Thanks for the concern, everyone! It's great to know so many people care. I chose to have my sister help as a safety measure! If something went wrong with the dyno or while it was revved up, she was at the seat of the tractor and able to quickly turn it off if needed--much safer than having an empty operators seat! She's young and quick and was there to make the process more safe! I can even see clearly in video where she double checks to make sure the tractor is in neutral before starting it. My daddy loves his girls and has trained us well in the shop to operate with safety in mind. -Rachel
Dan Gingell and Rachel Gingell what I want to see is family farming coming back to the good old USA no more corporations in the farming business we need to follow Willie Nelson's dream Willie didn't have the Farm Aid concerts for no reason at all it's time for Patriots to win for a change
Rachel, What other modifications did you do to the engine to achieve 32hp on the dyno? That's a very impressive number. Thank you for so many informative videos, I'm looking to purchase my first 8n so I appreciate your family sharing the knowledge.
We had a MF four cylinder diesel for many years while I was growing up on the farm. That is until Dad bought a Ford gasoline. Your vid sent me back years to when I helped Dad tune the Ford by doing the very things you've shown here. Thanks for the blast from the past!
Those tractors will never grow old. Americans work horse for years. Look around many of them are still in use today. A lot of them are bings used by city parks departments as well as hiway crews to cut grass. They might not equal some of the larger machines but they sure have outlast a lot of other tractors. Id love to have one and I dont own a farm. I used to drive them as a kid. I think I could mow pastures with one and plow our street each winter. As well as move some big heavy trees after cutting them down.
My 1950 Ford 8n tractor has front mount distributor which is non-adjustable. The engine compression on these is only 6:1 versus the upgrade in 1952 to the side mount distributor and the increase in compression to the 6.5: 1. Increasing the engine speed from 2200 rmp working speed is a good thought but the points may have to be changed more often. I like that these engines are capable of 30 hp as this allows them to actually be used for other things.
Thanks for the video I don't believe you can adjust the front mounted distributor but you certainly did a good job on this video I have owned, bought and sold these old tractors for 26 years I still have my dad's 47 model wouldn't take a million dollars for it I love to keep mine all original right down to the 6 volt system 😎
I have a old 9N I did all this and more. A few years ago the radiator leaked out over winter and my dad never checked it before taking it out and working it hard. He got it so hot it smoked the paint off the head and lost 2 valve seats plus killed the temp gauge I had added when I restored the tractor years ago. (Doesn't pay attention with shit with equipment and been that way his whole life) During the repair work for that F-up I ported out the block and port matched the manifold to the tractor being the old ports on these engines are full of casting bumps, ridges and sharp edges on top of being way too small to start with. GRanted it may only be worth 3 - 4 HP tops, but when you only got 25 or so to work with, that pretty good percentage of gain!
Thanks for the vid. Nicely presented. I watched it purely for interest in the tractor rather than learn horse power tips as I am a mechanic. Saying thanks to your brother for have you do the vid. No doubt you're prettier than him.
Nice video. Found this video as I was watching the 8N carb rebuild video, also great. I have a 52 8n tractor which I love. I also have a 1915 Ford T. The 1915 T has a manual adjust spark advance, and a manual adjust high speed mixture control for the carburetor. But, alas, no governor. It would seem Henry took away these valuable adjustments for this more modern tractor.
Wow 32 HP stock is 28 HP for a late model 8N My Grandfathers 1939 9 N was at 23 HP mostly because of much lower Governed RPM.. My Cousins had a MM Moline / White Dealership Scotts MI for years.. they had a larger M&W Dyno .. My MM 5 Star pulls 120 HP I guess I won't tell you what was done to the Motor either.. If you want and 8N with some power you need a Funks Kit to put a Flat Head V-8 Ford in it .. Many have been done but maybe not real practical for farm work .. My Grandfather had a 6' Mott Hammer Mower and 12 acre yard so I put in many hours mowing his lawn in first and second gear.. It's wet heavy clay ground and the reeds canary Grass would wrap around the mower shaft and stall the engine.. never happened to me .. but when it happened to my Grandfather he had to Jack up a real wheel to get the transmission into neutral and get it started again . Live PTO's are a huge improvement . Then again you need an overrunning clutch too .. for most any mower.. that does not have a live PTO ,, My Rachel can explain this in a video.
A tad more fuel = power A tad quicker ignition=power I swapped to a breaker less distributor, power gain was massive, but it lacks the vaccume adjustments of timing from cars, that help even more, now it's mechanical with a slung adjustment that's too laggy for a car with light clutch plate. Good information of basics of adjusting engine, now do sparkplugs, lots to gain there also ! As it's a balance vs fuel mixture. Different plugs, will burn richer fuel mixture better. ;) Now hit 100hp and snap the pto shaft... :(
Yes you can increase hp, by just advancing timing. How ever Henry Ford knew that, but also knew how much heat his cooling system could handle. Heck just run the rpm up, it could stand over 2500 for a few minuets, and put out so real horse power figures.
Great job of showing this. I would like to see a complete brake down and repair on a 2N rear brakes and seals I'm having issues trying to get my stuff apart. Thanks for your time girls.
Hi Michael, we do have a very detailed brake tutorial available for purchase, here: farmtractorrepair.com/collections/ford-dvds/products/ford-brake-repair-for-several-models
A timing light accurately tells you what the timing is. By adjusting it on a dynamometer, you're able to see what is best. You meant distributor not distribution.
You should adjustment on the distributor 1st then carburetor.. Changing timing will not affect the mixture of the carb. But carb mixture will change when adjust the distributor.
Like watching your videos. In the perfect world all these little things will improve these little fords but in the common world the average Joe isn't gonna have any gains because his tractor is 60-70 yrs old his distributor is wore out his carb is a little dirty and he is running 30-40 yr old plugs and wires, I have seen it had a guy bring me an 8n said it was starting hard,I pulled the cap off and the bushings were so bad in the distributor that the rotor was eating the cap but it still ran. I asked him when the last time was he did a tune up on it and his reply was 1957 he said why touch it if it runs.
I just want to say thxs for reaching out to me, ps I grow up on a farm but we had a Oliver 77 row crop and Massey Ferguson’s and I am a ford tech and wanted a little ford tractor and got one but wouldn’t start so I bought it for 500 nice looking but didn’t run. But back too the problem it was and don’t laugh I went out on Sunday after staying up late Saturday and putting it back together I was looking at the fan and it would move a little then stop so i looked on the front left side and seen that the lower radiator hose clamp when u tighten it up was stopping the fan from spinning I moved the clamp about a half a turn. Now she runs great. Then a new problem came up. After setting for 3 year I think the clutch is stuck to the flywheel. Yea. U said in one of the videos u tried everything to unstick it what u try so I can before I buy a clutch for u guys. Thxs again for all the video wish a could post mine up for u guys to see
Governor adjusting is by manufacturers for reasons like overspending damage and PTO setting tractor power is set to peak torque note charging critical settings can damage attachment
@Kevin Bergeron If you maintain that attitude towards working vehicles that are 50+ years old in many cases, your farm repair budget must be quite a bit different than most that I have seen. Compression ratios slip over the years. Drivetrains loosen up. Carburetors even adjust over the years as airflow turbulence gets modified by erosion and friction polishing within the intakes. An engine is a living breathing thing. It changes over the years. It is simply not feasible to just avoid all factory set screws and adjustments under the theory that the manufacturer knew what he was doing and things are set the way they are for a reason.
The tractor in the video is a 1952. The earlier models had a front mount distributor which has a timing adjustment screw on the side of the distributor.the earlier tractors also some times had air adjustment screws along with fuel adjustment screws. The engines had a govenor to keep the engine from running to fast. The engine was designed to be a low rpm engine and use the torque to do the work not horsepower
I have to say that defeating Governor limits on engine speed (RPMs) in an effort to increase the power output seems counterintuitive to me. If that's your goal, just get rid of the governor all together. Then the operator can wind up the engine to self destruct speed any time they want too.
I was hoping to see something about a device in the carburator I found on my 1962 ford 2000. The device appeared to me to be a power redicer because it is placed in the venturi area and would reduce the airflow. I don't have the tractor anymore but I was going to remove it to see what happens. It may have helped with mixing the fuel with the air but it was a large restriction. I believe the power reduction would increase the life of the drive train and that is why they did that or possibly to utilize a carburator that was also used on larger engines by leaving out the restrictor.
Thank you for this. So what is the opportunity cost for these adjustments, aside from burning more fuel? More frequent maintenance? Does something wear out faster?
governor good, carb good, but timing change like that could result in rapid overheating and a cascade of events during operations. Run it for a while under load and check for overheating before getting happy. I found running premium fuel up to 93 octane does as much with no timing change and a safety margin. true dis.
Can you advance timing on front distributor? Speaking of front distributor, its too bad you dont have an aftermarket Distributor that is about 1/8" taller. It would help the fan belt from touching the plug wire caps at the distributor cap
Have always liked N's. Have a chance to buy a decent one with snowplow for $1500CDN. The owner does not use it anymore. since he got a Skid Steer type for his acreage.
Hello.. Ive seen your rebuild videos and may i ask? Do you have any on a N2 ford starter rebuild? Ive been watching different ones but yours are much more informed in the way to do it.
I have a 52’ 8N and it doesn’t have a tach and it also has a a non-adjustable front mount distributor so none of these things other than carb adjustment applies to mine.
I know this video and comments are for Fords, but my question is for a zenith carb on my CO-OP E3, which is essentially a Cockshutt 30. From what I could tell there's 3 adjustments on it. On the back where the throttle and governor linkages attach there's a screw which adjusts the idle which I assume is the idle. My question is with the other two, on the top there's a screw adjustable only by screw driver and on the front there's a needle with an T on it which you can easily turn with the T. What is the difference between these two on the top and front, and what exactly do they do? I assume one of them is the main jet, just not sure which one is which? thanks Rachel
The one on the top with the screw head is the idle mixture screw. It will take the "flutter" out of the idle. Generally I recommend starting this screw all the way in and then one turn out. The bigger one with the T is your main jet. Typically this one should be all the way in and then two turns out.
Thanks for all the videos, you guys are extremely helpful. I know yall got a proud papa! My 56 Furgeson stalls when I start to use my finishing mower, any ideas?
Hey, I have a 1950 & a 1954 8n, do you know of a GOOD SERVICE SHOP in the Wentzville, Mo. Area? The 54 needs a clutch & 50 needs a tune up?? Thanks for your assistance & the GREAT VIDEOS.
heeeeeeeeee ciao whuaooooo Dan Ginnell and Rachel Ginnell siete fantastiche mi piacete moltisso con il trattore tutta accelerata exhaust revving mi piacerebbe vedere altri video come questo grazie mille siete fantastiche ciao ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi, I have really enjoyed your videos and would like to know: about how much fuel would a good condition 8N use in an an hour with moderate use? I am not expecting an accurate figure but I am hoping for a ballpark figure.
