Re: What is a good entry level tractor for a novice?

Posted by Larry 8N75381 on September 13, 2002 at 11:54:00 from (132.250.196.100):

In Reply to: What is a good entry level tractor for a novice? posted by Yardbaby1 on September 13, 2002 at 09:06:31:

The Ford 8N was made until 1952 with over 510,000 made so it is an easy one to get parts for. They were made "dirt simple" so any farmer could fix them with a minimun of tools and knowledge - at least the common were and tear type of things. Actually there are only a few things where you would need help in fixing them, like getting stuck lift arms off their shafts - some guys have had to use a 20 ton press to get them off when they were rusted badly.

BUT they are quite popular since you can hook up any new (catagory 1, that is) implement to it and use it to do real work, thus they bring a lot more than the other makes of that era. They have their drawbacks however, such as the PTO stops when you push down the clutch. The lift ONLY works when the PTO is engaged so when you transport a mower you should disconnect the PTO shaft so the blades are not turning as you go down the road.

The Ford NAA was made in '53-'54 and is better in that it does not have the hydraulic pump run by the PTO shaft. From 1955 to '60 there were the 600/800 series. The 600 was just the NAA with some added options and the 800 was a larger version.

I would say that your choice of tractor to restore would be dependent upon your ultimate purpose for the tractor. For just a show tractor, I would lean towards the Case VA series, but that was because my Dad was an mechanical engineer for J.I. Case in Rock Island, Ill. when I was in grade school and did gear design on one of the VA series tractors. The old two cylinder JD's are neat, but then so are lots of others. BUT if you want to also use the tractor then you need to think carefully about what you MIGHT end up using the tractor for and what implements you would need. Then having a hitch that will hook up to modern implements would be very important. Ford was the first with the current three point hitch, BUT many of the older tractors had "retro-fits" made for them so they can use the new TPH implements. You just need to be sure the one you are looking at has the TPH adapter - if needed.

One request! The guys like to see before, in progress and finished photos of restoration. If you are going to restore a tractor, it is nice to get complemented on the job you have done! :-) So be sure to take LOTs of pictures. If you have trouble posting pictures you can get help here on how to do it.

Regards,
Larry

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