My shifter knob is moulded in metal& much smaller than s

I see most 8ns have a handle that screws on,is mine off a earlier model maybe?Thanks,Paul

Early 8Ns as well as 9/2Ns had small molded gear shift knobs.

IIRC, the change to replaceable Bakelite knobs was made in 1950.

Dean

There is two sizes of screw on knob.

Only seen one size Bakelite gear shift knob used on 8Ns.

Dean

Not all 9n's. Early ones had threaded shifter and ball

Here are the facts on the FORD N-Series Tractor Shift Handle. The early 9N model used a 5/8" diameter screw-on, chromed ball/knob. I cannot remember the thread size, but are extremely difficult to remove. The gear shift lever is listed as p/n 9N-7210 thru all the 9N/2N MPC's up until the January, 1946 one. The gear shift lever is then listed as p/n 9N-7209. This means the part was changed at some point prior to the introduction of the 2N Model. There are MPC's for 1940 (the first 9N one); 1941; 1942, and the 1943 Moto-Tug, and all list the 9N-7210. During the war years (WWII) there were no MPC's printed. There are no MPC's for 1943, 1944, and 1945. It's difficult to determine exactly when the chrome/screw-on knob shifter was changed to the all-solid unit without searching the archived drawings at the Benson Ford Research Center. I have added this part to my list for my next visit there. In early 1940, at approximately s/n 9N-12500, many changes were made and I suspect this could have been one of them, but don't quote me on that, I'm simply speculating. The Ford Model 8N was introduced in July, 1947. This MPC shows the gear shift lever as p/n 8N-7210. This was the solid unit and was different now because the 8N had the new 4-Speed Transmission. In the 1949 MPC, the gear shift lever is listed as: 8N-7209-B, -with double 1/2" diameter ball-transmission end. In early 1950, many changes were made on the 8N. At s/n 8N-252845, the gear shift lever was changed to p/n 8N-7209-C as it now had the large, Bakelite Screw-On knob. The gear shift lever had a male-threaded top end and the new knob had a brass female-threaded insert as well. This part was used thru the remainder of all 8N production and into the NAA model as well, introduced in September, 1952. Since there were a little over a half million 8Ns produced, the screw-on knob was used on a little over the latter half of all 8N production. Those with a keen eye will note that in the Ford Tractor books that show the late Dwight Emstrom's *9N-16* tractor, the earliest known 9N model, he has the 8N Screw-On knob. He later corrected this with the correct chromed 9N shifter. He told me at the time he restored that tractor, about 1990, not much was known on early 9Ns. He was told the shifter had a screw on knob so he assumed it was the 8N Bakelite part.

Tim *PloughNman* Daley(MI)