1950 8n Restoration Progress Pics

Just though I"d post an update of where I"m at in this project. Over the last couple of weeks I finished painting all the black and silver parts. I got it all wired up with a new cloth loom harness and rigged up a lawnmower tank to get the rebuilt engine running.

Things started getting messy when the funnel I was using to fill the tranny/hydraulics turned over and dumped about a gallon of fluid over the transmission and rear housing; drats! I got that mess cleaned up and finally started the engine. The lower radiator hose leaked, one of the oil lines leaked, and three of the head studs leaked; drats! I tightened up the radiator hose, reseated the oil line, pulled the head and gooped up the offending studs with number 2 permatex. Got it running again with no leaks; Yeah! Runs good, no smoke, and idles smooth. Hydraulics work good. They leak down about 4 inches in 24 hour under the weight of the drawbar only. Haven"t had a chance to load it though.

After hotting the engine up for a half-hour, I let it cool down, retorqued the head and still have no more leaks after a week.

This past week I"ve been assembling the sheetmetal, lights, front tires and other such details. All thats left now is to get rear tires mounted. I"ve got my father-in-law ordering tires today. Him and my BIL are going to help me mount the tires when they come in. They used to run a garage in the boonies and have seen plenty of N"s come through.

The Pics below show the latest progress.

flathead




Running Engine off Lawnmower Tank

No More Leaks

Installing the Hood

Left Front View

Right Side, Taken This Morning

Red = PPG 70075 = Came up as Ford Vermilion on the computer at the paint store.

Grey = PPG 31657 = Don't know what it's called. I've just seen where other folks have used it and it matched some areas I had like above the gas tank where the paint was original. I bought the lights new from the Barkleys and their paint was so close to what I used that I just bolted them on.

Black = Black

Silver = Just something I picked out of a book at the paint store. Its a modern Ford color and I don't remember the name or number. It turned out more sparkly than I wanted. I think I can do better next time around by getting a solid silver instead of a metalic.

flathead

"I think I can do better next time around ..."

In fifty more years? Hope your here to do it and I'm here to look at your pictures!

Great pic's and a great looking restoration.

Rick H. Ga.

Here's one more.

flathead

flathead

When I was growing up, we took all our holidays traveling around the country in a 31 Model A that my Dad restored. That's where I learned the different between show cars and usable touring cars. We were definately touring folks. When I was in high school me and my dad restored a '50 F-1 Ford pickup. I put it in one AACA show and got some trophy but decided right then that car showing wasn't for me. You got to sit around all weekend while the "experts" pick over hard work and compare it to other vehicles that are pretty but barely run. By the way, I was the only person in the whole show who drove his vehicle there from home. I drove that truck for the next 12 years as my only mode of transportation.

My point is, these old machines are a lot more fun if you use them. I put a lot of work into getting the body rust free and painted well, but only because I thought It was necessary to stop the deterioration after 54 years of constant use. My main focus on things like this it to have the mechanical condition as good is I can get it.

To me it's like starting over with a factory new tractor. I'll continue to use and work it for the next 50 year and I'm sure it will get old and deteriorate all over again, but by then it will be my sons problem.

By the way, I still have the Model A and the F-1.

flathead

BEAUTIFUL!!!

Steve

Dan

Good job,hope mine turns out half as nice when it"s finished..

Tim

You know, it hasn't occurred to me to take any pics of the other vehicles since I gone digital. I'll have to do that sometime. In the meantime here's a future restoration project that I did have a picture of. Its a 1928 South Bend 13" lathe that I used quite bit while working on this tractor. Kinda ugly ain't it.

flathead

Tim