Monday, September 2, 2013

Our New, Old Tractor


Introducing our new, old tractor!
My husband has been watching tractor sales in the area
and came home with this beauty the other day.
It's a 1951 Ford 8N and has a beautiful look to it.

  The N series started back in the 30s 
and was designed to be a tractor the average guy could work on.  
The 8N was the last of the N series.
It has a 4-speed transmission and multi position 
hydraulics.  The clutch is on the left with independent
brakes on the right.  These are used for complete stopping or brake steering.


I love the classic look
but it will need  some touch up painting since it is not a very good paint job.  
Perhaps they intended to paint around the letters but never finished ?


 This is where the oil filter goes.



The  tractor seat and gear shift.



 Our friend wanted to try our his new truck so he towed it home for us.



It started right up and was ready to take a spin.


Up to that point we've been so very dry,
there's always dust floating in the road
after a car goes by.


Tom started grading the road, getting all those holes smoothed out.


It came with the orange, slow moving vehicle sign.


This is the three point hitch.
There is also a power take off (PTO), 
a shaft with splines on it which 
will attach to a drive shaft on an implement 
so you can use the tractor to power things
 like bush hogs, balers, etc. 
There can also be a belt drive that connects to the PTO
which will run things such as a saw mill.

I had my driving lesson yesterday.
It is much easier to shift than a car; however,
I was a little thrown by the brake-steering system,
thinking that I was doing something wrong
based on the feel and sound of it turning.
 No, I was doing just fine, it was doing exactly
what it was supposed to.
These things can really turn on a dime!


Funny how a day of work always ends up 
with friends gathering for a beer or two!





13 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

Ford based the N series on the Ferguson tractor and even called them Ford Ferguson, they had a nasty legal battle after old Henry Ford died as he and Harry Ferguson only had a hand shake deal. Those tractors have been a work horse for over 60 years and yours is in really good condition, you should see my 1954 Ferguson. The engine in your tractor is very similar to the old model A Ford though a lot better. Good choice!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

I read about the Ford-Ferguson conflict! Thanks for the compliment. I tried to comment on your blog the other day but since it's now limited to members only I'll just tell you now that I've been enjoying your posts!

Gorges Smythe said...

Imagine that, "a tractor the average guy could work on." THAT'LL never happen again!

Rachy said...

LOVE your new, old tractor!
I'm a big fan of old vehicles, and this one is just gorgeous! :D

LindaG said...

That's awesome. Congratulations!
My hubby wants one, too. We could use a baler, provided we had the right type of mower. But where we'll find the money eventually, who knows.
Have fun with your new tractor!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Linda, he's looked for the best deals, putting away and working fairly steady this past month, unfortunately in heat nearing 100, in the sun so the heat index has exceed 104 degrees. At first I couldn't justify it but it may save the four wheeler which is at least 4x as expensive to replace plus he can pull the trees with this and do the road grading which was hard on the four wheeler.

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

George- you can say that again, that's why we keep the 1999 Jeep even without air conditioning- and in humid St Louis we really need A/C. He's replaced almost everything himself so we can keep it running with its 250,000 miles on it. Plus it's paid for- we don't have any car payments !!!

Kathy Felsted Usher said...

Rachy, I know, I've seen some of your vehicles on the blog -very nice! I like old too, so much character. All the new vehicles look alike.

Mrs. Mac said...

What a thing of beauty! I hope you get many, many, many good years of use.

Yahoobuckaroo's Blog said...

Cool tractor. I'd sure find a way to put a spring or two under the seat though to make it last longer.

I've been considering buying a Model T or Model A pickup truck. I really like the look of early 30s Model As better, but when I found out that they had over 160 cotter keys in them I decided a late 20s Model T had much less stuff to go wrong, so I'll probably go with one of those some day. Sometimes you find them at barn auctions really cheap. It's amazing what some of these old farmers leave in their barns after they die.

Harry Flashman said...

That's a really nice piece of equipment. There's no end to what you can do with that.

Unknown said...

I love the old stuff so much better than the new. I hope my husband feels that way...lol. Great tractor and I hope you get many years of use out of it. I have you an award at my place. You don't have to participate if you don't want to. As always..I enjoyed your blog. Thanks!

Unknown said...

Nice 51, 8N! I've hade a similar one for 6 or 7 years now. The more I get to know it, the more reliable it is. It likes lots of gas, old points and some help charging the battery. If it floods, I remove the air intake from the carb and give it a minute. Grades the lane, pulls and pushes docks and boats and clears heavy Nova Scotia snow as gracefully as a blunt object can. Cheers.