Update on tractor, etc., purchase (thanks, pretty long)

Several of you were kind enough to offer advice a couple of weeks ago on an 8N and miscellaneous equipment a guy had on a hobby farm my son is buying from him. So here's an update, again with my thanks for the helpful advice you provided. We really only wanted the tractor, a rear blade and a brush-cutter mower, but after almost two hours of haggling last night, we ended up with everything he had. The details: • 1950 front-mount 8N. I hadn't seen the tractor before last night because it had been at a Ford NH dealer running up a tab of $800 (ouch!) to fix a minor problem with the points plate in the distributor. ( I feel so bad for the guy for a part that probably cost less than $30.) The tractor has faded paint but beyond that is among the cleanest, straightest original tractors I have seen. It has been on the property and shedded since new and comes with the original bill of sale. The rear tires are in great shape; the fronts are mismatched but both look good. The hood is unafflicted by the usual rust-through on the raised "bumps" near the front. The grill is perfect. The radiator looks good. Oil pressure is 40 at start-up and 30 at warm idle. Hydraulics are fast and chatter-free. There's a factory front bumper with no damage. Has a "V"-type drawbar stabilizer. The steering wheel is uncracked. Original headlights still work. Has left and right rear light brackets but lights are missing. Tractor is still original 6-volt with a brand-new battery. It starts instantly.

• Other pieces of the deal: Dearborn 2-bottom plow with all factory parts present; clean shares. Dearborn 12-foot single-gang disk, clean. Dearborn digger/cultivator. Ford 5-foot brush cutter mower (needs seal or gasket under gearbox and minor deck repair). Heavy 6-foot rear blade (can't recall brand, but good reversible blade and heavy duty). Clean reversible pond scoop. Three-point wood-splitter with all hardware to attach. Rear-tire chains. PTO adapter (for bigger shaft). Self-lift jack but needing some repair. Pull-behind 2-hp orchard sprayer. Front-tine Craftsman 5-hp rototiller. Small pull-behind lawn roller/packer. All-steel 42x48 highway-legal trailer with 15-inch tires. Sickle-bar mower (sitting outside so condition is questionable. Old buck rake (lawn ornament?). Several Ford books and manuals. Probably a few small things I'm forgetting. Oh, also a Model A Ford pickup body that would require a terribly brave, patient, talented person to resurrect.

Final package price was $3,990; he had been asking almost $5,300. I hope I didn't overpay for so many pieces I don't need. This is my fourth 8N and I didn't need it, but I hope I'll come out OK after I eventually sell off some of the pieces. It was just easier to do the package deal than dicker over a piece at a time. The guy is really attached to the equipment and the 18-acre farm, but he finally understood that he would be better off selling the package rather than rushing to sell all that stuff piece by piece before closing on the property June 17. Again, I'm sharing this information as an update in thanks for those who gave me advice.

Sounds like a good deal to me. When you decide to sell some pieces I'd be interested in some depending on price

Thanks again for your original advice. As far as reselling, I'm pretty overwhelmed at the moment with the sudden accumulation of stuff I've never even thought much about. And I won't be able to think much about such things until my son and his family get moved and settled. (His new place has an 8,000-square foot, concrete-floor, insulated steel building that's a former laying house.) If/when I reach a point to sell some pieces, I'll keep your kindness in mind.