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Still...that's one ugly paint scheme and price! 

The good thing is it still has the original "hat box" rear rims! Those are pretty rare, and a good set can command a high price for the N-series purists. 

   Al

Mine starts in 2 seconds with a push of the starter button and a pull of the choke. Sounds like you've just experienced neglectful owners. 

x2! 

If he were still alive he would be telling you what a POS the Allis B he bought was, and got rid of in about 2 months after dicking with it to get it to start.

  Al

Bring traction booster into the equation, and you're right about the snap coupler. I too believe it is a great plowing design, putting the hitch point ahead of the rear axle. It is also true "In the seat hitching". 

However, on the N's...imagine trying to plow without a 3pt top link...the plow will just want to tip forward. Now put the top link in, and all the force that wants to tip the plow forward is conveyed into the tractor, pushing the front end down, and thus the tractor won't/can't tip if everything is set right. I used to have a diagram that showed this, but I'm having trouble finding it. 

As to plowing in tough soil. We have some of that...like you said...like plowing concrete. A buddy of mine has a MM GB that is fully loaded with weights in every place imaginable. He was pulling a 4 with it last summer, and hit some of that tough ground, and the tractor reared up, a drive wheel spun, and the front of the tractor swung over about 5 feet and slammed back down- that's some tough ground! In that ground, the B and 2-bottom spins out, unless you're quick reaching back and raising the plow, but the 8N powers through it, and the draft control compensates with the same results as a TB. They really are sort of the same concept. Both systems bump the plow out when they sense an increase in load on the hitch to prevent the tractor from tipping. 

You're right there...the handshake agreement with Harry Ferguson. 

If the Fords didn't have the hydraulic system, they'd be more like any other small tractor of the 30's. 

 

One comment, which I made on a plowing discussion of my own, when you go to a semi mount plow, no top link, you lose a direction of rigidity, and the plow can come out of the ground.

 

Question for  you.  When you hit that tough stuff and the Ford powers through it with the draft control, what is the change in plowing depth?

Of course, it all depends on the situation. Other times I've hit a stump or something when breaking out feed plots, and it almost lifted the plow completely out of the ground. 
Actually there used to be a video on You Tube of a guy driving a large piece of steel into the ground, then plowing over it with a N or a Ferguson. When the plow hit the chunk of steel, the draft control raised the plow completely out of the ground. 

Guess I was just comparing it to my B. It's got some CA parts in the engine, a D14 carburetor, and a milled head, so it's putting out more than a stock B/C. It pulls a 2, but the trailer system isn't as nice as the 3pt with draft control. 

 

Sure, of course it depends on how tough "tough" is.  But that's some cool observation there....So I take it you were measuring the relative distance between the lift link and the top of the fender?  So there would be a little more by the time you got to the furrow because of the distances to  pivot points and hitch points and such...

The 8N has 21.95 tested drawbar hp and the B's with the CE engine and all C's have 19.51 tested drawbar hp.

Thank you. That's kind of what I've been trying to say. 

I started out comparing the 9N/2N's of the 30's and 40's to the comparable Allis tractors of the 30's and 40's, but people said that's unfair, so I guess that's how we got to talking about the CA's of the 50's... Gee, who knew you'd have to fast forward 11 years to find something to compare a 9N to. Lol

You mow in the summer, right? If you're mowing, that means grass is growing. If it's growing, it's green. Now why do you think green grass is going to get set ablaze by just a brush on the muffler?

I've mown over 100 acres with my 8N over the years, and never set a field on fire. Heck, once this last March I was out in the pasture doing some things (2' tall, dry native grass prairie, about a 65 degree day) and I had to stop the tractor and get off. I left it sitting, running at about half throttle, for about 30-40 minutes. Yes, the undershot exhaust had tall dry grass all up against it for over 30 minutes, and nothing even smoldered. (Yes, I did make a point to check)

Once I even took some wheat straw, (as a test to tell folks like you about) wrapped it around the muffler and held pressure on it. Yes, it did smolder after a bit, but even when I blew on it, it didn't light. 

My great-grandpa had a 9N, 8N, and Jubilee over the years that he used with the All-Crop 60A I now have and use. He used the Jubilee (undershot exhaust) and the All-Crop on 300 acres annually in wheat, milo (Dry stalks cut as high as the header will go), and a few other crops, such as a couple types of edible beans. He also had a JD binder he used for his hay crops. 

My grandma's cousin had an 8N and a 60 All-Crop. 

My grandpa had an 8N and an All-Crop. 

They all lived in northwest Oklahoma. To clue you in, NW OK (home of the Dust Bowl) is a very arid place. Not much rain. 15-20 bpa of wheat is about average. Maybe if it's a wet spring the pastures will be green, but most of the year everything is brown, with most of this year being a strange, rare exception. (Nothing like up north, to say the least)

What do all these people (and hundreds more) have in common? 8N's, All-Crops, and 

Dry.

Dusty.

Fields.

I asked my grandpa, my grandma's cousin, my great-uncle, and other "old-timers" from the area if they or anyone else ever set a field on fire with their N, and they all kinda chuckled and said the same thing....a big "No." 

Were they just lucky? Maybe...if it was just a year or two, but when you spread it out over 30+ years, with at least 2 harvests a year, there is no real "luck" to it. 

Is it possible for an undershot pipe to set a field on fire? Yes, it certainly is. 

Is it likely? Not at all. 

No Ford N-series had the clutch on the right, so I'm thinking you meant left.

However, from the rest of your description, it sounds like you had a 9N or 2N. I will admit, the 9N/2N are not my favorite. The 8N/NAA are MUCH better tractors. The 9N/2N are harder to work (just a few things), no position control, left and right brakes on their respective sides, steering gear leaves a lot to be desired, etc. However, they were good for their time frame, in the transition from horses to tractors on small farms. 

You're right...the cheap price and "ahead of its time" fully hydraulic 3pt hitch (remember it was debuted in 1939) is what sold the N's. That and most every Ford automobile dealer sold N's as well.  

That's similar to the amazing All-Crop harvester....cheap price and rubber-on-rubber shelling sold them. (Along with many other great features, but those 2 were the big players) Not that everyone wants a small 5' combine, but they got the job done on a budget. In 1935 the All-Crop replaced the thresher, and in 1939 the 9N replaced the horses. 

Probably why almost everyone in NW Oklahoma had at least one of each 

Also...about the drum brakes....they really are easy to work on. I did a brake job on my 8N a few years ago start to finish in 1 afternoon. That's something I really like about the Fords, not just the N's, but all the way through the thousand series at least. 

x2! I think it's a little dumb as well. I guess back in those early days it might have made sense, but not now days. If everything is adjusted right, you push the clutch down a little ways to disengage it, then keep pushing if you want to actuate the left brake.