Still amazed with these old ford tractors

[Kirk-NJ]

A friend send me an ad on and old ford tractor cause he thought it might have an aluminum hood. I could tell right away that it didn’t have the aluminum hood but what did caught my eye it had a decent pair of 32’s with decent hat rims. It hadn’t run in 20+ years. I bought the 1947 2n non runner for $250 just to get the tires/rims. Pulled the 2004 6 volt battery out and put one in I had laying around. Cleaned the points and plugs. Put a temp gas tank on. Hit the switch and pushed the starter button in and it started right up. Debris from the mice and squirrels flying everywhere. This thing sat for 20+ years. Engine still free, clutch not stuck,hydraulics work fine, shifts good, fluids in good shape. Now running and driving, hell the brakes even work. These old fords never seem to amaze me

 

[8NChris]

Yeah, outside the few Internet folks that can't do this that or the other with them, they still hold their own work load. I like them.

 

[ChrisFromCLE]

Mine still is the best $1,500 tool I have ever bought.

Chris from CLE

 

[Ed S.]

Mine still is the best $1,500 tool I have ever bought.

Chris from CLE

Same here!

Ten Years with my 8N

I'm coming up on 25 years with the tractor in about a month, and will have to update that old post!

 

[Mad Farmer]

Mine still is the best $1,500 tool I have ever bought.

Chris from CLE

$1000 for me in 1985. Came with 2B plow, back blade, tire chains, scoop bucket, sway bars.......

Have done lots of work on it but nothing inside the: engine, trans, rear end, springer harrow, hydraulics.

 

[HarryVanderpool]

$1000 for mine in 1987. It has earned it's keep many, many times over.

 

[Hobo,NC]

My first N was a $500 non runner my mistake I got it running before I confirmed the price. Once I got it running and took a drive down the street the owner said $1200 its not negotiable .

Moral of the story don't work for free on a tractor you are interested in.

 

[Kirk-NJ]

Been there done that. I was in between trailers and not picking up the trailer for a few days. Asked owner if I could get it running to drive on the trailer since new winch wasn’t installed. Got tractor running and he called me the next day and say his son found out he was selling it and decided he wanted it. He say I hope you understand I like to keep it in the family. I said no problem. Three weeks later seen it on the want ads for triple the price. Previous ad said ran when parked new ad said runs good and drives. Called the owner and asked him about keeping it the family. He said it’s my son’s tractor he can do whatever he wants with it and hung up on me. Lesson learned now pay, get bill of sale before working on tractor

 

[8NChris]

Been there done that. I was in between trailers and not picking up the trailer for a few days. Asked owner if I could get it running to drive on the trailer since new winch wasn’t installed. Got tractor running and he called me the next day and say his son found out he was selling it and decided he wanted it. He say I hope you understand I like to keep it in the family. I said no problem. Three weeks later seen it on the want ads for triple the price. Previous ad said ran when parked new ad said runs good and drives. Called the owner and asked him about keeping it the family. He said it’s my son’s tractor he can do whatever he wants with it and hung up on me. Lesson learned now pay, get bill of sale before working on tractor.

I could have been there myself. Thanks Kirk and Hobo.

 

[Hobo,NC]

Been there done that. I was in between trailers and not picking up the trailer for a few days. Asked owner if I could get it running to drive on the trailer since new winch wasn’t installed. Got tractor running and he called me the next day and say his son found out he was selling it and decided he wanted it. He say I hope you understand I like to keep it in the family. I said no problem. Three weeks later seen it on the want ads for triple the price. Previous ad said ran when parked new ad said runs good and drives. Called the owner and asked him about keeping it the family. He said it’s my son’s tractor he can do whatever he wants with it and hung up on me. Lesson learned now pay, get bill of sale before working on tractor

Curiosity and to prove I can often does not pay well.

I got trapped between a bud and a seller the seller said it ran up until my bud called about it. He said it knocked off while backing out of his garage he looked at the points he did not see anything bad. The dist. cap was off I looked it needed a set of points so a 20 mile run one way back to the shop for points and condenser. I got spark then asked where is the rotor button he got it for me he had broke it taken it off. Here we go again another run back to the shop. I get it running its a extra nice Ford 2000 3cly my bud could not get him to come off the price he did not buy it.

The moral of that story ask you bud is he buying are tire kicking. I asked the seller to pay me for the parts he declined, I went to removed them my bud said he would pay for the parts.

 

[Kondoge]

I was surprised to learn the stubbornness of these N tractors when I had bought my 9n it had been running and driving with four year old fuel and watered out ATF for the hydrotransdiffy fluid, it also had a coil that had split in half at the bottom and been glued back together, how this machine ran and drove the 15km trip to my place without stalling I'll never know. (try that with a modern day ford of any kind well that's a whole different story). it wasn't bad for a $500 tractor it works hard blading now.

 

[Kondoge]

Yeah, outside the few Internet folks that can't do this that or the other with them, they still hold their own work load. I like them.

I feel like most on the internet forget that these tractors aren't beasts of horsepower or torque, tryna run a 10ft air seeder ain't a fair test. (nobody has done it I'm creating an example) they work well for their intended horsepower range. I have even seen someone run a woodchipper off an 8n.

 

[8NChris]

I told a relative I was building a septic tank with the Sherman Power Digger bolted up to my 8N. He said I need a real backhoe. I asked him if he bought one or like the one he keeps borrowing. Those are the Internet folks that constantly have to have something better. I sent him the cover photo of Wain Roy's invention of the backhoe book. The septic tank is done, that house is sold and he still doesn't have his own backhoe.

 

[Paul Ct]

I feel like most on the internet forget that these tractors aren't beasts of horsepower or torque, tryna run a 10ft air seeder ain't a fair test. (nobody has done it I'm creating an example) they work well for their intended horsepower range. I have even seen someone run a woodchipper off an 8n.

We have run a 6 inch hydraulic feed Woodland Mills woodchipper off the PTO of an early 39 9N. Did it make the front end a little lite? Yes. Could it use a little more HP? Yes. Did it get the job done? Yes..