New 8N owner

I just picked up my first tractor over the weekend, an 8N. I got it running and everything seems to be working well. I have been trying to figure out what year it is and am quite confused. The serial number on the engine is 8N305986 which should place it somewhere in the middle of 1950 and it should have a side mount distributer. All of the tin on the tractor points to 1950+, the oil fill is the shortened version below the filter canister. the radius arms and lift arms are also of the later style. However the engine is a front distributer and there is blue paint under the red and no other color. I know in the grand scheme of things the exact year doesn't matter much but this is a bit of a mystery to me and I would like to sort it out if possible. Any input you have would be greatly appreciated.

-Ben-

Are you 100% sure about that s/n?
75 Tips

Congrats on the new tractor and welcome to the forum!
[b:322883beff]Here's[/b:322883beff] a link to the ID section of John Smith's awesome site.
Best resource that I know of for identifying your tractor.

Many of these tractors have had engine or parts swaps.
Nature of the beast after this many years.
I would still double check the serial number.
They can be hard to read.

I am pretty sure of the number ( see picture) I also have the older style steering sector. I know many of the parts are interchangeable and I just might have a frankentractor.
I have gone over John's site very carefully and have used the info there to identify the items previously mentioned. ( his site is great!) regardless of when it was made, I was tickled pink to get it running last night and drive it up to the gas station. lots of questions from folks when I was fueling it up.

that's got to be the clearest serial number i've ever seen. admit it - u just stamped that yourself

No self-stamping here. I did work it with some 150 grit paper and rub it down with a thumb. The beauty of good lighting at the right angle. I wanted to be sure I wasn't crazy and that I was reading the number correctly. LOL

(quoted from post at 19:54:44 01/16/17)
that's got to be the clearest serial number i've ever seen. admit it - u just stamped that yourself

Click to expand...

I needed to get the serial number of the engine on my MF202. It's on a plate on the side of the block but not in a good place to read it.

I used my digital camera with a macro setting and stuck the camera in there and took several pictures at different angles. I was really surprised how clear the numbers showed in the digital pictures. I guess the camera really enhances contrast that your eyes just can't do.

Looks pretty clear to me. I would guess a block/engine swap.
Have you checked the hydraulic pump and rear axle trumpets
for date codes? They might lend a clue as to approximate date.
Sheet metal is very easily changed and often is.

(quoted from post at 23:00:32 01/16/17)

(quoted from post at 19:54:44 01/16/17)
that's got to be the clearest serial number i've ever seen. admit it - u just stamped that yourself

Click to expand...

I needed to get the serial number of the engine on my MF202. It's on a plate on the side of the block but not in a good place to read it.

I used my digital camera with a macro setting and stuck the camera in there and took several pictures at different angles. I was really surprised how clear the numbers showed in the digital pictures. I guess the camera really enhances contrast that your eyes just can't do.

Click to expand...

Good advice CaryC. I've noticed the same taking pics with my phone.
I can use flash, or not, and get different views. Works well.

(reply to post at 23:05:05 01/16/17)

Click to expand...

wait - how does someone swap an engine, but not the serial number?

if a 305xxx block has a front mount dist, doesn't it have to be the dist that was swapped? i've never heard of a side dist block retrofitted like this :?

(quoted from post at 23:19:09 01/16/17)

(reply to post at 23:05:05 01/16/17)

Click to expand...

wait - how does someone swap an engine, but not the serial number?

if a 305xxx block has a front mount dist, doesn't it have to be the dist that was swapped? i've never heard of a side dist block retrofitted like this :?

Click to expand...

Obviously the serial would go with the block Howard.
What I meant was that the previous owner may have bought a
bare block and re-used his front mount components.
It would be interesting to see. Front mount distributor with the
generator/alternator possibly on the left?
Would it be much easier to get the distributor out that way?
Seems like it might be, though I've never tried it.

[b:ece48ce486]"What I meant was that the previous owner may have bought a
bare block and re-used his front mount components."[/b:ece48ce486]

and this is why i asked if anyone had heard of a conversion going in this direction before. i've heard more than once about people putting side mount distributors on front mount blocks, but not this way. what would it take to make it happen?

Check near your starter/bellhousing on the block. It should have a raised 8N or 8N-B, Probably a B block, with a production code tag under it.
Here is my 8N with a side dizzy conversion. My block has 1947 block numbers.
Yours was probably a side dizzy block turn into a front mount.

Kirk

Welcome to YT.
You mention this is your first tractor.
These Ns are simple, fun, very capable
machines that will do a lot of useful work
for you.
A bit of advice for you though.
It is very easy to get caught up in a
restoration craze on one of these tractors.
Folks here call it mission creep - rebuilt
engine, nice paint, new tires, etc, etc.
But I suggest you try it out as is for a
season to make sure it is the right tractor
for your needs before you go down that
restoration path.
I have seen so many guys here do as you did
and get their first tractor then go off on a
restoration craze. Before they know it they
easily have another three grand+ into it -
beyond the original purchase price - for a
machine that might fetch 60% of their
investement should they try to resell it.
If you were to take the purchase price plus
the cost of a restoration and buy a newer
tractor to begin with you would be a lot
farther ahead with a machine that is much
more capable and has features an N does not
have.
Keep this in mind as you go down this road.

sound advice,
example, my old jeep, I wanted an old jeep to drive on the back roads and to town and back, bought one in not so good of condition, but in my price range.

now 20 years, many thousands of dollars and much labor later: I still have an old junkie jeep that runs, but for the time and money spent, I could have had a much better condition jeep.

old jeeps and 8N's are much alike, if it runs and drives, it holds its price, no matter the time of the year.

remember: paint and powder does not plow, good gears, bearings and compression is what pulls the plow.

"Paint and powder..."

Reminds me of my favorite quote by Admiral Chester Nimitz;

Reporter to Nimitz; " Why do they refer to battleships as she?"
Nimitz: "Because it costs so much to keep them in paint and powder."

First off, thanks to everyone that has responded thus far. Let me provide a little background on this tractor purchase. I am a mechanic by trade and have a thing for resurrecting old equipment and running it. Something about how they built things 50+ years ago just appeals to me. I currently live in town and have limited space to store equipment ( I am looking to move in the next 5 years to some acreage). I have been looking at the N series tractors for awhile now and found one in the NW corner of Iowa. The guy had run it for 2 years or so and claimed that it ran well and all the mechanics were sound. when i got there they had it in the shop and told me that they had accidentally smoked the coil. we loaded it on the trailer and took it home for $1400. I confirmed the faulty coil and cut a few reliefs in the base so icould bring a wire to the points. I soldered a coil wire into a hole that i drilled into the HT post on the cap and got a coil and ballast resister for a 55 F100. I hit the starter and got it to cough a couple of times. after a bit of testing i found that there was no spark from the coil. found that the points were crap. i filed them down to get a clean surface and adjusted them to be parallel. reinstalled and hit the started. it fired right up and ran great. (celebrating insued) 30psi oil pressure at temp. drove it to the gas station
and fueled it up. now i am putting together a parts list to put it back together properly.

As to the history of the 8N here is what i found;
1) the block has the 8N-B casting mark making it a mid 50's production engine that should have a side distributor

2) The dash has just a ammeter and oil pressure gauge

3) I have the old style steering sector

4) I found a date on the left trumpet that seems to read 11-8-48



Casting mark on the block



Date on the trumpet


Old style steering sector



Front mount Dizzy on side Mount block


Dash Panel



Side View

Sorry about some of these pics. It is dark when i leave for work and dark when i get home these days. It looks like i have a late 1948 or 1950 tractor that had a mid 50's engine installed. It has a 12v conversion w/ negitve ground. The best i can come up with is that someone changed the side dizzy for the front style when the engine was replaced, Either for ease of points work and putting it back together and not messing up the timing, or for authenticitys sake. also the fenders have been replaced with the later ones

" Something about how they built things 50+ years ago just appeals to me. "

Yep, same here.

Which helps to explain my 4 8N's, a 740, 1929 Ford & 1950 MG. And a 1948 wife!

While you're buying parts, don't forget the manuals. (tip # 39)

And, re points on that front mount, see tips 66, 67 & 68.
75 Tips

That's great advise.. I actually bought all of the manuals before i picked up the tractor. I have spent quite a bit of time going over the 75 tips. my long term plan is to get all of the mechanicals sorted out just the way i want them. once that is completed i will break it down for a paint job and reassembly. If i do my part it should be around for another 60+ years.

Always nice to hear that someone is going to bring another one back.