To upgrade or not

[hornett22]

A good replacement for the 8n is a Mahindra 1626 or Kioti CK 2610. I prefer the Mahindra due to it being made in Japan.

 

[19528nford]

One of the best things I ever did to my 8N was convert it to 12 volt.
Its a great little tractor but a few years ago I added a brandnew LS XR4155 to the lineup and very glad to have it, it makes many jobs so much easier.

Thanks for your input. I have conseidered converting mine to 12 and just staying with what I have, in all honesty the biggest thing I do with it, or would do with any other tractor right now is bush hog about 4-5 acres. Do you think Im ok with running that 6 foot hog on there

 

[hornett22]

Thanks for your input. I have conseidered converting mine to 12 and just staying with what I have, in all honesty the biggest thing I do with it, or would do with any other tractor right now is bush hog about 4-5 acres. Do you think Im ok with running that 6 foot hog on there

6 is a bit big. Depends mostly on what you are trying to cut.

I'd highly recommend doing the 12 volt conversion.

 

[nybirdman]

An 8N will need an ver-running: clutch to run a bush hog safely.

 

[19528nford]

An 8N will need an ver-running: clutch to run a bush hog safely.

Ive got one on there

 

[Randy52]

Upgrade I ran Allis Chalmers B C WD WD$% and D17 open cabs all my life a few years ago at age 67 I bought a TYM 394 cab loved the heat and air. Just upgraded a month ago to a TYM 494.

 

[19528nford]

Tha

Upgrade I ran Allis Chalmers B C WD WD$% and D17 open cabs all my life a few years ago at age 67 I bought a TYM 394 cab loved the heat and air. Just upgraded a month ago to a TYM 494.

I actually told my wife when we got married,(shes a nurse makes big money$$$) that one day she could buy me a tractor with an AC cab I ran run one when I worked on a driving range part time. Needless to say its been 15 years and I still have the 8n

 

[Boss 302]

Another vote to upgrade.

 

[nwut05]

You said you mow 4 acres? Keep the 8N, upgrade the electrical when you have time over the winter. Buy a good quality zero turn and forget it! that is my opinion and you did ask for them LOL Good Luck. But seriously keep the 8n, a dealer will just take it from you for nothing and everybody else will annoy you with the lowball offers. She is reliable and can only get better now with a little love.....It don't cost you anything to keep her either!

 

[mo1]

I have a 1952 8n I bought from a 95 year old man about 15 years ago. The man told me when I got it he had gotten tired of "little things" breaking so he recently took it to a tractor shop and had it completly "gone through" he told me the reason he was selling was "son I just cant get on and off of it anymore". I have about 4 acres of land that I currently bush hog. I was using my Pepa's old 5ft bush hog it broke, and I went off and bought a 6 foot hog, I just figured bigger was better. I also maintain the driveway with it using a 5 foot heavy duty box blade with rippers. Tractor is the orginal 6 volt system that can be kinda irritating at times, but my Pepa had a 528n and I wanted one. I wanted to get peoples thoughts on what I should do. Should I try to upgrade to a newer stronger tractor or run the old 8n with the 6 volt system. I would really appreciate everyones thoughts. Thanks in advance.

If the 8N works for what you are using it for, keep it. If not, get a different one. My guess is it won't be too happy running a 6' rotary cutter unless you are just knocking down some weeds, a 5'er was a better size for that 8N.

You have very little money in the 8N, it is easy to work on, and you can find about any part you want to fix the 8N if it breaks or wears out. There are good reasons you still see a bunch of 8Ns around 70 years later. This may be quite a bit different than a newer tractor, which will be expensive, be anywhere from not too bad to awful to work on (depending on what part of the tractor you are working on), may or may not be very long-lived, and you may or may not be able to find parts in the future, depending on the manufacturer and how widely the manufacturer used the specific part you are looking for.

 

[mapper]

I owned an 8n for about 30 years, it did a lot of work for me. Upgrading it to twelve volt made it much easier to start especially in cold weather.
I upgraded to a new tractor that is about the same size as the 8n but with about 15 more hp and diesel.
The new tractor has a FEL, 4WD, and power steering. It just does everything much easier and faster. I have not regretted upgrading for one minute.
Would of liked to kept the 8n, but I didn't have a covered area to keep it in and believe me they do not like being left out in the elements, even under a tarp.
The guy that bought it from me was tickled to get it!

 

[hornett22]

I would highly recommend upgrading but I would also keep the 8n. I would definitely upgrade the electrical and ignition systems though.

 

[19528nford]

You said you mow 4 acres? Keep the 8N, upgrade the electrical when you have time over the winter. Buy a good quality zero turn and forget it! that is my opinion and you did ask for them LOL Good Luck. But seriously keep the 8n, a dealer will just take it from you for nothing and everybody else will annoy you with the lowball offers. She is reliable and can only get better now with a little love.....It don't cost you anything to keep her either!

Thanks for your opion I already have a 60" hustler I had a friend put a 27 hp vangaurd on last year. I guess I never thought about it that way. I quess I just get a wild hair up my rear end every once in a while and want to spend money. I bought a 92 corvette 3 years ago, because I thought I needed it, I pull it out from underneath the shelter to wash it and then put it back. You think I would have learned my lesson. Thanks Again

 

[19528nford]

I owned an 8n for about 30 years, it did a lot of work for me. Upgrading it to twelve volt made it much easier to start especially in cold weather.
I upgraded to a new tractor that is about the same size as the 8n but with about 15 more hp and diesel.
The new tractor has a FEL, 4WD, and power steering. It just does everything much easier and faster. I have not regretted upgrading for one minute.
Would of liked to kept the 8n, but I didn't have a covered area to keep it in and believe me they do not like being left out in the elements, even under a tarp.
The guy that bought it from me was tickled to get it!

Thanks, I have owned it for 15 years and the only thing that has bother me was the weak spark. I will convert to 12 volt

 

[19528nford]

I would highly recommend upgrading but I would also keep the 8n. I would definitely upgrade the electrical and ignition systems though.

I am going to uograde 6 volt to 12 do you think it would pay to upgrade to electronic ignition.. Would I gain much hp by going electronic ignition

 

[hornett22]

I am going to uograde 6 volt to 12 do you think it would pay to upgrade to electronic ignition.. Would I gain much hp by going electronic ignition

Not sure you'll game any HP but you should get quicker and more reliable starts. May run smoother.

 

[rScotty]

I am going to uograde 6 volt to 12 do you think it would pay to upgrade to electronic ignition.. Would I gain much hp by going electronic ignition

No HP, and no real change in how it runs. Nothing noticible to you as a tractor owner. There are advantages, but they are tiny. A coil is easier to diagnose if it goes wrong.

I'd stick with just changing the ignition coil to 12 volt for now.
You can always go to electronic ignition later.

Steiner Tractor sells a 12 volt upgrade kit for less than $200 dollars. It is basically a 12 volt alternator, 12 volt ignition coil, and some mounting hardware - but no 12 volt battery. Once you figured it out, you could assemble those parts yourself for about half that price. Not worth the hassle the first time.

The one thing that you can do to make your spark stronger doesn't care if the rest of the system is 6 or 12 volts - so you can do it now. That is to replace the points, condensor, distributor cap....and particularly the spark plugs, plug wires, and caps with new ones. Be sure to use the old-fashioned copper wire type spark plug wires.

rScotty

 

[19528nford]

No HP, and no real change in how it runs. Nothing noticible to you as a tractor owner. There are advantages, but they are tiny. A coil is easier to diagnose if it goes wrong.

I'd stick with just changing the ignition coil to 12 volt for now.
You can always go to electronic ignition later.

Steiner Tractor sells a 12 volt upgrade kit for less than $200 dollars. It is basically a 12 volt alternator, 12 volt ignition coil, and some mounting hardware - but no 12 volt battery. Once you figured it out, you could assemble those parts yourself for about half that price. Not worth the hassle the first time.

The one thing that you can do to make your spark stronger doesn't care if the rest of the system is 6 or 12 volts - so you can do it now. That is to replace the points, condensor, distributor cap....and particularly the spark plugs, plug wires, and caps with new ones. Be sure to use the old-fashioned copper wire type spark plug wires.

rScotty

Thanks Scotty I appreciate the input

 

[Fordy20]

Might be ok to upgrade if you can pay cash without stretching your finances. Otherwise it's probably cheaper to hire someone to mow it a couple times a year.

 

[Yander]

When my dad was around mid 70's I talked him into selling the old 8n with a loader (Which made it like a monkey bar set for him to climb on) and buying a small SCUT. He said he wouldn't spend more than $7500 on a tractor so I looked and finally found one about 4 hours North (MI) with only 500+ hours even though it was 20+ years old.

He then began using his little Kubota Bx2200 for everything under the sun. Where he was only using the 8n when he HAD to. Wood hauling, bush hogging.

I don't know how old you are but as a body gets older, climbing on a SCUT with hydrostat is much easier and will make you find more uses for it.

My dad would tell all the things he found to do with his little BX and I knew he was glad he bought it. Keep the 8n also if you have the space though.