Ford 8N or similar older types

[Buckeye76]

New member here! I have a question and looking for advice! We have bought a 5 acre plot and plan on building a house, pole barn, long gravel driveway. And maybe have a few animals. The land is almost perfectly flat as it is currently a farmers field so no serious grades. Im a gearhead car / truck guy, so I really like the older retro Ford 8Ns and they seem to have a good reputation. Im also an Aircraft Mechanic by trade, so Im not afraid of having to fix it if needed and also the simplicity of it also played a factor in this choice and plentiful parts from what I can see. I plan on mowing, grading (a spot for the pole barn and my driveway annually or more), plowing a small garden area maybe 1/4 acre, and using the PTO Auger but other than that, just general work. What are yalls opinions on these older tractors for general work? Thanks ahead of time fellas!

 

[Wakey]

New member here! I have a question and looking for advice! We have bought a 5 acre plot and plan on building a house, pole barn, long gravel driveway. And maybe have a few animals. The land is almost perfectly flat as it is currently a farmers field so no serious grades. Im a gearhead car / truck guy, so I really like the older retro Ford 8Ns and they seem to have a good reputation. I plan on mowing, grading (a spot for the pole barn and my driveway annually or more), plowing a small garden area maybe 1/4 acre, and using the PTO Auger but other than that, just general work. What are yalls opinions on these older tractors for general work? Thanks ahead of time fellas!

Welcome to TBN and congrats on the land purchase! Take a moment to fill out your profile, that helps us answer some questions you might have.

The 8N is an excellent workhorse!

 

[nybirdman]

There are better choices in old rigs than 8N and 9N's.They don't have a live PTO and the gear spacing doesn't work well.Loaders for them are beastly and with 2 wheel drive about useless.
I have put many hours on both.
Look newer.

 

[Hiptfarms]

I preferred Farmalls myself. I have two friends with 8n tractors and they are always having to fix something. But, for some folks, the tinkering is part of the appeal in a vintage machine.

 

[Buckeye76]

If not an 8N or 9N, what would be a good recommendation for the work I might be doing under my budget of say $6k (listed in first post)?

 

[LD1]

Agree that there are better options in older machines. But the 8n's have advantages many of the others dont. They are simple to work on, simple to operate, easy to get parts for, and there never seems to be a shortage of them for sale. Other people may suggest different machines. Like ford 600/800 series, or MF 135/235, Or any other of countless similar tractors. The issue is finding one for sale. You dont have to look too hard to find N-series tractors for sale just about everywhere.

They do suck for mowing without live/independent hydraulics. But that doesnt mean it isnt possible. I have mowed ALOT with a 8n and 5' rear finish mower. They are a real handy tractor though for a 1/4 acre garden....plowing/discing.....and some light driveway maintenance. But dont expect much for any serious dirt grading. Most blades you see paired withn an 8n will just glide over dirt and never cut in. You are limited on how heavy of a blade you can get because the rear hydraulics arent very strong....and if you do get a blade to bite in....they lack weight/traction to really do much.

 

[dodge man]

Yes they look cool and are simple but for practical use, I’d get something newer. I would recommend a newer subcompact or compact used. With your budget it would have to be a little higher hours but still have a lot of life.

 

[LD1]

With a 6k budget....I'd be looking to the 1980's. Ford 10-series like a 1710.....something like a deere 750/850/950/1050, Massey 230.

You can always find a little older, little newer, or bigger/smaller in your budget. But $6k opens up more doors. A typical "budget" for someone shopping for a N-series is usually like $1500-$2000. Which really limits you to just the N-series machines

 

[fried1765]

With a 6k budget....I'd be looking to the 1980's. Ford 10-series like a 1710.....something like a deere 750/850/950/1050, Massey 230.

You can always find a little older, little newer, or bigger/smaller in your budget. But $6k opens up more doors. A typical "budget" for someone shopping for a N-series is usually like $1500-$2000. Which really limits you to just the N-series machines

For the OP:
I have owned an 1951 8N for exactly 50 years (I am 80).
I still have that 8N, but have not used it in 10+ years.
Don't quite know why I am keeping it, except for the fact that is a cute old machine, and probably only worth $2500-$3,000.
Bought it when I was a poor B-727 first officer back in 1971.
It was what I could afford,( $800) and I needed to maintain my Minnesota driveway.

The advice given in posts above is good advice!
Since you are an A&P, you should be able to rebuild just about anything.
You might see if you can find a late 80's+ Ford that needs an engine rebuild?
In 1974, I paid for the materials, and had my 8N engine rebuilt by a high school shop class.

Your tractor should have a loader (do not buy one without, and then TRY to find a loader).
I would steer clear of the Ford 1700, or 1710 tractors, as parts are becoming hard to find.
I have a 1989 Ford 1920 with loader, and parts seem to still be reasonably available, but who knows for how long.
The Ford 1920 is a very nice older 32HP tractor, that was built (in Japan) over about 12 years.
I use my (restored) 1920 with FEL frequently, though I do have a much larger Kubota L48TLB also.

I think the secret of available support for older tractors is how many of any particular model were originally built.
The more that were built, the more available the support seems to be.
Case in point: You could assemble a new Model A Ford car today, from new aftermarket parts that are readily available!

Try to take your time, and look for the right deal.
Whatever you do......... try to buy a tractor with live PTO, power steering, and a loader!
You can fix whatever is broken!

 

[Username Taken]

The 8N was a revolutionary design. Best selling tractor evah! But it has serious drawbacks. I'd look into it a lot harder before putting any money on one. Especially if you're gonna kinda rely on it for anything.

Can you modernize the drawbacks? To an extent but then you're gonna have so much money tied up into it, you could have got a new(ish) one!

To me, they're more for hobbyists that already have a functioning, modern tractor and don't really need their 8N to do anything worthwhile around the Farm.

Can they? Sure, I guess so. Sort of. A little bit. Maybe. Sometimes.

Is it worth the hassle?
Heck!
No!

I'd like to have one, too. But just so I could dress it up and drive it in
the 4th of July Parade.
And so me and the boys could lean on it, shoot the breeze and spit on the ground while talking about the good old days.

I grew up operating a Farmall 200 and while I miss the good ol' days (mostly because I was 50 years younger), when I think anout it hard, I don't miss that darned old mule of a tractor at all. About as technologically advanced as a wheebarrow. And the 8N wasn't any better in reality. If at all. Probably not even. whatev

My advice to you would be...... Go into debt or wait until you can do it right. Get mama out there with you liftin' and totin' -- and diggin' in the garden. You'll have a new one before the Summer's through

 

[Smokeydog]

Good advice on 600-800 Ford or 135MF with live power pto would be work with most modern attachments if you like the older tractors. With your skills you could easy use and maintain for several years and recoup or increase your investment if you decide to upgrade.
There are some good safety improvements with modern tractors particularly for novice operators. Consider family and friends. Front end loaders are handy.

 

[Buckeye76]

I appreciate all the advice so far! I have time to look and will be purchasing 6-8 mos from now. Please feel free to keep adding to this thread, Im learning a great deal from this feedback!

 

[fried1765]

I appreciate all the advice so far! I have time to look and will be purchasing 6-8 mos from now. Please feel free to keep adding to this thread, Im learning a great deal from this feedback!

The MF 135, and MF 235 tractors as suggested here, are also very good choices!

 

[droptop]

Being new to tractors, I like to point you to a nice site to check prices and window shop for new and used tractors called Tractorhouse.com, its great for pricing comparison. Another website to look at is Tractordata.com for more information on specific models.

As for the 8N, I'll join the crowd and say go newer. Power steering, Live PTO, Glow plugs if a diesel, I'd get into the '80s. Think MF 230/235, Ford 2000/2600, Possibly an older Kubota should all be in your budget. If looking at an older imported tractor, make sure you know who actually made it and not just who's paint was on it.

 

[dodge man]

Attachments

• 
  DSCN0596.JPG

  817.5 KB · Views: 434

This was what I think was a 9N I towed home for a buddy years ago, he never did get it running, it just seemed very primitive to me.

 

[Cycledude]

I’m a 8n owner, it’s been mostly trouble free for the 30 years I’ve owned it. But yes something a little newer with live power would probably be a better choice.

 

[Sportsman762]

The 8N is a good older tractor. However there are much better choices at a similar price point. I grew up with an 8N and my parents replaced it 5 or so years ago with a newer (1978) Massey.
When looking at an older tractor I would look for one in good shape and has some features

PTO
Get independent (lever turns pto on and off no matter if your clutch is engauged or not) or live pto (you have a two stage clutch, push half way down stops transmission, all the way down stops transmission and pto)

Steering
Get power assist or full hydraulic steering. My father commented to me that the turning radius is much tighter with the Massey. My response was the the Massey had twice the turning radius of the 8N, however you did not have to fight the wheel to get it to turn, so it turned faster.

Safety
If you have hills I would make a Roll Bar (ROPS) a requirement. If you do not have hills, ROPS are a great idea for a beginner.

Transmission
The 8N has a stupid fast reverse. Makes it a pain to back up and do detail work.

Hitch
I would make sure that whatever you look at has a 3 point hitch (3pt). This eliminates many older John Deere, and Farmalls from the list.

Loaders
Loaders are nice to have, however they can be a pain to mow with, and make the tractor ungainly. I love having a loader, however it is a pain at times too. The loaders for 8N's are terrible. Make sure the loader uses double acting cylinders and has cylinders for the bucket.

Parts
The cost of parts are another factor I would keep in mind. Ford and Massey have the lowest aftermarket parts cost and the strongest parts support. This is due to the high volume of older fords (9N-8N, 600-901, 2000-4000) sold in america. The Massey 135 style is another excellent choice for parts costs and availability as well. If you use the tractor a 6K tractor will break. Parts costs can be significant over the life of a tractor.

Yes they look cool and are simple but for practical use, I’d get something newer. I would recommend a newer subcompact or compact used. With your budget it would have to be a little higher hours but still have a lot of life.

Higher hours mean more maintenance, also part costs for compact tractors can get crazy. This does not mean that the compacts will have more or less repairs than an older utility, but the cost of the repair for older utility tractors with good parts support such as Ford 2000-4000 or a Massey 135, will be significantly less. Also parts for some brands such as Montana, Satoh, Hinomoto and Mitsubishi can be harder to acquire.

My advice to you would be...... Go into debt or wait until you can do it right.

Getting it right is a subjective idea. You can achieve what the OP wants with an 8N. However for similar cost, if not slightly more, yet under budget can use easier to operate equipment that has the similar simplicity as the 8N. I know that I help a friend on a farm, he runs old 70's tractors. His neighbor runs brand new Case IH. The neighbor has gone bankrupt twice so far. Those nice new Case IH tractors and their debt must be "doing it right". I know when I am sweating buckets in the cab with the windows open I am envious of their A/C though.

You can get the work done you want to with an older tractor. The bang for the buck of an older utility tractor is great. However the operation of it is a much steeper learning curve. They are much harder to run, the more complex newer tractors with hydrostatic transmissions make operators look like experts with only a few hours of use. Geared utility tractors take 10-20 times more hours to gain proficiency at complex operations.

When my parents were looking to upgrade our requirements were:
Good condition
ROPS
Live or Independent PTO
Power Steering
Loader

We ended up picking up a Massey 20C with a loader, and ROPS / FOPS (falling Object Protection) Cab, and diesel engine. It is an evolution of the Massey 135, and parts are easy to come by. However the steering cylinder and orbital motor is unique and will be $$ if work is needed. We paid $4K for it. Father then blew the engine up (check oil before running it) so we rebuilt it. I have mowed grass, leveled a building pad for a pole barn, cleaned up and leveled were the old barn was, moved tons of brush, pulled fence posts, and done much more with it.

 

[Cougsfan]

If you come across a Ferguson TO35, it is a much better tractor than an 8 or 9n. It has a 2 stage clutch and a 2 stage 3 speed tranny which are very helpful. I also wouldn't rule out a grey market tractor.. I had a Japanese model of a 28 hp Yanmar that I used for 10 or more years that was an excellent fairly modern tractor that would be in your price range.

 

[wolc123]

The first tractor I purchased was a 1951 8n, from the widow of the original owner, about 35 years ago. It only had 1200 hours on it, because he only used it to tend to a 1 acre garden and small grape orchard, so basically it was just barely broken in when I got it.

It was my only tractor for about 5 years and I used it on 34 acres, most of which I mowed with a 5 ft Bush hog "squealer" on back. It did ok with that, after I added an orc, but was somewhat nightmarish prior, lacking live pto or live hydraulics.

It really excelled on its factory 2 x 12" moldboard plow, the implement it was literally designed around. To this day, I have owned no tractor that does better on that tool, or my 2 row corn planter. I still have that 8n (about 2400 hours on it now), and I still use it on those tools.

Some of the things I like better about that 8n than my newer tractors are: quiet smooth running gas engine, easy mount/dismount from either side, light weight and ease of attaching 3 pt implements, best parts availability of any make/model, hydraulic draft control.

This will likely be the last year for the original, calcium filled rear rims, as one of them is badly corroded and has exposed tube rubber around the stem. When and if I replace them, I won't load them again, which will limit its usefulness on the plow.

That 8n was my first tractor and it will likely be the last one that I get rid of. It needed a valve job after I overworked it, digging a 1/4 acre pond with a scoop. The original valve seats didn't hold up so well on unleaded gas.

It also needed a new distributer last year. It was tough getting the timing right after that, but it is running like new again now. I should have followed the manual and lubed that each 10 hours instead of every 100 when I did oil changes. Other than those issues, that tractor has been trouble free.

I would not recommend against one for working on 5 acres. Just be sure to fork over about $ 70 for an orc if you use pto tools on it. I honestly believe that the 1951 and 1952 8n's may be the best tractors ever.

 

[fried1765]

The first tractor I purchased was a 1951 8n, from the widow of the original owner, about 35 years ago. It only had 1200 hours on it, because he only used it to tend to a 1 acre garden and small grape orchard, so basically it was just barely broken in when I got it.

It was my only tractor for about 5 years and I used it on 34 acres, most of which I mowed with a 5 ft Bush hog "squealer" on back. It did ok with that, after I added an orc, but was somewhat nightmarish prior, lacking live pto or live hydraulics.

It really excelled on its factory 2 x 12" moldboard plow, the implement it was literally designed around. To this day, I have owned no tractor that does better on that tool, or my 2 row corn planter. I still have that 8n (about 2400 hours on it now), and I still use it on those tools.

Some of the things I like better about that 8n than my newer tractors are: quiet smooth running gas engine, easy mount/dismount from either side, light weight and ease of attaching 3 pt implements, best parts availability of any make/model, hydraulic draft control.

This will likely be the last year for the original, calcium filled rear rims, as one of them is badly corroded and has exposed tube rubber around the stem. When and if I replace them, I won't load them again, which will limit its usefulness on the plow.

That 8n was my first tractor and it will likely be the last one that I get rid of. It needed a valve job after I overworked it, digging a 1/4 acre pond with a scoop. The original valve seats didn't hold up so well on unleaded gas.

It also needed a new distributer last year. It was tough getting the timing right after that, but it is running like new again now. I should have followed the manual and lubed that each 10 hours instead of every 100 when I did oil changes. Other than those issues, that tractor has been trouble free.

I would nor recommend against one for working on 5 acres. Just be sure to fork over about $ 70 for an orc if you use pto tools on it. I honestly believe that the 1951 and 1952 8n's may be the best tractors ever.

For the benefit of others, the "orc", mentioned above, is an ...."overrunning clutch".
......It is necessary for operator safety, particularly when using a bush hog type mower, due to the rudimentary design of the 8N PTO.