Identifying 9N's in my quest for a true 1939

martyh

Member
So, from reading on the Internet, there were about 10,500 9N's built in 1939?

There were 25,000 that had the smooth sided rear hub?

The 1939 models should have horizontal bars in the grill?

I'm coming to the source as I am not sure these statements above are true or maybe partly true or completely false. So far I have seen only 9N's presented as 1939's that have the flanged rear hubs and vertical grills, not even starter buttons on the panel.
 
read john smiths site. it will tell you everything you need to know about what makes a 39.

smiths side says smooth hubs up to 41500 in 1940, so yes a 39 has smooth hubs

Yes horizontal grille for 39 and 40.


most people who don't know what year there 9N is just say 39 because it was the first year
 
Most of the "39 horizontal grilles have been changed out unless you are looking for one that's
already been restored. Just because it has a vertical it may still be a '39.

Kirk
 
John Smith's site will steer you in the right direction. I would not go by the grill. I've seen pictures of a couple original ones, but they
were fragile and most did not survive. Fortunately you can get good reproduction ones form Rosewood Machine Co. 39's have the starter switch
on the left side of the dash and the ignition switch on the right. They had 4 spoke steering wheels but none of mine had the original
steering wheels when I got them. They have double rib fenders and 32" wheels.
39-9N-003-1.jpg

014.jpg

010.jpg

http://www.rosewoodmachine.com/
 
No, no, no. I'm not going to go by the grill, or the steering wheel or anything other than the serial number. I was going to use the visual cues when looking at the Craigslist listing pictures to wade through the silliness like "1949 9N" or "all original" that has the wrong wheels, painted the wrong color and 3 spoke steering wheel. But, it would appear there has been so many parts swaps and repairs over the years that I could easily be passing the base of a nice '39 9N and not even know it. As so many people mislabel their tractors, I'm just going to have to go do the travel and field work myself to check the serial number when I find one that seems worth checking out.
 
HiYa Marty-
Most "1939" 9Ns sold on fleabay are not or have later parts on them like riveted rear hubs. You run across an original now and then but these early Fords are more for the restorer/collector now. If you plan on just using it to mow grass and plow snow, why go 9N when an 8N will work much better and are more plentiful? As stated, original parts are getting hard to find. 4-spoke steering wheel and horizontal bar aluminum grille are reproduced but items like the original square voltage regulator and small 'A' or 'B' generator are rare as hens teeth. It took me ten years to find an original "A" generator for my early 9N that was my grandfathers; bought in November 1939. I'm restoring it as a tribute to him. There are many unique features to the early 9N so expect to pay a small fortune to buy one fully restored. If you email me I will direct you to another web site where you can get all the info on early 9Ns you need...

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<font color="#FFFFFF" size="3">*9N653I* & *8NI55I3*</font>​
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You ask why want a 9N for mowing over an 8N? Because I want a tractor from the 1930's and the 9N was a very modern tractor for it's time. I have a '56 640 now. With a functioning 9N I can go back and forth between the two when I want to work on one or the other or I can completely tear down the 9N while I keep up on the mowing with the 640. About 14 acres of our property is wide open, easy to mow and would be a great way to get to practically use an old tractor without beating it up.

I used to own a 1946 Cessna 120 aircraft. I love that connection to the past. If someone was 60 years old building that Cessna, that means my airplane was built by people who just survived WWII. They were a teenager when the Wright Brothers first flew and were born at the end of the railroad era. There I was in 2012 enjoying the fruits of their labor.

If I had a 1939 9N, it would be a similar situation. I can have that connection to the past. I can mow my property in 2016 on a tractor introduced by Henry Ford and likely built by folks born around or before the turn of the century.
a202446.jpg
 
For visual clues I would look for double rib fenders. 32" wheels, smooth hubs, snapin gas lid, and the dash. They come up once in a while. If you want a very correct '39 then you will have to be prepared to look for parts also. The correct A generator and regulator will be like a quest for the holy grail.

Nice Cessna!
 

Yeah, that's a good list. I don't need a super correct '39 9N. I can work towards it. I just need a good clean '39 9N to start from. It's amazing how many people don't even know what they have or can't be bothered to scrape off the serial number. I'm not in any hurry but I bet I have something by Spring.

Thanks about the Cessna. I hated selling it but my wife doesn't like the bumps and wantied more cabin width so now I have an Experimental RV-6 with a higher wing loading so it rides the bumps better. I have a personal connection with the original builder of the airplane but it's not the same as the connection I felt with the Cessna 120.

28664.jpg
 
I understand your desire for an early 9N and there's nothing wrong with that. Here's an ad from the photo ads here of a '40 9N that looks pretty fair -I see the original generator anyway,...

Tim
1940 9N
 
but what are you going to do with the tires on your 1939 9n when you get it? can we expect 100 more posts about different tire options for that too?

you just spent a ton of money making your 640 slower to mow with, and now want a 9n, which is going to be just as fast as the 640 was. plus if you're trying to keep it original, its going to tear up your yard again when you are back to ag tires.

other than the novelty of saying "I mow with an 1939 tractor" its a total step backwards from everything you posted in the last month about wanting to go slow.
 
(quoted from post at 14:56:10 10/06/15) but what are you going to do with the tires on your 1939 9n when you get it? can we expect 100 more posts about different tire options for that too?

you just spent a ton of money making your 640 slower to mow with, and now want a 9n, which is going to be just as fast as the 640 was. plus if you're trying to keep it original, its going to tear up your yard again when you are back to ag tires.

other than the novelty of saying "I mow with an 1939 tractor" its a total step backwards from everything you posted in the last month about wanting to go slow.

Wow, what did I do to you? I'm sorry if my posts offend you or if you feel I post too often. I don't see much else going on around here so I didn;t see the harm in sharing what I am doing. Perhaps I should just keep my activities to myself. I thought the idea of these forums was to exchange information and ask/answer questions. I apologize.
 
I looked at a 9N that had a '39 serial number on the engine.
The seller actually went by that in this case.

The starter button was on the trans top, the dipstick on the side.
It had riveted rear axles, 28 in tires and single rib fenders.
Flip up gas tank lid, a 3 spoke steering wheel, grease zerks
on the rear of the front axle and no signs of chrome anywhere.

We concluded the engine was probably transplanted into a late
9N or an early 2N. Either that or MANY parts had been changed.
No way to know which for sure since we didn't check date codes
on the axles or hydraulic pump, but those could be changed too!

Good luck with your quest. I'm hoping to find one local too.
 
good luck with your quest.
I'm not really interested in front mounts anymore,
but with the big rears......I might go for one too.

funny....the 'unknown' year works both ways.
I owned a couple of 40's.
had to repeatedly tell people with both, no, it's not a 39.
Some would get really agitated and insist.
I traded this one away before I even picked up a wrench on it, ran good, smooth hubs both sides, dipstick in the trans cover, etc.
obviously a 40 though.
Jockey that got it told me a customer got downright hostile and told him he didn't know what he was talking about....it's a 39.lol
must have been those axles.....
be thorough out there looking.
upload_zpsc7c68aa1.jpg

ps for you sharp eyed fellas, that Allis in the background had some huge homemade platform contraption on the front of it..............
 

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