Soundguy
Old Timer
- Joined
- Mar 11, 2002
- Messages
- 52,238
- Location
- Central florida
- Tractor
- RK 55HC,ym1700, NH7610S, Ford 8N, 2N, NAA, 660, 850 x2, 541, 950, 941D, 951, 2000, 3000, 4000, 4600, 5000, 740, IH 'C' 'H', CUB, John Deere 'B', allis 'G', case VAC
While the 134ci engine in the NAA/6XX wasn't much of an upgrade fro the weight.. if you bumped to the 172ci engine on the 8XX you more than made up fro it by jumping into the high 40's pto hp. Unfortunately as Bob young points out.. at about 50 hp.. gassers get hungry. my ford 850 drinks gas pretty good.. I know a guy with a ford 5000 gas.. something like a 233ci engine... high 60's pto hp.. and you can hardly keep the gas tank full!
soundguy
soundguy
wolc123 said:An easy, cheap fix to most of the troubles you have without live pto is an over running coupler (cost around $70). This will allow the pto to free spin when the clutch is engaged and keep the mower from pushing the tractor. A late model 8n with one of these is real handy on a 5 foot mower, although it still lacks live hydraulics (will not lift with clutch depressed). I would not hesitate to reccomend a 51 or 52 8n, and certainly no tractor before or after has better parts availability. There are so many of these around that it is easy to find one in good condition within your budget. I would not consider a 9n as they lacked "position" control which is tough for mowing and only had 3 speeds vs the 4 on the 8n, and I would also avoid the earlier 8n's with the front distributer. I had a Ford 2000 (diesel) and 3000 (gas), and they also would work for you but would be a little over your budget and parts are a little tougher to get. Both of these had quite a bit more power on the pto than my 51 8n, but could not pull much, if any, more on the drawbar. As long as you dont put a loader on it or do much disking of fresh plowed ground, the 8n's lack of power steering is not that big of a handicap. Those old machines had the smoothest steering of any non-power unit I have operated. I, and many others, consider the 51 and 52 8n's to be the high water mark of Ford designed tractors. I think they lost too much power/weight ratio and got overweight and clumsy with the Jubilee/600's, plus lost some durability on the hydraulics to gain a little convenience with the live system.