Ford 8N

[kenny thomas]

Never seen one using distillate fuel. Lighter than diesel but heavier than gasoline.

 

[Travlr]

I have been wanting to get another tractor just to pull our manure spreader. Not a huge spreader so a little tractor would probably do it no problem but it does need hydraulic ports and PTO.
My friend has an old 8N that was his father's.
I took a brief look at it it appears it only has 525 hours on it but it's been sitting in the barn for the last 15 to 20 years. I've done some research online but can't seem to match it up with any other tractors that I have found.
He said it was running great when his dad parked it there. Even the tires don't look to worn so I got to believe the hours are probably correct.
I have to go back out and take some pictures decode the serial number and figure out what it is.
The biggest question is can I put a couple of hydraulic ports on it to open the gate on the manure spreader?
Has anybody added hydraulic ports to an 8 N ?

As said... the 8N is old school. But that just means there is a learning curve, because all the enhancements of newer technology are just for convenience.
I had one with a bucket, so you can add hydraulics. I brush hogged inch thick trees and hauled small logs out of the woods for my sawmill.
I'd use an 8 volt battery instead of the original 6 volt. No mods necessary, if I remember right, just strap in the 8 volt.
They were great tractors in their day because they were reliable and easy to work on. They are still useful for people that don't want to spend a lot of money.

 

[SBMF 2015]

because all the enhancements of newer technology are just for convenience.

What about safety? I can’t believe I'm the one bringing it up, but those little ford tractors were pretty dangerous ( like all tractors of that era)
We've already discussed how tippy they are. What about the fact that you can stand on the ground and start them in gear? They'll also start with the pto in gear. The brakes on the 9Ns were notorious for going out. The one I own hasn't had brakes in over forty years.
I'm not saying they weren't handy but if you've never been around them they can get you pretty hurt or worse.

 

[SmokinM]

If your feeling nostalgic and want simple go buy a diesel Ford 3000 and thank me later.

 

[greybeard]

I suspect that many here do in fact have absolutely no business being anywhere around an original N series tractor.
Go get yourselves a nice safe easy New Holland Boomer instead.

 

[SBMF 2015]

If your feeling nostalgic and want simple go buy a diesel Ford 3000 and thank me later.

Neighbor has a Ford 3000 SU gas. It lives on their feed wagon. It’s handy but to compact for my long legs.

 

[chevytaHOE5674]

I've got a Ferguson TO30 which is just like an N but with 30hp. It's fun to hop on once in a while for Ole times sake, then promptly park it in the barn where it belongs.

 

[sstterry]

What about safety? I can't believe I'm the one bringing it up, but those little ford tractors were pretty dangerous ( like all tractors of that era)
We've already discussed how tippy they are. What about the fact that you can stand on the ground and start them in gear? They'll also start with the pto in gear. The brakes on the 9Ns were notorious for going out. The one I own hasn't had brakes in over forty years.
I'm not saying they weren't handy but if you've never been around them they can get you pretty hurt or worse.

After I flipped ours ( not my fault, it is a long story) my father built a set of roll bars and attached to it.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

I have been wanting to get another tractor just to pull our manure spreader. Not a huge spreader so a little tractor would probably do it no problem but it does need hydraulic ports and PTO.
My friend has an old 8N that was his father's.
I took a brief look at it it appears it only has 525 hours on it but it's been sitting in the barn for the last 15 to 20 years. I've done some research online but can't seem to match it up with any other tractors that I have found.
He said it was running great when his dad parked it there. Even the tires don't look to worn so I got to believe the hours are probably correct.
I have to go back out and take some pictures decode the serial number and figure out what it is.
The biggest question is can I put a couple of hydraulic ports on it to open the gate on the manure spreader?
Has anybody added hydraulic ports to an 8 N ?

I've never seen one with remotes, there probably is someone that has figured it out but a cheap alternative would be to look online and find a liftgate or dump trailer hydraulic assemble and some hoses and ends and use that. You should just be able to plumb it into however many valves you might need and be ready to go for not much money, could even get the pump and tank assembly from a junk yard. You would have to switch the tractor over to 12 volts if that hasn't been done (not a hard job) because originals were only 6 volts

 

[Travlr]

I have been wanting to get another tractor just to pull our manure spreader. Not a huge spreader so a little tractor would probably do it no problem but it does need hydraulic ports and PTO.
My friend has an old 8N that was his father's.
I took a brief look at it it appears it only has 525 hours on it but it's been sitting in the barn for the last 15 to 20 years. I've done some research online but can't seem to match it up with any other tractors that I have found.
He said it was running great when his dad parked it there. Even the tires don't look to worn so I got to believe the hours are probably correct.
I have to go back out and take some pictures decode the serial number and figure out what it is.
The biggest question is can I put a couple of hydraulic ports on it to open the gate on the manure spreader?
Has anybody added hydraulic ports to an 8 N ?

So with the discussion so far, what are your thoughts? Are the downsides worth taking a chance for the upsides?

 

[bvf]

8n will barrel roll just like an airplane, with a new holland 57 hay rake in raised position on a hill side, might even make 2 complete circles, and still run and rake hay for hours afterwards and still cause kid to get a spanking after supper time,

 

[sstterry]

I would in a heartbeat, as long as you are on fairly level ground. But I have no idea about the hydraulics.

 

[Rafter S]

8n will barrel roll just like an airplane, with a new holland 57 hay rake in raised position on a hill side, might even make 2 complete circles, and still run and rake hay for hours afterwards and still cause kid to get a spanking after supper time,

. . . or so you've heard?

 

[Porkies Bovines]

8N is a great little tractor for 2 things, Once a year classic tractor show, and once a year parade, as long as you don't pull anything,

 

[Travlr]

Funny... I've seen so many people complaining about the newer tractors being impossible to work on, the dealer shops hard to deal with, the parts being hard to get, the downtime, the requirement to bring the tractor in to a shop and no on-the-farm service... and seen some people looking for twenty year old tractors because they can repair them on the farm and the older equipment will do the job. Not to mention the price of new equipment.
I don't believe the Ns tipped over more than other tractors, unless it was because everyone owned one and they were so popular. Certainly the tall, tricycle, row-crop John Deere tractors were at least as tippy. Do the Ns have faults? Of course they do. Safety concern was in it's early days when they were built. I started mine with the PTO engaged and a brush hog attached... and it spit out a cat that had followed me up the hill. A learning curve is necessary. There are trade-offs.

 

[mwj]

Funny... I've seen so many people complaining about the newer tractors being impossible to work on, the dealer shops hard to deal with, the parts being hard to get, the downtime, the requirement to bring the tractor in to a shop and no on-the-farm service... and seen some people looking for twenty year old tractors because they can repair them on the farm and the older equipment will do the job. Not to mention the price of new equipment.
I don't believe the Ns tipped over more than other tractors, unless it was because everyone owned one and they were so popular. Certainly the tall, tricycle, row-crop John Deere tractors were at least as tippy. Do the Ns have faults? Of course they do. Safety concern was in it's early days when they were built. I started mine with the PTO engaged and a brush hog attached... and it spit out a cat that had followed me up the hill. A learning curve is necessary. There are trade-offs.

The 8n would be around 75 years old. That is a lot different than a 20 year old tractor with actual hydraulics ,brakes that work and a ''live'' PTO. They were built to replace a horse and they did a very good job.

 

[CowboyRam]

This thread talking about the 8n reminds me of a story dad told.

Grandpa had a tractor that he needed to pull. I don't remember where they were pulling it to or what tractor it was. Grandpa hooked it up to the family car with grandma at the wheel. Grandpa was on the tractor, and grandma got going to fast. Grandpa was waving his arms and dad and his brothers and sister in the back seat thought that my grandpa was wanting to go faster. They kept telling her to go faster. I am sure once they stopped grandma got an earful.

 

[Travlr]

The 8n would be around 75 years old. That is a lot different than a 20 year old tractor with actual hydraulics ,brakes that work and a ''live'' PTO. They were built to replace a horse and they did a very good job.

More likely a steam tractor. They'd only been putting rubber tires on tractors for less than ten years.

 

[mwj]

More likely a steam tractor. They'd only been putting rubber tires on tractors for less than ten years.

There were a lot of bigger row crop tractors at that time.

 

[Stonewall Joe]

Funny... I've seen so many people complaining about the newer tractors being impossible to work on, the dealer shops hard to deal with, the parts being hard to get, the downtime, the requirement to bring the tractor in to a shop and no on-the-farm service... and seen some people looking for twenty year old tractors because they can repair them on the farm and the older equipment will do the job. Not to mention the price of new equipment.
I don't believe the Ns tipped over more than other tractors, unless it was because everyone owned one and they were so popular. Certainly the tall, tricycle, row-crop John Deere tractors were at least as tippy. Do the Ns have faults? Of course they do. Safety concern was in it's early days when they were built. I started mine with the PTO engaged and a brush hog attached... and it spit out a cat that had followed me up the hill. A learning curve is necessary. There are trade-offs.

you are correct about the pto in gear and starting with an 8N but they all had their problems, with a super low hour tractor like he's talking about to do what he wants to do it's probably a good deal, With that size tractor I'd prefer a little Massey with a diesel, but it would be hard to find a super low hour one like that. To pull a spreader it should be fine it he rigs up some hydraulics. To do a little bush hogging or raking it should be ok and I've seen a lot of small square balers hooked to one as well