Ford tractors introduced
9n 1939
2n 1942
8n 1947
Give or take 6 months
I think all the 9 and 2n had 3 speed transmissions, 8n had the 4 speed.
I have a 2n that might get a drag hooked to it once in a while. When growing up we had a 8n with a loader bucket and several blade/spring tooth plow/disk.... that saw quite a bit of use.
Ford 8N's were great in there day.....cut my teeth on them.....Like what was said there are plenty of great smaller tractors. I like the KUBOTA's but there are a lot of great John Deere, Case, New Holland....etc....
I found a L3400 4wheel drive with a bucket with 98 hours on it for $14,000.00 several years ago.....good luck on your quest....Paul
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Yep, I cut my teeth on a red belly and a something N Ford, because when I was 10 they where the oldest, least used, most expendable tractors on either Granddads farm, 45 years ago! I've raked hay with one when it was so hot the gasoline was boiling in the tank sitting over the engine, and you couldn't give me one today! Good luck with that 9N!
I did my time with the 8N and I have to agree with this /\
The 8N is not a bad tractor but for what they sell for, their age and their limitations - I wouldn't go looking for one.
No live PTO or live Hydraulics, the brake pedals are purely decorative on most 8N's, positive ground and 6 volt at that and not a lot of horsepower for its size.
In the pro category - they are simple to use and work on, they have deceptively good pulling power for their horsepower rating and there's a pretty good supply of aftermarket parts available.
A barely running example of an 8N in my area will start around $3000 and that generally doesn't get you much. You can put a lot of money in an old 8N before you have a good working machine.
There are a lot of good small used diesel tractors out there.
I always get confused between the 8 and 9n's on which have a three speed or four .
I've never been on a 4 speed 8n but is it slow enough to use a tiller ?
I know the three speed tractors are to fast to use one without the Sherman auxiliary transmission.
A five footer seems awfully big for the available horse power
I have owned a Kubota DT-3000 for a few years now..a real work horse. They can be had pretty reasonable. I would not buy a gasoline tractor for work with so many better diesel options available.
My two cents. Have a Kubota L3800 and have had it for about 2 years now. Just came back from it's 50 hour service. Has the front end loader and a 5 ft bushog. Have about 4.5 acres around the house. By the house use my riding mower for the grass. No problems so far except got a small twig stuck where the little locking lever is preventing me from locking the brakes. I do use a cetane booster and a microbiological additive to prevent critters growing in the fuel tank. Pretty good on diesel and love the front end loader. Lots of trees so get lots of tree branches and limbs. Front end loader I usually scoop up the little ones and on the burn pile. The biggies I stuck a large shackle on the tow bar in the back and made a long double looped sling from 1" poly rope. Then drag that to the burn pile and use the fel and on the pile. Less said about the John Deere I had before the kubota. It sure didn't run like a deere. Frank
I just sold off my 8N and bush hog. Ran great for past 7-8 years with a motor knock. 1 cyl was lil low on compression but it worked for what I needed.
I stumbled into a JD 1050 with loader,5’ hog and box blade. Posi rear wheel engage lever has been used often on wet ground and uphill mowing.
If you have any long slope on your land you will find out that when brush hog or dragging logs, you will spin a rear wheel and dig a hole if not careful. Damp grass traction not great unless flat.
All the warnings above about PTO are true and you need to be careful. Drain ditch, Hill, hooking the hog on a rock or stump you can lift the front wheels off the ground and roll over if not careful.
My lift was getting sluggish, water in the hydraulics from rotted boot on shift lever.
Really suggest you cover it or under a roof if possible.
Mine always started in hot or cold weather on few cranks. If not just clean the points in place with fine sand paper in place. Also the 90’ elbow coming out of the fuel tank gets built up with sediment. Poor gas flow.
Ran on unleaded, 10-40w oil. 12 v alternator n battery. Good tractor.
They sell here around $1200-$3800
Last edited by myg30; 06-05-2018 at 08:07 AM.
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Another vote for something newer. My dad has 15 acres mostly grass cutting with a brush hog plows up a little garden spot and hauls firewood and plows snow with a back blade in the winter . About 8 yrs ago he treated himself to a new compact 4x4 JD think it's a 20something hp diesel with the front bucket . He actually likes doing those chores now at close to 80yrs old with that new machine .
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I started with an older tractor, a Massey 135, and used it for years. After going that route I highly recommend looking at a smaller, newer diesel tractor. They will be much more fuel efficient and have more features. Having front wheel assist is like having a bigger tractor and there are no end to the uses that you can find for a bucket.
Nuther vote for kubota with grapple. Have never heard someone say dangit....I have to much tractor !
The one that live down the street from me had a 8N and sold it for some thing else for how it was for him.he glad he did.he did got a different Ford.I am not sure what one.
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Interesting thread.
I have been looking at getting a small tractor since moving to northern MI 6 years ago. Came really close to buying a Kubota B series. When I was talking to my neighbor about it he offered to let me use his Kubota L series FEL machine whenever I needed it. He has a rototiller and york rake that I use when needed and the FEL is handy for a lot of different uses. I have used it a few times and a tractor is handy to have.
I hate borrowing things so I don't use the machine as much as I would like to. So I have been thinking about getting my own unit. I will tell you the L series spoiled me. Size does matter.
Unless you are experience and careful, getting an old tractor without a ROPS is foolish. If you get an older machine the link below may help.
https://www.ropsr4u.com/
Don Verna
i can't warn you enough about the possibility of a head over backwards roll on a tractor like this. if you are dragging logs and hook on a stump the entire front end of the tractor will very quickly come up as the transmission tells the wheels to turn and they can't so the body of the tractor rotates upward and backward under the power of the engine, which is considerable as these ford utility tractors are geared lower than you would expect. lots of guys have been killed this way, and modern tractors have ROPS (rollover protection systems) and 4 point harness as a result. i had a neighbor killed this way 10 years ago. if you absolutely have to pull with a tractor that does not have ROPS sling your chain under your belly from a draw bar and pull in reverse. you can't roll a tractor this way. it will just spin tires instead. these machines are much heavier and more powerful than they look. most rear tires are filled with calcium water the add traction and a 28" wheeled tire will weigh 300 pounds or so plus dry weight. an 8N will weigh around 2400 lbs without filled tires.
White eagle
To expand on what others warned you about never pull loads from a point that is behind the rear axle. If you pull from behind the rear axle the tractor can turn over causing almost certain death. To pull heavy loads make sure you have a drawbar that bolts to the tractor in front of the rear axle.
If on steep slopes always have your implement directly behind you according to the slope. Or in other words make sure both rear tires have equal weight and traction. That way the tractor can not flip backwards over the implement.
Actually the n series tractors were never designed to use a draw bar
Except a three point mounted draw bar ... and they can be safely used .
First thing is you should never use a three point draw bar without the stabilizer bars that go from the swing arms to the center link ... these keep the pulled load from pushing the hitch upwards .
Second .. you should always keep the draw bar as low as possible , and never ever have it above the axle centerline . Ford actually had a recommended maximum height of something around 6 inches below the axle centerline.
Keep your hitch point low and it's very unlikely the tractor will rear up under load ... the higher it is the more leverage there is .
The tractors tend to rear up with implements like brush hogs because they put the swing arm height over the axle centerline .
Bought a 1942 Ford 9N tractor very strong running
with a Ferguson 2 bottom plow and a 5' disk tiller
will get a over run coupler and a finish mower at some later date
thanks for all the tips and warnings very helpful
this is my first tractor
Hit em'hard
hit em'often
the tractor will work for you if you take your time and learn how to use it. think about what you are trying to do before just driving into it. if you plan to plow I would get the tires filled with something for weight. calcium is common but that eats the rims. I use a mixture of antifreeze and water 50-50 mix. I get mine used from the junkyard. do both from and rear
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |