8n Ford Or.. A Fool And His Money

I know! Sweet right?! We have near 1/2 mile x 1 mile that we maintain and the Case 830 LP is ok, but it is very difficult to get into the orchard or near things with a tractor that is nearly 3 stories tall (exaggerated) with a loader that likes to knock trees over and grab things like house siding. The Ford 2N will never do anything but pull either a 6' brush hog or 6' finish mower. I am not going to do anything else with this lil tractor, so I am not worried about hurting the drivetrain with the horsepower. I think of it similar to the toys I build (see profile pic or Google: Premier Trikes), the LS1 has way too many hp for the small s-10 differential, but with less traction and weight. I won't destroy my differential until I actually cause the hp to work against the gears, which due to tire slip and weight I cannot do. Although I scared the crap out of myself once, gave a ride to my close friend's little brother and his now wife who are twice my size each, pulled the front tire off the ground in a turn and immediately regretted gunning her at that moment, won't ever push the motor hard with extra weight. Reminded me of the day at the lake (A VERY DEEP LAKE) when I had his other brother (400lbs ish at the time) in the nose of my boat and pulled the power back to protect the down skier and took a wave over the bow. we were instantly in mid-shin deep water INSIDE my 20' inboard/outboard boat. That was scary as we were running all 3 bilge pumps, using coolers to bale water and trying to get to shore as quick as possible. In the end, it took out my starter and ended our day at the lake.
 
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I have a 2N that I am about half way in on switching the motor to a chevy 4.3L v6. There is a guy on the internet who sells the adapter to mount the engine, adds quite a bit of hp without extending the tractor so all the tin is the same.

Several years ago, a neighbor had too many whiskey tickets and lost his license. he put a flat head ford V8 on an 8N (that bolts right up) and used it to drive to town. Kinda weird seeing an 8N going 60 mph down the highway.
 
If I ran my 8N at 60 mph, it would probably flip over. 60 mph on a tractor would certainly attract the authorities. Aside from that, at 60 mph, that engine will be turning almost 9,000 rpm with a stock drive train.
 
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT PEOPLE SEE IN THE 8N TRACTORS, FIRST GEAR IS TO HIGH, SECOND IS WORTHLESS AND THIRD IS TO SLOW TO MOVE DOWN THE ROAD, HARD STARTING EVEN WHEN CONVERTED TO 12V, I WOULD FIX UP AND SELL TO THE NEXT FOOL WANTING ONE AND BUY A MASSEY FERGUSON.
 
I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT PEOPLE SEE IN THE 8N TRACTORS, FIRST GEAR IS TO HIGH, SECOND IS WORTHLESS AND THIRD IS TO SLOW TO MOVE DOWN THE ROAD, HARD STARTING EVEN WHEN CONVERTED TO 12V, I WOULD FIX UP AND SELL TO THE NEXT FOOL WANTING ONE AND BUY A MASSEY FERGUSON.
8N's have four speeds plus reverse. I used to run in second gear for plowing and cultivating, third gear for the brush hog, mowing, pulling the hay baler, and plowing snow. Fourth gear moved me down the road at 14 mph, about as fast as I would want to go on a tractor. First gear was used for pulling logs and such.

IMO, the 8N was and is a great little tractor. I have had mine for 45 years now. Its wide front end and low center of gravity permits negotiating some pretty steep slopes. The major drawback was lack of full time PTO and hydraulics. It is popular with people with small tracts of land who want something to plow snow, mow the field, and generally cart things around.
 
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