8N restored with pics

[somanytractors]

Those are just bars to keep the three point lower arm’s from moving up or down to keep the draw bar in a fixed position.

We always used them to pull our hay rake.

Getting a center draw bar that mounts below the PTO / rear axle eliminates the need for those bars.

I've never encountered them before but it makes sense. There's been a few times I would have liked the 3 pt to stay down. Never thought of doing something like that.

 

[wolc123]

If you ever have it in your pickup, post a pic! What do you use for ramps? That must feel sketchy loading and unloading, LOL

For ramps, I cut a couple of 12” x 2” tongue and groove white oak barn floor planks to 8 ft long. I trimmed 4” x 3” sawed white oak rafter sections, and nailed them to the underside of the planks for added strength.

I recovered that wood from a couple old 36’ x 46’ x 16’ post and beam barns that my great great grandad built in 1881 & 1883. I dismantled those because the roofs and foundations were failing and to make room for a new pole-barn.

The 8 ft box of my 2000 Silverado fit that Cub like a glove. To tie it down, I used (2) 2” ratchet straps, anchored to the built in anchor points inside the (4) lower corners of the truck box.

I don’t believe that it is “just a coincidence” that the standard Cub fits so well in a regular full sized pickup truck box. Most likely, that was the design criteria used, back in the 1940’s, when that tractor was developed.


Of course this won’t work with a Farmall Super A, or with the more popular short boxes that most folks get on their pickup trucks these days.

As far as the truck handling with the tractor in back, it was very good. Less sway in the corners than when I have my 8 ft camper on back. I can’t stand trailers, so I am really appreciating the Cub.

I have a decent spot to load/unload at home, shown there on the picture at the back of the stone driveway area behind my pole barn. There is an even better spot over at my parents place, 20 miles away. They have a sand filter septic system on their front yard. I back up to that, and there is very little angle needed on the ramps to get the tractor on and off.

To load up the tractor, I remove the truck tailgate and rear the end of the ramps on the rear step bumper. The Cub’s front tire width is adjusted to less than 4 ft, while the rears are at 4’ - 6”. That wider rear setting gives the tractor more stability but prevents me from being able to close the tailgate. If I moved them into the narrowest (4) ft position, I could pull the tractor another 1-1/2” forward, and close the tailgate with it inside.

I just left the tailgate at home (I had to remove it to use the ramps anyhow), when I hauled the tractor over to my parents place, to do a (3) hour job.

 

[gstrom99]

To load up he tractor, I remove the truck tailgate and rear the end of the ramps on the rear step bumper. The Cub’s front tire width is adjusted to less than 4 ft, while the rears are at 4’ - 6”. That wider rear setting gives the tractor more stability but prevents me from being able to close the tailgate. If I moved them into the narrowest (4) ft position, I could pull the tractor another 1-1/2” forward, and close the tailgate with it inside.

You don't DRIVE it up there, I assume. That would scare the tar out of me. I've seen too many videos of flip overs...

A winch of some sort?

I like those old Fords. I may (probably will) get another. Before and after of my 9N "resto" pics:

 

[wolc123]

You don't DRIVE it up there, I assume. That would scare the tar out of me. I've seen too many videos of flip overs...

A winch of some sort?

I like those old Fords. I may (probably will) get another. Before and after of my 9N "resto" pics:

View attachment 812421
View attachment 812419

Drive on, drive off. I even did it a few times with my 4 x 4 truck, which sits about 4” higher. No sweat at all with this 2wd backed up to a high spot. Easier than driving on and off a trailer on level ground.

Nice 9n. Some day, after I retire and gain a little extra time to care for them, I’d like to get one of those. What year is that one ?

 

[wolc123]

I

 

[Paystar]

For ramps, I cut a couple of 12” x 2” tongue and groove white oak barn floor planks to 8 ft long. I trimmed 4” x 3” sawed white oak rafter sections, and nailed them to the underside of the planks for added strength.

I recovered that wood from a couple old 36’ x 46’ x 16’ post and beam barns that my great great grandad built in 1881 & 1883. I dismantled those because the roofs and foundations were failing and to make room for a new pole-barn.

The 8 ft box of my 2000 Silverado fit that Cub like a glove. To tie it down, I used (2) 2” ratchet straps, anchored to the built in anchor points inside the (4) lower corners of the truck box.
View attachment 812362

I don’t believe that it is “just a coincidence” that the standard Cub fits so well in a regular full sized pickup truck box. Most likely, that was the design criteria used, back in the 1940’s, when that tractor was developed.


Of course this won’t work with a Farmall Super A, or with the more popular short boxes that most folks get on their pickup trucks these days.

As far as the truck handling with the tractor in back, it was very good. Less sway in the corners than when I have my 8 ft camper on back. I can’t stand trailers, so I am really appreciating the Cub.

I have a decent spot to load/unload at home, shown there on the picture at the back of the stone driveway area behind my pole barn. There is an even better spot over at my parents place, 20 miles away. They have a sand filter septic system on their front yard. I back up to that, and there is very little angle needed on the ramps to get the tractor on and off.

To load up he tractor, I remove the truck tailgate and rear the end of the ramps on the rear step bumper. The Cub’s front tire width is adjusted to less than 4 ft, while the rears are at 4’ - 6”. That wider rear setting gives the tractor more stability but prevents me from being able to close the tailgate. If I moved them into the narrowest (4) ft position, I could pull the tractor another 1-1/2” forward, and close the tailgate with it inside.

I just left the tailgate at home (I had to remove it to use the ramps anyhow), when I hauled the tractor over to my parents place, to do a (3) hour job.

That is cool! Thanks for sharing. I like it!

You must get some looks going down the road with that eh? LOL

 

[Paystar]

You don't DRIVE it up there, I assume. That would scare the tar out of me. I've seen too many videos of flip overs...

A winch of some sort?

I like those old Fords. I may (probably will) get another. Before and after of my 9N "resto" pics:

View attachment 812421
View attachment 812419

Very nice! Do you or someone else have that for sale now? I just saw one identical with the discs for sale in the Ford section of Marketbook (Canadian version of Tractorhouse)

 

[wolc123]

That is cool! Thanks for sharing. I like it!

You must get some looks going down the road with that eh? LOL

I was getting some attention from across the road while I was unloading at my parent’s place. There is a busy chainsaw/lawnmower sales and service shop over there.

A little bit of research development went into the wood ramp design. First, I cut the 142 year old 2” x 12” white oak planks 12 ft long, to keep the loading angle lower, and I did not have the under center reinforcement beam.

One of the 12 footers snapped near the center when I was half way up:

No trouble after I cut the length down to 8 ft and added the bottom reinforcement beams.

One of the other keys to safe loading and unloading with the 2wd pickup, is having a “high, dry, flat” spot to back the truck up to. With my 4wd truck, I could back up into almost any roadside ditch, and sometimes not even need the ramps, driving right up on the tailgate.

As I mentioned earlier, the stone pad behind my pole barn works well for that here at home. The raised front yard sand filter area works even better over at my parents.

 

[Tinhack]

The 8 ft box of my 2000 Silverado fit that Cub like a glove.

Wow! You got some STONES brother. That broken board is what scares me. I was puckered just driving my zero-turn mower onto a trailer when I bought it.

 

[gstrom99]

What year is that one ?

I forget. Sold it before I moved to Iowa...

 

[gstrom99]

Very nice! Do you or someone else have that for sale now? I just saw one identical with the discs for sale in the Ford section of Marketbook (Canadian version of Tractorhouse)

Thanks. I sold it (with a 3 pt rotary cutter) to someone in Indiana, a couple years ago. I still have the disc, out here.

 

[wolc123]

Thanks. I sold it (with a 3 pt mower) to someone in Indiana, a couple years ago. I still have the disc, out here.

How do you like the disk ?

I bought my 1951 Ford 8n, from the widow of the original owner, in 1988. They lived directly across the street, from the house where I grew up. I can remember my dad borrowing the 8n and the “Ferguson system” 6-1/2 ft 3-point disk that came with it, to use on our small vegetable garden, after he had plowed it up with grandpas John Deere model M and it’s mounted 2-bottom.

I paid the neighbor lady $1200 for the tractor, $ 225 for the disk, $ 125 for the plow, back in 1988. Those were about the same prices that were shown on the original 1951 bill of sale, at our local town Ford tractor dealer.

The plow and tractor worked great, but I never cared for the disk. In my opinion, the 3-point hitch was about the worst thing that ever happened to a disk. I’ve since acquired an old John Deere 8 ft pull type disk. The 8n pulls it easier than it ever did the 6.5 ft 3-point, and it takes many less passes with it to get the ground worked up good.

The only thing I like better about the 3-point disk is ease of road transport and use in very small places. I don’t deal with those issues much any more. One of the prettiest sights that I can remember is that 3-point disk leaving our farm in the back of a Craigslist readers pickup truck.

A few years ago, my father in law gave me an old 6.5 ft 3-point disk when he moved up to a retirement home in the mountains. I’ve used it a couple of times, at neighbors places, which served to refresh the “bad memories”.

 

[John0829]

In my opinion, the 3-point hitch was about the worst thing that ever happened to a disk. I’ve since acquired an old John Deere 8 ft pull type disk. The 8n pulls it easier than it ever did the 6.5 ft 3-point, and it takes many less passes with it to get the ground worked up good.

I agree 110%, a 3 point disk just will not cut/work ground like an old pull disk will.

 

[Paystar]

Good to know!

 

[wolc123]

I agree 110%, a 3 point disk just will not cut/work ground like an old pull disk will.

They sure do sell a lot of them 3-point disks, but I bet 90% of the folks who buy them have never used a pull type, so they have no clue what they are missing.

I couldn’t believe how easily my little 10 hp Farmall Cub handled my dad’s 6 ft Bissel pull-type, set at the most aggressive angle:

It didn’t take too long or two many passes to churn that ground up to almost a powder.

 

[John0829]

They sure do sell a lot of them 3-point disks, but I bet 90% of the folks who buy them have never used a pull type, so they have no clue what they are missing.

I will bet good money everyone of those purchasing a 3 point disk is doing for the convenience of handling.

 

[wolc123]

I will bet good money everyone of those purchasing a 3 point disk is doing for the convenience of handling.

Certainly most of them are. I used to have a big flatbed trailer, that would fit my tractor and the three point disk, back when I had some land in between my place and my parents. The 3-point disk was ok then. Now that I have got rid of that in between land and that trailer, having a separate pull-type disk at both places is a much better option.

I remember old Farmwithhunk, from this site was a big proponent of the 3-point disks. He and I clashed over that a few times thru the years. His dad liked the old “drag disks” as he called them, but he never took a liking to them.

 

[John0829]

As they say, you can lead a horse to water...