Been sort of thinking about something

Been thinking, the summer ahead will end about 95% of the log skidding, brush piling, hole digging, backfilling, fence building, foundation digging, lifting, grading and smoothing work that I have been doing over the past two to three years on our small piece of land.

We 'got' two tractors, a fully restored 9N "The Whimpster" with everything on it orginal to 1940 including the small generator, new 32" tires centers and rims, steering wheel etc. etc. etc. And the other tractor; a restored 1956 Ford 850 with original parts, Dearborn front loader, add-ons, and 1956 Sherman backhoe restored too.

We need one tractor...not two...when all the work is done.

Primary need will be mowing, and some light snow plowing (if at all...neighbor has a JD Front Loader/backhoe piece of highway machinery...).

In your humble opinions, for mowing a couple acres and general light duty work...what would you'all do? Here are my options as they present themselves to my dense grey matter stuck between my ears:

1. Sell both and get a small Farmall Cub with belly mowerand small plow for pushing light snow.

2. Sell the 850 and backhoe and keep the 9N and purchase a finish mower for the 850

3. Sell the 9N, keep the 850 but sell the backhoe and get a finish mower

4. Sell both and purchase a nice fully restored NAA with front loader and finish mower.

Or, what other decent rigs are out there that would suffice for our minimal needs??? and what would you do?

Just curious to see what this group would have to say...and been thinking that this question is not really unusual to consolidate tractors and locate a one decent machine for the long haul...

9N'er

Chuck

• Gravely Club

Only have one thing to say....

I'd never forgive you if you sold "The Wimpster".

:-)
Tyman

Unless you want to embark on more mechanical work, I would keep what you have unless you can afford new. I can relate a little. I have 6 acres and bought a '40 9N. Did a lot of work on the 9N including a rebuilt motor, although not restored like the whimpster (a beautiful job!). I used a 5' KK finish mower on my 2 acres of lawn grass with the 9N, a back blade on the 150' drive and a scoop, and bush hog for general work on the remaining 4 acres of field grass. We brought in over 3,000 yards of fill on the 2 acres and used the 9N to follow after the bulldozer finished. It is a workhorse and I would hesitate to part with it.

I also had a Murray 18HP. Well, a couple of things happened. The Murray was dying-it was a nice lawn tractor, but not tough enough for the big yard and the drive for snow plowing (Detroit area). The second is the wife planted trees in the 2 acres and it became a little tough to manuever the 9N around with the finish mower--so I gave the Murray to my brother in law and bought a John Deere (I know, I know) GT235 hydro with a blade and 48" deck. A little pricey, but I figured this would take me to retirement (a few years in the future). I can now cut the 2 acres in less time with the Deere. I can plow most snow with the Deere, but still have the Ford for the heavy snows and the field and utility work. I think this is the best of both worlds (at least for me).

As far as the Cub, I rebuilt the neighbor's 1953. It is a cute tractor, but you would be disappointed with it. It is only about 12 hp and not much fits it.

If'n it were me, I would use the 9N and maybe at sometime, when the majority of the work is finished, buy a fairly good garden tractor with a 48" deck and 48" blade. These hydros really are fast.

Well, just another viewpoint.

JU

I watched you go through your restoration via your feedback to this forum, and I'm not sure how you can let the mighty Wimpster go after putting so much time,money, heart & soul into the restoration. Unless you've been really living right, there's no way you'll get all of your money back out of it, especially if you consider the value of your time.

My vote would be to put a finish mower on the 9N, sell the Sherman backhoe, and keep the 850 as your utility tractor.

>> Sell both and purchase a nice fully restored NAA with front loader and finish mower <<

Not sure that I see the wisdom in this. Despite the fact that, like N's, you'll see a lot of NAA's with loaders, it's still not what I would consider a "loader tractor." The 850 is a fair "loader tractor", in my opinion. Much heavier and beefier and more powerful, i.e. capable of much more work than the 9N, NAA or Cub.

If they were mine, and I had to sell both, then I would look to trade up, capability-wise. If you want to stay with the older Fords, an 861 PowerMaster would be a very nice trade-up from what you have. You'd get live PTO, more weight and more power. I think I read somewhere that this one is Palmer Fossum's favorite work tractor around his place.

If you are not opposed to moving out of the gray/red & white arena, then a 3000 or 4000 from the late 60's to early 70's is a good choice, and you should get enough from the sale of the 9N and 850 to find yourself a really nice one and maybe have enough cash left over to buy a decent finish mower.

If I had to sell one, and was not as emotionally attached as you are bound to be to your 9N, I would sell the N (I know, that's blasphemy in this forum) and keep the 850.

Tough decision, Tom. I wish you the best of luck.

Happy New Year..... ..... ..... .Ed
'52 8N475798
'73 3000 C388812

However, I'm not a very practical person and I sense you aren't either.

You've put a bit of yourself into each tractor in the course of restoring them. Sell one, spend the money, and endure an empty spot in your soul all the rest of your days. Been there and done it!

Save up some money, get the finish mower and other implements and enjoy 'em both. A fully restored Jube is not the answer here.

Every now and again when money gets tight and garage space gets short, I eye up my 640 and think similar thoughts....but so far I've resisted the temptation.

One of my Christmas presents this year was a video made from old 8mm movies salvaged from my late grandmother's house. It shows about 30 seconds of my father and grandfather operating my 640 back in the late 50's when it, and they, were young. Sure made a hard decision impossible. :-)

option 2 would be to put a finish mower on the 9N...(sell the 850...etc.)