Blue Paint?

[Delvaughn]

I have a 49 8N that looks to have been painted blue from the factory. The red paint is coming off in spots an the blue is showing
up. I took a knife and scraped the blue and under it is bare metal, scraped the red and blue was there. Were any of the 8Ns
painted blue? The fenders and hood is the normal gray. Thanks

 

[Bruce (VA)]

No, they were never blue from the factory.
75 Tips

 

[showcrop]

None were painted blue until 1964, then many guys started repainting them blue in order to make them look more modern. A few did really good prep jobs removing all of the red.

 

[Ultradog MN]

As I understand the story, in the very late 50s or very early 60s Ford automotive division had some quality control issues. So they came up with their Ford Blue Equals Quality campaign. It was to be across the board, across all divisions. Tractor division fought it but upper management had their way and Tractor Div complied beginning with the 1962 models. So a pre 1962 Ford would not have been painted Empire Blue from the factory.
By the way, if there was a "default color" for Ford tractors it would be Blue as they built more blue tractors for more years than all other colors combined.

 

[Delvaughn]

Maybe someone took all the red paint off to bare metal and painted it blue. Than someone else painted over the blue red. Only way makes sense of how when I remove the red I see blue paint and when I remove blue I only see metal. O well no big deal just wondering. Thanks

 

[Tim PloughNman Daley RIP]

Jerry Ultradog explained it ?some fellas were painting their tractors whatever they wanted to, and since it was their tractor, could do whatever they wanted to. Heck, there was one or two that even painted their Ford tractors green and yeller! Some got painted safety yellow by dealers (always by dealers, never at the factory) as they?d purchase a fleet for use in municipalities and state highway use. I?ve seen pink, purple, black, and others. In July, 1947 when the 8N was released, the new Vermillion (Red) and Medium Grey paint scheme was introduced. Dealers were instructed to paint their 2Ns in red and med grey to mimic the 8N look and hopefully sell some old inventory. When the Thousand Series models were introduced, a similar dealer campaign was initiated only now they painted their old Hundred Series tractors the new Ford Blue and White in hopes they?d sell excess stock. In the early 60?s my uncles painted their early 1939 9N tractor the new Ford Blue and Egg Shell White colors and it still is like that. I?m restoring it now but haven?t got to the paint yet, haven't got a round-tu-it.

FORD TRACTOR DEALER AD TO REPAINT YOUR HUNDERD SERIES BLUE:

[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>​

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[Tony in SD]

Thanks TPD.

Dad was never one to spend money on paint but if there was a deal to be had, that was different. In about that time frame, Dad bought a used Ford 800 tractor. When it showed up at the farm it was red and grey. Then it disappeared for a week or so. When it returned it was Blue and Grey. After all these years, I finally have the explanation of why my Dad's 800 was painted blue. Going to have to tell my little brother lol who is also over 60 years old and owns/uses Dad's old 800.

 

[HFJ]

i have it on good authority that blue paint adds 3 HP

 

[lastcowboy32]

(quoted from post at 21:52:43 09/18/19)
i have it on good authority that blue paint adds 3 HP

I have it on good authority that green paint makes parts n stuff cost about twice as much as it should...



Although... my Hesston haybine is orange, and I recently paid 91 dollars for a bearing... so that orange must be "blood orange"... my blood!

PS... I have two of these haybines, that needed that bearing. (Reel drive shaft bearing). After getting that price for the first one, I replaced the second one by simply going to Tractor Supply ... same bearing was 29 dollars... Live and learn.