9N V8 Conversion Build

[OldBlue61]

Every V8 conversion you see has a show-quality paint job and they are spotless. Not knocking that fact - I love 'em and wish I could have one. With yours it's kinda cool in a little rougher state. You never see them that way. Similar looks to my 8N.

 

[markdtn]

That was kind of my thought too. The paint is not so bad as to be rusted away. I'm going to leave it at least another year and see what kind of comments I get. I went to 2 shows last Fall. Went on the tractor drive Friday of the first show but it rained the next day of the show so nobody really saw it much. Then at the other show I like to attend they are re-doing the fairgrounds and attendance was way down so I didn't get any good feedback there either.

I really like it with the Sherman on a ride. You can find a good gear for whatever speed you want to run. With a foot throttle I will be able to keep up with the tractor ahead of me just a little easier. Since it has no governor, it's nice and steady on flat ground but any hill it drops RPM. Being able to set a base throttle position and then give it a little on the hills will be nice. At least that is my thought.

Here is a photo of the other side. I don't like the "look" as much as the left. The 8N came to me with a cyclone air pre-cleaner but it just won't work with the V8. I need to find an original air intake cover, but WOW people want a lot of $$$ for that cover in original condition so a cheap offshore has to do for now. I need to maybe paint the coil. The Bosch coil is a very good part, but the blue maybe stands out too much. Also undecided on the starter. It has a mini-starter this time. On the 2N I cut the bellhousing for an original style starter (like the tractor starter, the Bendix is on the other side of the flywheel). I may paint the new starter red to kind of blend in. Sorry to ramble, it just keeps me motivated to make it better.

 

[OldBlue61]

I agree w/ painting the coil - maybe matte black? Make it blend in more. And those mini-starters are fine, I would just give it a coat of red paint (as close as you can find to the engine color) so it blends in more.

You got a nice one there!

 

[old51sedan]

I enjoyed the 2N until I went on a tractor ride in 2024. Just did not have the right gear and it seemed to rev high. So I bought an 8N with a Sherman combination transmission. Originally was just going to pull/swap that but an 8N has many advantages over a 9N or 2N-another gear, better hydraulics, better steering... So I put the 8N engine into the 2N and sold it (there is another post from me about this a few months ago). Have been enjoying the V8N. Took it to a few shows in Fall 2025. Just today bought a foot throttle kit for it, that will be handy in parades/tractor rides. At the moment the 8N is semi-rough looking. I am debating on what to do but my current thought is to leave it more rugged looking.

Built my 8n with flathead about 25-30 years ago. It's a 1951 with the Sherman tranny, installed a 1937 flathead 60HP with the aluminum water jackets in it. No need to lengthen or widen the hood, looks pretty stock.

 

[504]

I don’t have a currant catalog but The Surplus Center used to carry Honda generator gas tanks. Nice flat ones. With a 20.00 electric fuel pump you could mount a tank anywhere.

 

[markdtn]

I don’t have a currant catalog but The Surplus Center used to carry Honda generator gas tanks. Nice flat ones. With a 20.00 electric fuel pump you could mount a tank anywhere.

I ended up with a generic Boyd Welding aluminum 5 gal tank (p/n 11006 and add vented cap). It fits without cutting the rear hood brace. I made some “hat brackets” to lower the bottom 1 ¼”. 5 gal is enough for what I do.