Any Advice for Searching for Great Grandpa's Ford Tractor?

[adrewitz]

Hey all, I'm brand new here, I'm hoping for some advice for searching out my great-grandpa's Ford.

When I was 6 or so, he taught me to drive on this tractor, and I have many happy memories of running around the farm on it, my great grandpa teaching me how to fix things on it, pulling the little ones around in sleds tied up behind it, and much more. Unfortunately the tractor was sold by my great uncle when he sold the farm when I was in high school (in 1997), so we have no idea where it is.

I recently found the auction flyer, so for the first time I know what the serial number is, which is 127038. It's listed in the auction materials as a 9N but I'm not convinced this was correct, it may have been an 8N...

A few other things I can remember are that it had an extra shifter to shift from low to high range, I believe it was located on the right side of the tractor forward of the pedals. It had been converted to 12 volts with an alternator, and wore rectangular headlights in place of the round originals (I recall being angry as a little fella when they did this, it just didn't look right).

This was a farm tractor, not a showpiece by any means, and likely had plenty of wear, modifications, and etc. Maybe it's gone... but I'd sure love to track it down. My great grandfather's name was Harold Bryant, and he meant a lot to me. In fact my own son is named Harold after him.

In case anyone has a personal connection, the farm was out in Maple Lake Minnesota, and the tractor was sold on February 13, 1997.

Any and all advice for where to look would be greatly appreciated!

Many thanks,

Anthony Bryant Drewitz

 

[HCooke]

I sincerely wish you luck in finding this tractor. Might want to post this on the other forum also.

 

[Kenockee 8N]

Amazing story! I wish you all the best in the search. I've only had mine for 6 months or so but the connection to these things is real.

Unfortunately it is hard enough to track old cars down even with VIN numbers, but tractors I can imagine are even tougher.

As said, post on as many tractor forums as you can. Also, try contacting the auction company and see if they can give you the name of the person who bought it at the auction (if they have records of that). Be sure to tell the story of your history with the tractor and attachment to your great grandfather and the tractor as this may help them be more open to sharing that information if they have it. Then it would be the task of finding the first (and hopefully the still current) owner of the tractor after your family owned it and then go down the hopefully short transaction line of owners.

 

[Roger in Iowa]

Try posting in craigslist.com for the area where it was sold with info given here. Might offer a reward??

 

[steve19438]

is the auction company still in business? if it is start there. if they have the auction record that far back they may be able to tell you who bought it.

 

[adrewitz]

The auction company is still in business, but unfortunately they don't have records going back that far.

 

[adrewitz]

Forgive the newbie question, but could you point me in the direction of the other forum?

Thanks!

 

[HCooke]

Sure. YT won't let me post the name or give link but google "N tractor" and you will find it.

 

[8NHENRY]

what part of the country was it sold in?

 

[John in Mich]

That is a very tiny needle in a HUGE haystack. Try going to the various sites that have tractor registries. One has been mentioned. Another is the F/FCA site. That is, Ford/Fordson collectors assoc. Someone may have registered it.

 

[4play]

That serial number is incomplete if even partially correct. It should start with ( 9NXXXXXX or 8NXXXXXX ) If the numbers you have are partially correct its either a 1944 2N, or 1948 8N.

 

[HFJ]

how well do u remember the transmission? an 8N has 4 forward gears, 9/2N have 3.

 

[steve19438]

same problem I had when trying locate my dad's tractor that was sold at auction in 69. still looking.

 

[ZANE]

Ain't it wonderful that a machine that is over 60 years old is still more than likely still out there working or showing ???

Most automobiles are long dead and probably being melted and cast into something else for China to ship back to the USA.

Zane

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley RIP]

It sounds like your intent if you do locate it is to buy it back. Not a thing wrong with that. As you say the auctioneer company no longer has records going back that far. I suspect the tractor was a 1944 2N model based on the serial number you list. ALL 9N's and 2N's had the "9N" prefix in the serial number; there was never any Ford tractor with a 2N prefix. The auctioneer probably saw that in the serial number and hence described it as a 9N Model. As mentioned, if you can recall if it was 3-speed or 4-speed that would confirm what model it really was, but my hunch tells me a 2N. You may try placing ads in local newspapers asking about it. Another option is to drive around the local area looking for Ford N-Owners and kindly asking to see their tractors to verify. Often auctions draw the locals so the tractor may not have ventured far. Keep us posted if you do find it. We hear stories like this every so often and some have happy endings.


[i:654c4848f0][b:654c4848f0]<font size="4">Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)</font>[/b:654c4848f0][/i:654c4848f0]<table width="100" border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" bordercolor="#000000"><tr><td height="25" colspan="2" bgcolor="#CC0000">

<font color="#FFFFFF" size="3">*9N653I* & *8NI55I3*</font>​

</td></tr><tr><td>

</td><td>

</td></tr></table>

 

[Lynn Patrick]

A couple years ago I had a Dearborn loader for a 900 Ford for sale. The guy that bought it told this story:
He had talked for years about trying to find hid dad's 961 but never did anything about it. Finally one day he started making calls about it. That same afternoon a friend called him saying, "You know that tractor you keep saying you are going to try to find? I'm on my way home from work &amp; there's one here by the road with a "For Sale" sign. It's not the one, though, because it's a 4000." His response was, "Dad had some work done on it not long before selling, &amp; the dealer painted it &amp; put the wrong decals on it." He called, went to look at it, &amp; bought his dad's old tractor! He told me, "I talked about it for years, then found &amp; bought it in one day!"
Probably not the usual outcome, but says it is possible to find the one you are looking for!

 

[adrewitz]

I love it! Here's hoping