Buying Advice 8N-9N fords/ford ferguson/massey ferguson/ ect....

[emsherer]

I need to buy an old tractor to do some brush removal on my land, using a bush hog, lots of uneven ground. I will have to back up to most of these areas and lower the bush hog down on the brush the first time. I think I really need a live PTO. Do any of the tractors in this thread title have live PTO. or what kind of tractor would you suggest. These models are usualy available around here for under $2500.00 and that's pretty close to all I can spend. any advise is helpful ..Thanks

 

[motownbrowne]

Not the Ns. No live PTO or hydraulics. A 600 or 800 series ford would do the job. Can't speak to the others.

 

[GManBart]

The 8N and 9N don't have a live PTO, so they're out. $2500 is going to be very tight, but you might find a Massey Ferguson 35 (some had two-stage clutches), 50 or 135 in that ballpark, but they'll likely be a little rough. In the Ford line, you might get an NAA (often called a Golden Jubilee, although that was technically only the 1953 model) or something in the 600 or 601 series like these:

1955 Ford 660 Tractor

641 FORD TRACTOR, 5' BUSH HOG, 3 BOTTOM(14') PLOW

 

[Cherokee140]

I would just back in with the PTO running. But the bad thing is that reverse is pretty fast....faster then 1st gear it seems. But you don't have another way.

Another thing I did was to take the swaybars off the tractor...this would let the deck swing out a little to the side...and I would just side swipe small chunks out of the brush....took a long time but it worked and you could keep the deck down the entire time and not have spinning blades way up in the air. If it is real thick brush it might stall out the machine when you start the pto in the brush.

When I got my JD650 it had a two speed transmission and I could slowly back the brush hog into the brush. I am not sure what they go for now, but I would think you might be able to get one close to your budget....or something like it.

 

[downslope]

Like Cherokee140 says you can just back in with the PTO running and the cutter somewhat off the ground. Since you then have to shift to a forward gear anyway, I would just put the transmission in neutral and slowly lower the cutter to the ground before proceeding forward. If the tractor has position control (ie 8N vs 9N) that would be a plus, even when mowing wide open spaces. Obviously independent PTO and a larger tractor would be better but if you can find an 8N in good shape it should work OK with a 5 foot cutter.