Crazy D gets asked if an N Series Ford Tractor is worth his money. Now Crazy D wants to go over them and talk about what makes them worth your money or what makes them not worth it.
Best tractor for the money. I've used one for the last 70 years, and never regretted it. I own a very early 9N, and a '52 8N. Both did my farm work, no failures. And if I couldn't have one today, I'd give up farming!!!!! Remember, Henry Ford was the leader in making Ferguson's hydraulic system work on a tractor, and all the tractor manufacturing companies since have copied the 3 point system. They are simple to fix, easy to operate, and don't tip over like some other "red" and "green" brands. Crazy D is correct on some of the difficulties, but remember, they are 68 to 81 years old and back then we didn't have the modern conveniences like we have on today's tractors. And these old tractors will still be going after the modern ones die. Just visit a tractor salvage yard and note all the "modern" ones already being salvages out because of poor workmanship, or some modern part which failed easily. Ford N series, the best yet.
Money’s worth ??? People charge $45 an hour bush hogging in Texas. The average price is $2,500 for one divided by $45 is 55 hours. So, 55 hours of bush hogging and it’s paid for.
I feel like the "it'll wear out soon" argument has been around since the 50s-60s and look they're still going just fine. For the money these things are an incredible value
I spent hundreds of hours on an 8N working on my Dad's Wisconsin dairy and beef farm. Everything from mowing or conditioning hay, to pulling the baler, to spreading manure to disking corn rows after harvest. There is a photo of me sitting on the seat at one year with both parents and the mower Dad bought with the tractor in 1950. That engine can be made to run for ever.
I love my 51'. It saved my home from flooding during Imelda! I needed a tractor that would run a ditch even in the worst weather. It came through with flying colors. Best all around farm tractor money can buy.
Ive had my 1945 2n for nearly a year now. Dearborn trip loader. It was in good but not currently running shape. All it took was a couple hundred dollars in tuneup parts, a little tinkering and basic maintenance, and it runs and works like a dream. I do wish for live PTO and proper position control some rare times, but overall is a great machine that is powerful enough to multiply my productivity 10x on my small acreage/ homestead.. pulling and tearing out small trees and stumps, post hole digging. Moving rocks, moving dirt, pulling fence posts, dragging logs, pulling trailer fulls of cordwood, it does it all and is reletively economical on fuel and other maintenance costs
I'm from the Memphis and my Grandfather had a tractor dealership downtown many years ago. My Dad and all of his four brothers and five sisters worked there at one time or another. That being said; when my Dad retired from the local International Harvester plant, he sold parts for mainly N series Ford tractors along with a few Massey Fergusons. I wish my Dad was still around to see your channel and I want to thank you for bringing back so many memories from helping him with buying and parting out these vehicles. My Dad's oldest brother was a mechanic on many different types of vehicles; from Airplanes, a variety of Diesel trucks and tractors. He liked and worked on Allis Chambers the most. Thanks again.
My Dad bought one (1949) in the fall of 1966 for $125, rebuilt it over the winter and brought it home in March of ‘67. We farmed with that tractor from 1967 til 2000. The tractor last ran in 2002 and is in need of overhaul.
I have a 52 model that I bought in 1974 for $50. It had a bunch of stuck valves. It has the Sherman aux. transmission that gives it 4 forward gears in three ranges. Back in the 70s and 80s I had a welding and machine shop and used it around the shop to move trailers and s tuff. I also had 10 acres where I used it to mow regularly. It worked fine for mowing but you need an over run clutch on the pto. When you step on the clutch it does not disengage the pto from the trans. and the inertia of the spinning mower will push you right a fence.
The N series were the cats meow when they came out. Every tractor today owes its three point hitch to the Ford n series of course the three points system was Harry Ferguson’s invention.
These tractors are great tractors for what they can do. How much you're willing to work. They're simple tractors. Don't think they're a lazy man's tractor. To many men has become to lazy. Thinking the tractor should do all it's own. To make a garden, bushhog, subsoil, pole boom, Scoop pan, pulling logs, scrape blade work, a simple man's tractor. To do simple jobs.
Most people could only afford tractors of that size back in the 1940's thru 1950's and I would love to have one today if I could afford it. I got to drive the Massey Ferguson tractor in 1965 thru 1966 and the tractor was new then and we used it to help clear out a pasture with and the tractor was great. My grandfather had a Ford Tractor built during that era after he retired from GM and moved back to Arkansas and used it until he could not do any work any longer.
Sidney Mathious I have been reading your posts for several years now. It seems you and I have the same tastes in tractor videos. I wish you a very Merry Christmas down here in Alabama.
I have a 51 also! I bought it over 20 years ago and have mowed and yorked rake it seems like the whole country since then and it has been absolutely flawless! I understand it does not have the lift capacity of a new one, but if you know what you are doing and operate it accordingly it absolutely perfect! I also know everything gets old and needs attention that is a fact of life and these tractors are no different. It is really the value for the money!
I bought my 9N last week for $1,900 is great shape and I use it only for York raking my mile long driveway . I have no complaints and glad I bought it.
Cubs are capable of alot more then people think. Will they outwork an N? Absolutly not. But with good ballast for traction, downpressure on the hydros, etc theyll do quite a bit. It just sucks cause changing attachments is a bitch and you can only use cub specfic ones
I might be a little partial to the N series, it's my first tractor ever. I picked up a '44 9N a few months ago. I run a 5ft brush hog and a 5ft box blade with it. Works fine for me.
I'd love on of these 8N's only because here in the UK there are none, or they're rare as hen's teeth. Here they were all 'grey Fergies', aka TE 20's..I don;t think I've ever seen one badged as a Ford. Looking at it from a grey Ferguson perspective..an 8N certainly looks a different and interesting machine. I love the oversize tyres on the rear too.
They are great old Tractors. Sometimes having the clutch control the lift and P.T O. Is kinda nice, but it can be aggravating too. We have a 1940 9 N with the Sherman Step that give You 6 Forward Gears and 2 Reverses and it doubles the P.T.O. speed. They will fly with a Bush Hogg, or a cycle mower, but make sure You keep grease in the gearbox. It goes so fast that it will burn the seals up in a bush hog.
Just picked up cherry 8n already converted to 12 volt, new tires,Sherman trans (cable operated cable frozen ) side distributor using to move boat and other trailers on my property paid $1825.00 mechanic by trade so fits my bill just fine!!!! Ask the EQ doc if I have to split it to replace Sherman cable for me 😁😁
YES ! You can Buy it , work it and sell it for the same money you paid for or even more most of the time ! I'm just keeping mine because they are such under valued tractors. BANG FOR THE BUCK !
Still running a 1946 to cut about 500 acres of fire lines and stuff. Probably the absolute limit of it's capabilities and stalls out when trying to pull through thick soil so the modern air conditioned deere are more readily used
My buddys dad passed away 2 months ago and he's been wanting to get his old 8n going again. Gonna rip it down and give it a hone, rings, and a set of main bearings as well. May i ask where you got your parts from?
@@alec4453 I was just a teenager in the 70s. That's what we did. Honed the cylinders, put in new bearings. My dad bought the parts but I'm not sure where he got them and he isn't around anymore.
You do not have to remove the “tin” on front mount distributor “N”s to service them. Just lay the coil aside, remove the two distributor bolts and pull out the distributor and service it on the bench. The offset of the blade on the back of the distributor allows only one position for installation.
All he needed was a pair of check chains for his mower. You can never hold a mower level with draft control on a 2N/9N. I put 8N pumps and lift covers in mine. Position control is a must.
..not sure where you are located, but $800.00 will NOT get you one around here that runs and functions decent, if at all..non-running ones that have sat outside for years fetch $500.00...$1800.00 will get you a rough runner that is useable but may have some issues...$2500.00-$2800.00 is about average for a decent one..yes, I have seen restored ones for $3500.00-$5000.00..are they worth it?..maybe not to me, but IF they are RESTORED correctly, not "restored" by slopping on some red and white paint, maybe they ARE worth it...I mean, if a new off-brand Chinese-made compact tractor is worth $6000.00-$14000.00, why WOULDN'T a nice example of one of these be worth $3500.00-$5000.00?..A heavier and more stable tractor, AND- regardless of it's age, I bet in ten years, an N-series tractor will have better parts availability and cheaper parts(and much less depreciation), than that Chinese tractor..no, they are not without drawbacks(my biggest complaint about them is the way-too-high-speeded reverse gear, especially in the 8N's), but the compact tractors have drawbacks as well...and one final thing for me personally, they are simpler to work on, with no electronics, and they are gas-powered..I wish SOMEONE made a new gas-powered tractor...
The most annoying thing about the '41 9N that I had was the 3-pt wasn't live, I had to let off the clutch whenever I wanted to raise the 3-pt which meant I had to shift it to neutral if I wasn't moving. Besides that the old tractor ran great and never gave any issues. Great video!
I'd have a fleet of them if I could. My 41 9n was great, my 49 8n gets my fire wood,keeps my driveway maintained, bush hogs my 16 acre field twice a year. It won't last forever but I'll fix it when it breaks. No monthly payment to make
N series ford will fit in most sheds can pull a 2-14 plow. Mine has a loader which gives it live hydraulic it runs a wood splitter. It can lift heavy objects. Right now I’m trying to get the engine running. Old machines break down they are still useful.
Those old machines are still a good choice in the right circumstances. I wouldn't have one with a loader on it. Difficult to get on or off. Horrible to work on. Traction all gone. Steering lousy. Those front axles were only intended to keep the radiator out of the dirt. There is a simple gadget that will keep a mower at the right working height. Replace the top link with a solid bar that has a series of notches on the top edge. Add a chain running from one lift pin on the mower, over the new top link, down to the other lift pin. Use the hydraulics to lift the mower, hook the loop of chain in the right notch, release the hydraulics. The mower will hang right there. Can still be lifted over obstacles. Learn to lift the tool just before stepping on the clutch pedal. A few concessions could save you 5 to 10 thousand bucks. Lubricate the thing, probably hasn't seen a grease gun since Eisenhower left office.
I agree on the depends upon what you do with one. I had A Farmal Super A.It was very hard to get onto especially for a man of a larger stature as I am. ,so I sold it for that reason. An offset cultivator tractor is not good for everyday work. As I said in the other video comments, I bought a 1949 2N which I have not picked up yet Once again,Thanks
Best response I've seen and I came close to buying one quite a few years ago, but opted for an NAA for less money. I farmed with a 600 and 841; still own the 600, but none will do the work I need done. I have a soft spot for the old iron, but nostalgia don't get the job done.
Love my '41 9n. Box blade and brushhog, and move my trailers. And all the neighbors are jealous because it starts like a charm and it's oldest thing around except a few trees. Paid 550 and love doing all the work on it.
Well from everybody here at crazy D's equipment we say thank you very much I hope you keep enjoying the videos and we are definitely trying to do our best
I bought two 8n fords last week. I paid $600 for one and $750 for the other with a front-end loader already on it. Neither ran but it only took a few minutes each to get them going. There is no other piece of equipment that can be bought for this price that does so much.
Thanks for covering the N tractors. Got a 9n in Florida that has a lot of problems. Not many old tractor machanics in these parts. May have to fix it myself.
They really are crazy easy to work on, engine wise. I know next to nothing and with a mechanic's tool set with standard sizes I got my grandpa's running like a top. Haven't had to tackle much else but at that point it'd be tools and space in the garage to do a proper tear down and follow some suggestions D gave.
Of course this is my opinion, but I've found my 2n to be worth every penny. True, live pto and hydraulics are nice, but my old girl always fires up and has mowed and disced enough pasture to pay for herself many times over.
You was right on the money on depends what you want to do with the tractor. Have to remember a lot people that bought those new may have still been using hay burners, lot of farms were up till the end of WW2, so they were in hog heaven with these, sooo much better than following a mule or horse around all day.
I do a lot of stuff with my N's I have a 8N with a Sherman combo live hyd conversion and a rare Sherman live PTO conversion. I wouldn't trade it for anything. I should make a video of it
I made money with my 8N bush hogging for 30 year's bought it for $1200 . My cousin got a little tractor for $10,000 that's not heavy enough to do much of anything.
I've had my 1952 8N for 5 years and gotten a ton of use from it with little trouble. I can't even buy a decent riding mower for what I paid for it and it does a lot more work.
Their only major drawback is that they do not have "live hydraulics/PTO" and they're a little under powered for field work. While modern tractors in this size have very similar horsepower, they're pure hydrostatic which amplifies the power much better than a traditional clutch/gear driven machine. But, for 1800-2500 bucks, you CANT top that considering the similarly sized Kubota I was looking at is over 25k BEFORE any implements. For 3 grand I got an 8N with a (used) brush hog and blade for leveling. Is it perfect? No. But value for dollar, its still getting it done dispite being nearly 80 years old
I find learning about this stuff neat, despite the fact that I neither have a tractor, nor have the land or need for one. But what I would really be interested in seeing is small engine stuff e.g. lawnmowers, rototillers, edgers, etc. Apart from my lawnmower, all my yard equipment is ancient. Recently I repaired my edger (probably from the 40s/50s, and crazy dangerous. Like dragging a chainsaw alongside a concrete sidewalk), and am currently working on one of my two rototillers (probably similar age). The rototiller apparently needs a keyway that is very uncommon (but fortunately cheap), as the specialist I got it from had never had to sell one before. My other rototiller is a monster, and has an enormous engine (strong enough to literally drag my 6'4, 300lb ass) Anyway, this whole experience has gotten me interested in antique motors and stuff like that. I think it'd be neat content to see. Keep it up! 👍
I think for typically around the 2 grand or so in decent shape, these normally go for to have a mower and occasionally using it for gardening for what you pay for these used you can't find a better value. I wouldn't put my livelyhood on it as you said but when for the price the alternative is a used garden tractor that is nowhere near as useful you can't go wrong.
Great video Crazy D. I never liked the 9n due to the brake/clutch configuration. Live PTO can kinda be had on the 8n, 2n, or 9n with a slip clutch. There is also a leveling kit you can buy for your tractor. Anyone with a small garden, i would reccomend the the N Series
I wondered if you'd be able to shed some light on my situation. I am out on 9 acres in Tennessee and I have a brand new Kubota bx23s that has less than 25 hours on it. Here is my debate. Yes, I could go buy a deck or a brush hog for the Kubota to mow my acreage, but for the cost of either of those implements I could be looking at getting a decent 8n with a brush hog instead... plus I've always wanted an 8n. I was curious as to what you'd recommend to someone in that situation? Should I spend $1600+ on a brush hog or just find a decent 8n? Thanks! Love the videos!
Get an N series and a finish mower, if you have scrub brush get a brush hog. I have a 9N with brush hog, my 2 acres are rough scrub brush. Then I take the box blade and do sections at a time as time allows.
I would still buy one to carry stuff around, but... well no land for this. But put some paint and now you have not only and working tractor, but you also have a tractor that is good for scenery, movies, pictures, work and so on. :)
For that type of money other more usable models might be better, in OZ we got the equivalent little TE20 fergies, alot of new weekend warriors would get into trouble with brushhogs as soon as that clutch went in, hard to find one with a straight front on it.
My 6V 8N starts quicker than any other piece if equipment I own. It is the same as my CJ2a. 6V works just fine, if you aren't looking for accessories, as long as everything is in proper working order. Don't perpetuate the myth 6V doesn't work.
I have a collection of both Ford and IH tractors...like them both....but these tractors have transitioned from the farm to really just a large "lawn and garden" tractor....too small and impractical for the farm but great for pulling a trailer, plowing snow or use it in the woods...because of no live pto I don't want to use it with a brushhog or almost any pto application for that matter....like the art deco styling
those tractors even brand new back in the day they were S 800 dollars they were made in the late 1940s and early 1950s they were made 4 the small farms mostly garden tractors bush hogging cutting grass w a belly mower cutting and raking hay and dragging the drive way and alot of them was used 2 haul wood most of those old tractors had been changed over 2 / 12volt a long time ago 😊😊 IM surprised they even still make a 6 volt tractor battery anymore they don't have the cranking amps of a 12 volt battery they turn the engine over alot faster 😊😅 U can take a hand crank and turn the engine over faster than a old 6 volt battery / when they kept tuned up like they should be good sparkplugs good points and other items in good shape they start when U turn the key 🗝 😊 that's the way they should start all of the time ⌚ 😊 OMG 4 29 2O24
Really...to put it in perspective...they stack up well against modern compacts in their power range when you consider price. You can pay 1500-2k for a good functioning N or pay 20k+ for a modern compact that really, besides convienence, safety, and speed the N will do the same jobs (minus FEL work). Not to mention the N is cheaper to fix, much eaiser to work on, and will last the rest of your lifetime.
That's the best answer,, these tractors are limited to what they will do,, that's why they're not expensive They can be beneficial,, and they can be a burden
That's why you put lift chains on the front of the more the hold them or where you want it put you don't rely on the hydraulics the hold the more up you should be smart enough to know to do that
I love my 49 8N! I use it to brush cut, plow with a two row, disc blade, grade and lift heavy objects with my lift pole. Yes, I need to replace the lift piston but as for now it works great. I also use it to pull the kids around on a barrel train.
N Series are like listening to your music on a turntable from the 70’s. It isn’t always about efficiency, it’s about enjoying the process and nostalgia. If you need more efficiency then…. Move on
Good for their time, but just too old for most people today. My Dad bought a new Golden Jubilee with all the attachments, but soon found it was not a general purpose farm tractor. Even with the rear tires full of fluid it would not plow with two 10" moldboards in our clay soil. He finally traded it even with all yhe attachments for a 1948 Farmall H that smoked like a diesel that first year, but would plow with a two bottom 16" trip plow. After an overhaul of the engine and stepping up the transmission a gear over the Winter, the H was a horse and our BIG tractor. The 1928 Farmall F12 was our little tractor. So are the N series worth the money? Not to me, no.
First I agree... I have a 1948 I was trying to get all back together just to drive in a parade’s and a tractor show in my home town.. it just needs a hood fenders and wheels paint, plugs and wires yelp doing the 12 volt thing.. had it in a shop and man they screw me and put me on a 3 year back burner and took me for about $4,000.... I can’t get on it I’m disabled and about 450 pounds weight from bed 5 yrs.. if u know anyone that can finish this job I would appreciate it and will to pay.... out town peanut festival is coming up again the 6 yrs of missing the show and paraded.. I have 3 grandsons and love tractor lol The is a family inheritance tractor what makes it bad I started restoring it until I got down.. yelp the money in it right now I could have bought a new $20,000 tractor, but this ones not for sale, just need a honest man... I just found your channel and are loving them we could be twins Lol!! I say this with a kind heart my brother.... keep up the great videos....GOD BLESS👍🙏
Hey everyone, need some help from some tractor aficionados.....Old rancher down the road (82yrsold) has a Super M and wants a new bucket. I know little about tractors (but Im trying). Founf a bucket for a Ford N-Series for $550. Will it fit?
