You're Joining a BIG Club!

Various versions of this engine were in production for about fifty years! And perhaps as many as 750,000 of them are still running all over the world, in N series tractors, Model A and T Fords, irrigation pumping stations, power generation stations in remote areas, etc., etc.

Of course, Model N tractor engines have some important improvements over the original Model N auto engine, such as a Kettering ignition system, better cooling system, more power and torque, and a much more flexible RPM range.

Nonetheless, when you start an N series tractor, it sounds almost exactly like a Model T or Model A Ford!

I hope you enjoy your tractor. I do want to endorse what some others said about using a hay buggy to move round bales as opposed to lifting them with the hydraulics; a typical round bale is close to the maximum capacity of the system, and one of the surest ways to prolong the life of ANY old vehicle is to avoid operating it near, at, or over capacity whenver possible.

Buy an owner"s manual and read it, cover to cover like a Grisham novel, as soon as possible. Then, get an FO-4 shop manual; you"ll need it eventually, you might as well already have it on hand when you do.

Finally, when the day comes and the tractor won"t start or pull well, and Dell tells you to replace the ignition switch, just take his word for it!

As someone else said, the front of the tractor will start to come off the ground at about 800 lbs. When these tractors were new, THAT would have been the limiting factor.

But they're not new, of course. So, I personally wouldn't lift much more than about 600 lbs. with one on a regular basis.

But perhaps I'm overly cautious...

I don't have an N series, but I do have a 1980 2600, which is just about the same as an NAA except for the 3-cylinder Deisel engine.

It used to belong to my uncle, who lifted small round bales with it on occasion. He prefered using his much larger John Deere 4040 for that purpose. but the Ford ALWAYS started (still does) and every now and then when it was cold the John Deere wouldn't; and cattle have to eat...