handshake agreement and Harry Furgeson with it. Harry sued and when the dust settled he only got a settlement large enough to pay his lawyers. This was partly because he was so successful with the TO 20 and TO 30 models of his own tractor.
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Acutally the 8N's came out in 1947 as the 9N's were being phasad out. Mine is a very early 8N. Many people are confused by the timing of the sale dates on the "8".
 
Keith True said:
I know of a couple of Worthington tractors around with B power.They used the 32 radiator shell,hood,and part of the cowl.One old fellow keeps his barn door open just a little bit so people can spot the grille as they drive by.There are rubber marks in front of his house from people slamming on the brakes thinking they just spotted a 32 Ford in the barn.He is an ornery old cuss,if anybody stops to ask about it he lights into them.Did you see a for sale sign? What makes you think it's for sale? Or,if you show me $20,000 in cash I will let you look at it.I've also seen a Toro Groundsmaster with a B engine in it.I had seen plenty with the Ford flathead six in them,but none with B's.
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I believe there were some V8 flathead conversions done on the Nseries as well.
 
We always drive our roadster up to the antique tractor and car show in orville Al. every year, early in November. There are always lots of tractors pof every kind, even steam tractors. There were conversions to install the flathead V8 and the flathead 6 Ford engines in the N series tractors. We've seen both, Its a neet conversion, It is called the Funk conversion.
 
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