Ford 8N tractor

[Cocked & Locked]

BigBill said:

"So really these older Ford's are really Ferguson tractors. That's a fact Jack."

Like MuleyGil said, the Fergusons were based on Ford's N-series.

My 9N Ford has a"Ford" emblem on the front. Right under the Ford emblem is another emblem that reads "Ferguson System." That refers to the Ferguson 3-point lift/hitch system.

And right here that is.

 

[beaverislander]

Cocked & Locked,
That brush guard hitch combo looks like what I need. (The rifle is a nice option as well.)
So far I have had to roll up my sleeves a couple of times and after I get the manual there will be more of that to come. With a load the hydraulic lift goes down within seconds of putting the clutch in and I have to stand on the brakes to get her to slow down. These projects should keep someone of my caliber busy for awhile this winter. They say these things were made so that a mechanically inclined farmer could tear them down and do repairs in the field. If that is true, I tip my hat to my farmer friends.

 

[redlevel]

So really these older Ford's are really Ferguson tractors. That's a fact Jack.

Naw Suh. They are "Ford Tractors with the Ferguson System."

The thing I never figured out about the little Fordson tractors....9N was first..then 2N...Then 8N

Actually, the N-series tractors are Fords, not Fordson. Fordson was another brand started by Henry Ford and his son Edsel. There were about three different periods of Fordson production in England. Some Fordsons were produced in the US, but US production was stopped more than 10 years before the N series production started. Before Ford Motor Company began production of the N-series, Harry Ferguson and the Sherman Brothers were exporting Fordsons from England to the US.

A little more history of the N series of Ford tractors:

Harry Ferguson, an Irishman, invented the 3 point hitch.

Maybe, and maybe not. There were tractors using a three-point hitch of some type before Harry came along. What Harry invented was a system of draft control that regulated how deep the plow went in the ground. A huge problem on small, light machines before draft control was tractors tipping over backward and killing the operator before he could get it stopped if the plow encountered an obstruction. Harry rigged a system of sensors in the hydraulics attached to the top link on the 3-ph. When the plow encountered an increased load, or tried to "dive" into the ground, the top-link sensed this, and raised the plow out of the ground.

Some very interesting information about the N series here.
Ford N-Series Tractor History

 

[LostintheOzone]

You and I have the same birth year. I've had a Kubota tractor for about 15 years. Although not an 8N it still works hard. Everyone in the neighborhood uses it. If you want to become popular in your neighborhood just buy a tractor with a loader and a log splitter. My neighbor bought a 3 point receiver hitch for it and moves his boats and trailers.

 

[Nframecollector]

A true classic!

 

[Pig Hunter]

My cousin always told me my 8n was too little to do much work and too big to take into the house to play with!

 

[ILLWIND]

We have a 8N with 4spd Hi/Lo. Great tractor for what it is. My grandfather built many houses in the post WW2 yrs. He used the Fords with a bucket & 3pt bucket to dig basements & septic tank holes. Later he had a Jubilee and a 501. Great machines.

 

[redlevel]

Saw one model with a dual range ??TANK?? transmission.

Not a tank transmission, but a Sherman Step-up (or possibly a Step-down) dual range attachment that either raised or lowered the gear ratios. Manufactured by Sherman Brothers.

We had several of these tractors back in the 50s and 60s. They were crude, underpowered, and not really heavy enough for really "big" farming. Their main selling point was the Ferguson hydraulic system with draft control, and later position control. They were perfect for the typical row crop farmer in the South who grew corn, cotton, and peanuts. Most Ford dealers also sold Covington, Pittsburgh, and Dearborn implements. When the Hundred Series tractors came out, a farmer could work a pretty good acreage with a couple of 600s and a couple of 8Ns. Any of the tractors could be used to plant and cultivate, and the Hundred Series tractors were no slouches in the power department. I still use the Covington planters, mounted on a Pittsburgh cultivator that my fil bought in about 1957. He farmed his 50 acres, plus about 40 more rented acres, with an 8N and a 600. I still have his 600, and intend to have some work done on it this winter. The 600 (actually 640) is about twice the tractor an 8N is when it comes to plowing and heavy pulling. I can still use those nearly 60 year-old implements on new smaller tractors because the three point hitch remains basically unchanged.

Late model Kubota pulling old Ford/Dearborn 2 bottom breaking plow from the middle 50s.


1957 640 Ford and Pittsburgh cultivator plowing food plot


Same rig with Covington planters mounted on the cultivator. More affluent farmers would have two cultivators so they could leave the planters mounted on one, and use the other for cultivation. My fil only had the one. He only planted Corn and cotton, so he was through with the planters in late spring and put them away and used the cultivator for plowing out the crops.


600 under the shelter.

 

[Mickey D]

My son's 2N



and the '60 Chevy 1 ton he traded it for.

 

[AKtinman]

Here's an 8N that belonged to a maternal uncle. He was a farmer and building contractor. Quite the Rube Goldberg front end loader, but it worked!

That ole North Texas sun was tough on rubber products.

 

[CW Spook]

I had a very late '52 8N with all the bells & whistles. I suspect it was originally a dealer demo. It had the Sherman Hi/Lo, Dowden foot throttle, Tract-o-Lites all around, Cyclone air cleaner, front bumper & all the rest. I sold it last year. The other tractor I sold a few years ago and really regret, was a Ford 861 w/5 speed, power steering & live PTO.

 

[wundudnee]

In addition to my 8N I picked up this Frankentractor last year. It started life as a diesel 641, but ended up as a gas engined 641 with 841 sheet metal. I got it at a sale for $1,700.00 and it runs good, but needs some tires. The 600 series have a overhead 134cu." engine and live lift. They are quite a bit more powerful than the Ns and not a lot larger. I think the 600 series Workmaster tractors were one of Fords best.

Some more pictures of my N.

My son driving it in 1967.

Debris picked up in the Cyclone pre air cleaner.

 

[beaverislander]

Here's mine

About a month ago I got rid of a rolling dock that weighed several thousand pounds. The rolling part wasn't bad but the moving and leveling with changing lake levels was getting hard on me. I got this Roll-N-Go system which "ONLY" weights around 375 pounds. My goal is to manage these things by myself rather than asking for help all the time. Now if I can just get the young Rottie to pitch in .............

 

[CW Spook]

The cyclone cleaner on my 8N picked up one of those dang green things too!!

 

[TOM BECKWITH]

In SC we have a "Market Bulletin" put out by the state Ag dept and lists among many farm related items, tractors and implements. A good source if your state has a similar publication.
Saw 2 8Ns for about $2500 in GC.

 

[beaverislander]

A few months later.......

Changed all of the fluids and routine maintenance
New PTO seal
Rebuilt hydraulics
Cleaned and brush painted the old girl
If I had to pay somebody for the hours I have spent working on it I'd be broke, but then I'm not a mechanic so this is a learning experience. I am fortunate to have found an old ford tractor forum with some super guys to help me out. Lots of work but I'd do it again!

 

[lawandorder]

The Ford 8N.............America's tractor.

 

[Coaltminer]

So really these older Ford's are really Ferguson tractors. That's a fact Jack.

I'd like to have one but the cost is very high lately. I'm into the cub cadets, farmall cubs and the international lowboy cubs. My next tractor will be a Farmall super A. I'm finding out the farmall cub is ok for light work like cultivating and planting. The farmall super A can do the heavier work.

My grandad had a Farmall Cub, only tractor he ever had. Had 80 acres in New Hope, PA. I can still smell hay, gas, oil and wood from the barn, 50 years later! That's where I began shooting my Dads Winchester 69. He bought it for pest control. I still have it.

 

[Faulkner]

I grew up on the outskirts of town so I didn't learn to drive a tractor until I started dating my future wife who lived on her family's farm. My father in law taught me on his 8N by turning over the garden with a breaking plow for potatoes. I also ran it through a barbed wire fence once while bush-hogging with that darn PTO.

Now days I couldn't hardly make it on my own place without my tractor. Kubota 2710 27HP 3 cylinder diesel with Hydrostatic Transmission and 4WD.

 

[RonJ]

First vehicle I ever drove under power was an 8N.

First car was a 53 Ford. Nearly scared my Dad to death.