before and after!

You probably remember that last week we figured out that the 1952 8N I'm renovating has a grille from an earlier model - one with holes for the Ferguson System emblem.

Well, there's a happy ending because I took Zane's advice. I filled the holes, fixed the torn-out crank hole, patched, primed and painted - but I filled those top holes with Bondo only (with a small strip of duct tape on the back). If anyone ever wants to turn it back into a '39 grille - five minutes work with a twist drill would do it! Here's the before and after pictures, and I think it turned out real good.

later,dave

--JK_TN

I had a Ford Model "A" coupe for years, and that's why I would NEVER try to start an "N" tractor by hand cranking. That was dangerous enough with the old cars, which had a "spark retard" lever to prevent the engine kicking backwards. These tractors don't have that feature.

I remember my dad saying how common it was to see men with their right arm in a cast in the '20's. You wanted to retard the spark lever, put the crank at the bottom, NOT wrap your thumb around the crank, and give it a hard half-turn only - bringing the crank straight up. It's one of those lost arts that people don't need to know any more. Gee, could I be getting old? Nah!