Will it run and drive? A 1952 Ford 8N tractor sitting for decades! 

I'm 90 years old and have a 1952 Ford 8N that I built a six car garage 1970 for a man that worked at the Ford Dearborn factory and own a Ford Tractor dealership in Springfield, Mo. My labor for building the garage was this 1952 8N that never saw a plowed field. It was in the dealer's show room for 18 years and only had six hours on the tach meter. I've been offered as much as $7,500.00 for this still show room tractor. I've pulled many a 4th July and Christmas parade float with it.

Tractors have two brake petals, one for left rear wheel one for right rear wheel. Used for sharp turning or if one is spinning just use brake on spinning wheel the other wheel will start pulling.

This takes my back 70 years when I sat on the fender while my granddad plowed. Thank for the memories, I really enjoyed watching you breath life back into the Ford 8n

These things are so cool. I have a 1949 8n that i use to brush hog with. My grandpa bought it brand new in 1949. Just amazing machines. So easy to work on and mine is still original 6 volt setup.

Good job!! I've been beat up by many of these early Ford tractors. You went thru the same diagnosis errors I have. This old tractor will be a good candidate for restoration.

When I was young we had a 1949 Ford 8N sitting for 16 years and one day we got it running and we painted it and sold it for $2,000.

It doesn't have front brakes brakes are left an right used for stopping turning, traction

Quite enjoyed this diversion. Funny how farm tractors are built so simply and ruggedly. I know that you said that water tends to sit in the plug port but I think the fact that the hood was left on helped a lot. Thanks for this adventure, will wait patiently for the next. Thanks guys👍🇨🇦

Originally the tractor was red on the bottom and gray fenderes and hood. There nick name was red bellies.

On Green Acres the tractor used in the opening credits was a John Deere GP. But the other tractor that was used during the series that they called a Hoyt Clagwell was actually a Fordson, possibly built between 1917 and 1922.

Keep in mind, without the air filter, it has more air and will require more choke.

The glass bowl has a brass screen in it. There are three, one in the tank intake, one in the glass and one in the carb intake.

All American Ford tractor that you saved! Great job!

Got one exactly like it! Runs perfect and i use it all summer..it’s indestructible..

Left rear wheel brake and right rear wheel brake. Front of tractor lightened up with certain implements, and brakes would help front wheels do their job while steering. Brakes used to have a brake lock that was the "parking brake". As a 70 something year old viewer, this brought back great memories. Half the farmers in my area had at least one of these early 50's Fords.

My wife and I really enjoyed watching this video. We used to own a 49 8N and that old girl was tired and weak. I had that same problem with the distributor. I kept telling my wife Richard needed to check the distributor. Them old tractors can be a pain but man what a workhorse, my wife and I spent the whole weekend watching your videos. As I told you in a previous thread, we are hooked. Thank you both for making our weekend, we stayed home and chilled out and saved money.

Here is how we found top of compression stroke on a cylinder. Drop a wooden dowel rod through the plug hole. Watch it till it comes to highest point TDC. Now scratch a mark on the pulley or flywheel and set a stationary pointer. You now have your reference for timing.

It’s pretty amazing the amount of those tractors are still out there running. Got a 49 8N with a Wagner front end loader that I use to put trees on the mill

they are super easy to work on they were a work horse in the early 50s ,i used one for years in soil prep for planting for 40 acres

I bought a 1952 8N about 5 years ago when I was clearing and landscaping my lot. I had planned to sell it when I finished the work, but I love that old tractor so much I decided to keep it. I want to one day do a partial restore and clean and paint it up nice.

you are fun and real i been fixing things 50+... a Joy to watch

ANOTHER SUCCESS!! 😎😁 Congratulations Richard and Christina! My grandfather used to own a 1949 Ferguson FO-20 which is very similar to this model. And I used to love driving and riding on that tractor! Unfortunately we had to sell it, and I miss it, but this brought back a lot of memories for me. Thanks for sharing! 😎

Love watching you both from the UK, love the enthusiasm and seeing these old machines come back into use.

love to see the 8n running again!

Enjoyed video. Had a 1952 8N and rebuilt it. Sold it to a High student to paint and run for his dad's farm.

Get yourself a tractor manual for that unit. It will tell you more than you'll ever wanted to know. That's a 52' you got there. That was the first year for the RPM, Hour Meters thats missing from your dash.

I wouldn't have thought the distributor was bad either. Good diagnosis 🤠🤠🤠

Man, nice I live in a rural area just like Green Acres is the place to be !

That is called a sediment bowl it never had a filter on it. It just collects solid matter that settles out as the fuel passes through.

That was something totally different my dog enjoyed the Whistle she nearly fell off the couch when she had that. Great video guys, good content and something different. That’s what we like to see.

Very cool. Something about a tractor. So easy to work on, and fun to bring one back to life. Good thing that fuel bowl was dry. Rare to find a updraft that old still working. The TDC whistle is great. Cool tool. Great video Richard and Christina!

Born and Raised On A Dairy Farm In Tillamook,Oregon;My Drivers Ed was on a Ford Tractor, Your Video Brought Back Great Memories.Got’r Running Richard! Thank You Both For The Video, Your Oregon Friend ☮️-“GREEN ACRES IS THE PLACE TO BE🚜!”

Glad you got it running and your tractor

Absolutely outstanding you two are a pair that will beat a full house any day ! Just enjoy watching you brings back the days of timing lights, tach and dwell, setting points just brings a smile…..

Well done Richard and Christina, if was good getting a tractor going and it sounded great 😊

You know your stuff man and not afraid to share it 👍

I love the old stuff. Gas, air and spark. No computer garbage involved.

Richard you are awesome and I respect the way you respond to your wife questions even though she has a major learning curve. You guys are great as a team ..keep it coming

So Richard you knew you were going to get grief when you dumped out the gas on the ground. Myself I would have thought I would have never seen you do something like that. Why didn't you siphon the gas out into a bucket or dump the gas out into a bucket??? You know I love all your videos and I watch every single one of them, I just cannot believe you did that!😢😢😢😢😢

That glass bowl assembly is the sediment bowl. It is also the petcock. There is a screen that go s into the tank, so top of the sediment bowl, that is a ‘filter’.

Those old ford tractors are great machines

Sure good to see Richard Smile again

Love those old tractors! The audio was just fine. The wind and other noise was minimal. Great video!

Congratulations! You taught each other a thing or two, and us your viewers as well. Your very nice people, I really enjoy your channel.

I get just if not more excited than you Richard, thank you for saving another.

Great video.I actually own a tractor just like it my grandfather brought it brand new I use it to cut my yard. Those old fords are bullet proof. Keep up the good work.

Great video, I enjoyed seeing the old tractor brings back childhood memories 😎😎

Another great video as always. You have a special talent and so glad that you share it with others. Keep up the good work.

Good job! I have a '49 8n that I overhauled and converted to 12v. I love your videos!

There will be water in that transmission/pto as well. That boot on the shifter lever is dry and cracked. Rain runs down the shaft straight into the trans.

Cool running again

That awesome you got it going congrats

Great success there Richard! Thanks for continuing to share these video's.

Christina looks right at home on the old tractor!

That's awesome, Ms. and Mr. What the Rust! Thank you guys for share knowledge!

Great job

The model number of the tractor indicates the last digit of the year is it was introduced. The 9N came out in '39, the 2N came out in '42 and the 8N came out in '48. Nice purchase. Too bad that one did not have a Sherman auxiliary transmission. Post tractors were known for not having gears that were low enough to do slow tractor work. That's why an aftermarket transmission was added in between the motor and the regular transmission to lower the gear ratios.

Really enjoyable thanks, so glad you got it going.

My eyes got the size of that hubcap when Christina (I learned from other commenters) entered the frame around 11:08. Richard you lucky guy!

Well done you two, that was really different. If "Green Acres" is the show I`m thinking of I saw it here in England nigh on 60 years ago! Matey was on his ancient tractor trying to pull a tree stump out of the ground but the tractor couldn`t manage it, in frustration he jumps down grabs the stump and it came straight out! lol.

Really liked this video, OUTSTANDING Congratulations to you both !!!!!

Great work, a Ford 8N is my current project! Always enjoy you two tackling these.

I like the way you're very methodical, and that's what gets it done good job

I think Christina is a good student, as I was once in that position myself with my Dad. My Dad worked in Texaco Gas Stations as a mechanic at that time in the late 50's and early 60's. He then went to Massey Ferguson and finally GM Dealerships. Like Christina, auto mechanics interested me so much that I never missed an opportunity to learn how to fix the problems of things breaking down. I went on to where Richard is now and would be able to figure out or troubleshoot those old machines to a tee...By the way, the first thing I learned to drive was an 8N Ford tractor that my Grandfather had. Moreover, my Grandfather taught me how to rebuild a couple of Fordson Majors with Gas and Diesel that had Babitz bearings and not many people have ever had that opportunity.

Looks like a good one! I’ll watch it while on break today.

Great job as usual Richard. You just can't kill those old Ford Tractors. I had an old one that I ended up selling to my Cousin. That thing was always reliable. Funny story... the day i sold it to him he drove home which was probably 7 miles away. next time I seen him I asked how it went & he said "Fine until I ran out of gas half way there." OOPS! lol

Great video on that tractor glad you got it running have a blessed week

No Richard, it’s the right and left brake my friend, you could use one brake in the mud and it could pull itself out of a mud hole! And for heavy loads you could steer it with the brakes because of the tires coming off the ground at times caused by a heavy load! The throttle and a three point hitch with a third adjustment arm at the top behind the seat! No front brakes my friend! That looked like a bush hog bolt!when you’re bush hogging, you need to take the grill guard off to clean the radiator because small weeds will stop the air flow and the tractor will overheat! Usually if the front guard wasn’t on the the hood usually hinges towards the front, with the grill guard on it the hood won’t hinge over enough! I’ve dealt with those too Richard! You could probably download the manual off google my friend! Be careful of the glass gas bowl brother, gas probably varnished by now! That radiator cap off might have some leave debris in it! Those old engines are tough and just about indestructible my friend! The slack in the steering is normal , you have to remember it’s meant to be off road and the steering on a tractor is only tight when they’re new, lol! Oh , those carburetors are usually simple to take apart and clean out! It’s obvious that Richard is a car guy but he’s still doing good, it mostly takes common sense on engines and he’s good at that! You can’t kill those old engines brother!

Nice job !! Good team , you two ! Brought back to life , that 8n , !!

A++ Awesome Job!! I enjoy watching you guys!!

This was fun !

That was fun, Richard just has to much fun with these things, when things come to life he looks like a kid on Christmas morning.

If both bolts were on the front of the hood you could have just swiveled the hood forward and not remove it. Also the brakes are rear right and left to help turn the tractor with an implement in the ground. The sediment bowl is intact, no filter, just a screen for separating the chunks. Also on the back of the tractor is a three point device for lifting that type implement out of the ground or to mount and raise a mower. Just a 66 year old farm raised guy that owned one of these gutless wonders back in the 1990’s. They are so simple and yet functional.

Yes! As I sit here watching, my little Corgi next to me is turning his head wondering what the whistle noise is!

Great instructional video. I learned a great deal. Thank you!

When Richard drives a tractor he has to sing Green acres lol

I learn a lot from your videos thx

I never would of guessed a loose distributor shaft was the issue with it. Have to try and remember that in the future

Great job guys…. Really exciting when you get it running….keep it up

Great new video, Richard and Christina! Neat old tractor! Great to see it running! Wouldn't mind seeing a video getting old (1965-66) Mustang fastback running! My favorite old car besides a 60's Corvette!😁 Cheers!😁🛠️🔧You all are good people, and keep up the videos!👍

Christina said it feels like Green Acres ? She's much better looking than Gabor! Richard - Great job on getting it running again. Smart work! Don't let anyone tell you different. New distributor and new carb? or you did a great job cleaning up the old one. And then drove it around the property! Thanks so much guys for all the work. OK now I can watch the next one when time allows.

Appreciate the review!🥰

Awesome video on getting an old 8N-C going.

Enjoyed!!! 👍👍

Great tractor revival, thanks for sharing, ya farmers 🎶💃🎶🕺🎶👍

Great job y’all . I appreciate y’all’s videos . I have a 1951 ford 8 n. Runs and operates great. Keep up the good work!! 😊 ✝️ 🇺🇸

Great job 👏

Great video, my grandpa had a couple of those.Good little tractors.

I used to own a '50 8N. That grill is VERY hard to find and almost all of the after market ones do not fit well. After my late wife passed away (almost 24 years ago) I sold it along with the new trailer and all of the attachments. After we bought the land my house is sitting on we had decided to plant a modest garden so we could grow our own veggies and can them. That never happened as she passed away soon after we got everything. I really liked that old tractor. The only problem I had with it was the coil. Mine was still the original 6-volt positive ground type and the coil had a bad habit of overheating. Once it got hot you could not get the engine started. The man that bought everything found the problem and told me. The reason I know about the grill is that I was out behind the house clearing some of the land and there was an small tree that I didn't quite manage to clear and it ruined the original grill (my tractor didn't have that brush guard, unfortunately). The aftermarket replacement never would stay latched. That blue paint definitely is NOT original to the N series of tractors. Blue only came out later on the Ford line of tractors. If memory serves me correctly (and at my age memory IS a memory at times) the Ford and it's sister, the Ferguson, were the ones that pioneered the three point hitch on the back above the PTO. I was amazed at just how powerful that little four-banger was. It could really pull a lot. I am glad to see this classic brought back to life and possibly restored to use.

Lotta play in that shaft and little tweak of the timing and voila! Those old tractors were made bullet proof. Great video!

Love how you emptied the fuel tank on the ground

Hello Richard & Christina,greetings from Scotland. Nice job there Richard, and especially with the old distributor shaft being gubbed. I was never confident in dealing with distributors due to the fact that I buggered up the timing on my first attempt many,many years ago, and subsequently my confidence never recovered. It’s a nice old tractor, and it sounded very acceptable especially after being unused for so many years. You are fortunate to live in a climate where lots of the older vehicles are still basically intact. I used to travel to Phoenix regularly and certainly there the Climate helps enormously to preserve the metal. Over here with all the rain and dampness they tend to rust away to the point where they become unrecoverable. Nice job from yourself, and nice camerawork from Christina. Cheers.

Well done

Great job..you guys rock 😮

The engine whisperer strikes again!! Well done guys enjoying your channel

Enjoyed the fun

nice. :) anyone in Richards' line of hobby will be grateful for a wife who not only understands, but also approves of the rustiest hobby in the world, and wants to partake.

Good job!

There is nothing better to catch rust then a settling bowl, that filter won't even come close to it.

Great video this knowledge works for any old vehicle awesome.