Re: Ford 8n,9n,2n opinions
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Posted by Gerald on October 14, 1998 at 07:43:56:
In Reply to: Ford 8n,9n,2n opinions posted by Bob Brown on October 13, 1998 at 19:58:21:
: I would like a little insight as long as we are talking about Ford tractors. : I know little about tractors, however, I have asked probably a dozen Farmers about 8n's and 2n's. to see if they are good tractors. Almost without exception, I get reactions of laughter. I have been given the iMpression that most professional farmers feel that these tractors were a joke even in there time. I am told that they did not have live pto and needed to be overhauled almost yearly when seriously worked.
: I am also told that they were way to light to do any serious field work. Am I asking the wrong people or are these tractors popular for some reasons that have not been brought to my attention? As replacement or adjunct to a team of horses, the 'N family of Ford tractors was successful. Ford sold them in large quantites, half a million if I recall correctly. For a tracter many sneared at, that's a large quantity. Most tractor makers haven't yet made that many total, except maybe for JD and IH. I looked the family over about 20 years ago, and decided that the 8N was the only one to think of using because it had another gear forward, and a steering gear that's not so prone to kicking when you hit a clod with a front wheel. The older tractors use a very simple steering gear that has the same efficiency in both directions and some who tried to use that vintage for chores in the 60s complained about broken arms excessively. Of course, to Henry Ford, that steering gear was not significantly different than that on the Model T. The worm and ball worm steering gears to protect the driver came later, in the 8N. I had a dearborn plow, a 12 foot disk (single section) and other tools. I found that my 8N and garden plowing were not suited for each other. If I hooked the plow into the dirt to turn over a decent depth, the Ferguson 3 point would protect me by lifting the rear wheels and letting the tractor spin, so I'd have to lift the plow then as I dropped into that hole the spinning rear wheels had dug the plow dipped down again, making for undulation furrow bottoms. Later I bought a MF-135 with a bigger plow and had nothing of that type of problem. My 8N had a manure loader. Useless for most tasks. With a couple of the tusks missing, it wouldn't dump, even full of snow when tripped (no cylinder on the bucket). So I tried a 5 or 6' blade on the three point. I ended up in most snows with the blade turned backwards and ramming into the drifts. Even new tires didn't give it a lot of traction in snow, I didn't have tire chains. The MF-135 had a full hydraulic loader and chains and was more useful in moving snow, though helpless if a tire chain slipped off. For their time, the 'N family has advanced hydraulics, but its hard to tap. Generally if tapped for a loader, there's only provision for a single cylinder and it has to be single acting and the 3 point has to be chained down to get pressure. In all but the last year of the 8N, the distributor is mounted on the front of the cam shaft, ala the prewar flat head v-8s. Simple to build, reliable to use, few parts, but practically impossible to work on in place. Which leads to minor ignition problems being ignored until it stops running. The man I brought mine from said his dad had bought a couple new. As they were plowing a field one day he missed his father so went looking for him. The old man was not able to get the plow to penetrate to suit him so had climbed back on the plow to add weight and not noticed the end of the field. He'd ridden the plow out to the road ditch. There he'd stuck it. He didn't understand the three point links that to get the plow to dig it needed to be tipped forward by shortening the top link. No doubt part of the suburban popularity of the 'N family dates from a famous movie of the 40s. I can't think of the name but it introduced a new Christmas song. Was set at a country estate around Christmas and a city visitor rolled the 9N requiring much repairs. Seems like the song was White Christmas. Something crooned by a B. Crosby. I get a lot more work done on my 25 acre patch with a MF-135 but still can't cultivate properly. So this year I bought a JD 4020. Its tach ran up only 40 hours instead of the 100 typical for a year on the 135 and the crops never looked better. I've cultivated more often and more thoroughly, and seem to have a better seed bed with the bigger tools. I probably used more fuel, I'll not know until about April 10 next year. It was an interesting experiment and by accounting shows that even with new tires and wiring and other repairs, I sold it for a profit after a few years. Now I need to do that with the 135 to help pay for the 4020. Gerald
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