Hi-Lo Gear Arrangement on 8N

The Sherman came in three flavors. Overdrive, underdrive, and combination. The overdrive and underdrive units are two speed, with the combination being a three speed.

They can be identified by the shifter lever arm. The two speed units of either overdrive or underdrive have a straight lever arm. The combination units have a dogleg shaped lever arm.

The overdrive and underdrive units had a straight forward and back shift pattern. Back was direct, forward engaged the auxiliary gears giving either the overdrive or underdrive effect.

The combination unit has the same forward and back shifting motion that is for overdrive and direct. Underdrive is engaged by going mid way through the motion to neutral, pulling the lever straight out away from the bell housing about an inch, and then shoving it forward.

It is not at all uncommon to find a combination unit that hasn't had underdrive engaged in decades because it was forgotten about by a previous owner and none of the subsequent owners knew it was there. That was the case with my Sherman equipped Ford 8N.

Do understand that the Sherman is in front of the main transmission, and affects ground speed and pto rpm identically. You don't actually gain a 12 speed gearbox.

The sherman was designed to allow the engine to run at higher rpms in underdrive mode for the correct pto rpm, thereby giving an effective 30% power increase. Overdrive mode was for transportation in road gear. It does allow the engine to operate the pto at near idle, which can save gas when very lightly loaded.

The transmission itself is worth a few hundred dollars used if in good condition.

Good working 8 N tractors seem to go for $2000 to $2500 US with a higher price being given when the tractor has a strong engine (Good Oil Pressure, easy starting, no obvious smoking etc, straight and minimal rusting on the sheetmetal, good hydraulics and brakes...

Rougher ones with need of a few obvious repairs are probably worth $1400 to $2000

A lot depends on where you are in the country, best bet may be to check picture for sale ads on this site and see if you can find an 8 N that appears to be in similar condition to yours to determine a fair price...

Not sure if you have a tiny lawn, and small garden, but wanted you to know that for larger yards (1 to 10 acres) the 8 N in combination with a 5 to 6 ft finish mower mounted on the 3 pt hitch makes for a very effective lawn mowing machine. With my tractor I can mow about 2.5 miles per hour which will run rings around my neighbour's 20 horse garden tractor, and the N is much quieter to operate than the garden tractor.

For gardens, again if you think outside the box, the N with a cultivator on the 3pt and a couple of passes with a harrow will make almost as nice a seedbed as a garden tractor and rototiller...

If you want things worked up deeper, find a 1 or 2 bottom plow...

Read some on the great 9N, 2N, 8N forum here, you may decide to reconsider selling the N...

After all it must be a heck of a piece of engineering to still be a useful and workable piece of equipment after 60 years or more... Can't say the same for the durability of garden tractors ...