8n distributor

[ROY DRUCK]

what year was the distributor moved from the front to the side. i aquired a 8n with front mount, i was told it was a 52or53. the best i can make of the serial #, it looks to me to be a 48

 

[Bruce (VA)]

The tractor could be a 52 (not a 53) w/ a 48 engine.

The side distributor came out in about March of 1950. The first sidemount s/n was 263,844.
50 Tips

 

[ROY DRUCK]

i took another look and the ser.# seems to be 45424, which means 1948 engine. i have a early 1950 and it has a shift knob on trans, this one has a small knob cast on the end of the shifter. is this 8n feature or is this a 2n/9n shifter

 

[Dell (WA)]

Roy........heres the EAZY way to tell the difference between 8N's and 2N/9N's. 8N's have 4-speed trannys. 9N/2N's have 3-speed trannys. Early 8N's also have the same 4-nipple frontmount distributor. In March 1950, 8N's changed to 5-nipple sidemount with proofmeter. Simple, eh? .......Dell

 

[Bruce (VA)]

The 8N got a screw on black shifter knob after s/n 252,845. That would have been in January, 1950.

Check out the link below for more ID info.
John Smiths ID Page