Bought me a tractor

[Todd Burch]

I haven't paid for it yet, but I've put claim to it. It's a project. Guy said it was a Ford 9N, but the wheels/hubs are 8N vintage. Perhaps a 2N. Flathead 4 cylinder. He said it needs a magneto and a carb rebuild. (Carb is off, hood and Grill are off, one flat tire, two new tires - lots of surface rust). Needs an over run clutch installed. I'll get a rear blade and a shredder for it and use it for driveway maint and mowing the tall grass.

I'll pick it up next week. $300. Pictures later. Forgot to snap one this evening when I went to look at it. Should be a fun project.

Todd

[Keith Westfall]

Learned to "drive" on one of those! One of my favourites and looking forward to pictures.

[Randy Red Bemont]

I've got a '48 8n. A great tractor to have. I even mow the grass with a 6' finish mower behind it. Love my tractor.

Red

[Steve Rozmiarek]

Those are good little tractors. Used to borrow one from the neighbor to clean out a barn because it was small and maneuverable. Have fun! Do you have a source for the parts?

[Pat Barry]

Still holding its value pretty good. According to Wikipedia they sold for $595 brand new back in the day.

[Chuck Saunders]

In running condition N's go ~$2000, and parts are available everywhere. If you have the 4 speed transmission and the 8n rear wheels, it's an 8n. You definitely have your work cut out for you but should be a good time. I have a 9n, '48 8n, and a '59 801.
Enjoy
Chuck

[Bill Huber]

Those are great little tractors, I spend a lot of time on them back 1960 - 1964 when I work at a marina in Kansas City on the Missouri river. We used it to put boats in and out of the river and store them in the shad.

Then it was used to do all the mowing and all other general work around the place.

Have fun bringing it back to life....

[Ole Anderson]

I first drove on my grand dad's '47 Farmall Cub. Later I had the pleasure to drive another one at a club retreat mowing grass and plowing snow.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/e/e6/Cub_1957_lo-boy.jpg/220px-Cub_1957_lo-boy.jpg (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Cub_1957_lo-boy.jpg)

[Chris Padilla]

Another project!!! :eek: Look forward to the rebuild thread. :D

[Randy Red Bemont]

If you need parts or just some advice Derek is your man. His store has all the parts. I take my 8n there for any service that I don't/can't do myself.

http://www.just8ns.com/

Red

[Todd Burch]

OK, got some pictures!! I Looked up the serial #, and it's a '49 8N. Does not have a magneto, but does have the combined distributor/coil in the front of the engine.

And, we do have the obligatory weed growing out of the front end. :p

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[Brad Schafer]

oh man. i helped a neighbor do a rebuild on one of these a few yrs ago, including a convert to 12V. this baby is gonna need some TLC. good luck!

[Jim Andrew]

Seems like those old Fords just always need work. Wonder if running synthetic motor oil would help? I knew a kid once whose dad restored antique cars. He used modern detergent motor oil, and it made them last longer.

[Robert Payne]

It's obvious that you have lots of work ahead, but for the life of me, I cannot believe you paid $300 for a tractor without a radiator cap! Have fun and hopefully you can find a good deal on a used cap!

[Chuck Saunders]

Looks like you need a new seat and a radiator cap, other than that - bolt the hood back on and you're ready to go. Looks pretty good. For $300 looks real good.
Chuck

[Todd Burch]

The seat seems to be fine. Previous owner will get me the radiator cap he forgot to give me.

Found cobwebs and dirt in both intake and output sides of the carb, so that probably means dirty/nasty intake manifold and tops of cylinders. Can't recall ever working on a cast iron carburetor before!

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The engine does turn over, so that's good. Steering is fairly tight, and brakes work. I think for now, I'll leave it a 6V system. I haven't done any auto work in a few years, and I sold my timing light at my last garage sale. :( However, I still have a Craftsman engine analyzer, so I can check RPM and dwell no problem, when I get to that point. Also still have my compression tester and a cooling system pressure tester.

[Don Orr]

Ahhh-the memories! I grew up on one of these. That looks to be in pretty good shape for the most part. Shouldn't be too bad of a restore. Pretty snazzy seat to boot.

[James Runchey]

Owned one for 37 years until we sold the farm and moved to town last year. The best source for any kind of info on these tractors is Yesterdays tractors ,com. The forum is loaded with people who are very helpful in all aspects on the 8n. I really miss the old girl.

[Todd Burch]

Carb is cleaning up nice. Gas tank, fuel line and air cleaner/tube will be next. Will have to find a new venturi and access plug for the bottom of the bowl. The head of that brass access plug, plus the idle jet, were pretty much destroyed already. Thought I was going to have to drill out the idle jet, but I squeaked it out with a good fitting screwdriver.

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[Mark Stutz]

Oh man, does that bring back menories.. Learned to drive on one of those on my grandfather's farm. Had to stand up to stand/ push in the clutch! Looking forward to the rebuild.

[Matt Meiser]

If you really want to make it a fun project, take cues from a guy around hee...http://marvinbaumann.com/index.php

This one is my favorite. A little loud though.
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[Bradley Gray]

I have a 49 9N - Used it yesterday to haul logs. I got mine in trade for wood work 25 years ago. 2 simple things that have made it work for me. 1: convert to 12 volt alternator - you can use the original starter, 2: Put an in line fuel filter just ahead of the carb. Those old fuel tanks shed crud, the filter keeps it out of the jets. Mine is rated 13 HP but they are big horses.

[Steve Rozmiarek]

If you really want to make it a fun project, take cues from a guy around hee...http://marvinbaumann.com/index.php

This one is my favorite. A little loud though.
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Thats pretty cool, wonder what it makes for power now?

[Jim Andrew]

Can't really see the engine in that one very well, but the exhaust coming out the front is a clue.

[Todd Burch]

Got to work on the tractor a lot today.

I started out by getting the last few parts needed for the carb. It's now installed and ready to accept fuel.

Checked out the air cleaner. Nasty gross.

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Had probably 20 oz of water in it (and spiders and wasps, and new life forms of algae.)

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Got it cleaned and up is now ready to re-install - just got to get the gasket for the bottom cup. Looks a lot better now.

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[Todd Burch]

After I put the carb on, I figured I would test the compression. It would not turn over. Solenoid would click, and then the positive ground cable insulation started smoking. I know that letting the magic smoke out is a bad thing. I figured the starter had some issues. It did. Had about a pint of water in it. The armature was all rusty. I removed the starter, took it apart, sanded it down, cleaned out the crud, reset the bendix gear, reinstalled, and it worked fine after that.

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Compression check was a downer. I tester #4 cylinder - about 40 PSI. Should be 90. I tested #3. Same thing. Didn't even waste my time with #1 or #2. If she starts, she starts.

I set the radiator and hood sheet metal in place so I could hook up the fuel. Figured I better drain the tank first - don't want any gunk in my rebuilt carb. Nothing would drain. Went to the sediment bowl, and nothing was flowing there either. Took the sediment bowl/valve assembly off, and then the tank drained. Nasty gas.

I worked on the valve/bowl assembly for about 2 hours with carb cleaner, picks, wires. I finally got compressed air to pass through the primary fuel port, the reserve port and the port that dumps into the bowl. It was clogged, solid, VERY bad. I should have just bought a new one. The gunk in the bottom of the sediment bowl had a texture of carmel. It was gross. Now I need a new gasket and screen.

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Overall, a good day, and forward progress.

[Bill ThompsonNM]

Definitely a project tractor! Mine is a '49 8N. It was running when I bought it but cost me $1200.

I think the conversion to 12 volt was my best modification. Starts right up in subzero weather now. They're nice because you can get just about ANY part for them. Even replacement sheet metal. I've often thought that its too bad the import tractors from China India and Pakistan didn't just build 8N clones. My mechanic says parts for the odd imports usually take over 6 months. The 8N is a true workhorse. When we put in fences we started with a dirt auger on the 8N and one on a rented skid steerer. The 8N was so much faster we went to one crew just using the 8N!

[Jason Roehl]

That must have been a small skid steer and/or an inexperienced operator. I'm pretty confident that my friend's T650 (at least 3x the HP) would whip an 8N or 9N any day of the week in drilling holes with an auger, even with my only somewhat experienced hands at the controls.

[Todd Burch]

Did more work on the tractor this afternoon. Got the sediment bowl/fuel valve back on and added some gas to the tank. Then, added water to the radiator. Then, hooked up the 6V charger/starter and started cranking away. Even with starting fluid sprayed in the carb - it was a no go. No spark. Took the hood/fenders back off.

Got out the meter and started poking around. Turns out the coil wire was getting no juice. Cause - the resistor between the ignition switch and coil was totally open. Got to get one of those.

Then, started poking around at the distributor. Took the coil off, since it was oily on top. I noticed #2 spark plug wire was about cut in half (from an electrical standpoint, it was cut in half) by the fan belt. Took off #2 wire at the distributor and saw that the #2 port on the distributor cap was broken off. So was #3. Took all the wires off, and the distributor cap (wet inside), and went ahead and removed the distributor too. Strangely enough the points looked reasonably OK. Perhaps the previous owner took a go at replacing them.

I had bought a new wiring harness the other day at tractor supply, and decided to go ahead and install it. My current harness has been cut and spliced, on average, at least twice on every wire. However, the new harness was not even close to being correct. It was either packaged wrong, or, so cheaply built, that they just didn't care. It's going back.

I saw the previous owner the other day. I don't think he had owned this tractor very long. He probably got it for free for hauling it off. I asked him how long had this tractor been sitting. He said probably a year, maybe a year and a half… … …

Methinks more like 10 years.

Hopefully, I can get her going again, without having to crack open the motor. We'll see! I'm enjoying the challenge.

[Brad Schafer]

any more progress here? inquiring minds and all that ... :)

[Todd Burch]

Lots of progress, lots of work, some money spent, but she's not running yet. ;) BUT, she has fired a few times, maybe 5 seconds at the longest.

The ballast resister was rusted to the point of being open. Replaced that. Along with a few terminal ends too.

Rebuilt the starter. Twice. And painted it. Bench test worked great.

Rebuilt the fuel shutoff valve, and new screen, gasket, and new fuel line to carb. STILL HAVE BAD GAS IN THE TANK THOUGH.

Rebuilt the carb, replaced brass elbow with screen.

Bought a 6V charger/starter. Cleaned all my 1 gauge battery cables ends.

Rebuilt the distributor - new bushings, points, condenser, gaskets, sandblasted and painted the housing, new cap, new rotor, new wires, new 6V coil.

Spark isn't great, but it's sparking. Fuel tank needs to be removed and cleaned out. I'm currently searching for a temporary gas tank (like off a defunct lawnmower) so I can have a fuel supply with the hood off. Once I get that, I'll throw some fresh gas in it and try to crank it again. Maybe this weekend.

I took the front right tire off, as it was flat and dry rotted. Blasted and primed the wheel, and it needs paint before I spend $80 for a new tire/tube/mount.

It's been raining so much here for the last month, it's really tough to work on. Between the rain, mud, puddles, mosquitos and other critters (I saw a large coral snake next to it the other day), I have been working on indoor projects.