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New member, and another 8N on its way back to life

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tburch

04-24-2015 09:54:09

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Hi everyone. This is my first tractor. I moved to the country a couple years ago, and finally got a few acres last fall, and as I have been settling into my new property, I've been keeping my eye out for a nice tractor. I found a tractor, but the "nice" didn't happen! (But it has potential.) I decided to buy a "fixer upper". It's a '49 8N. Nothing special about it, other than the amount neglect it has received. It's been outside most of its life, I suppose. Needs a lot of work. Brakes and clutch seems to work. Steering is fairly tight. Seems to hold water OK.
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I paid $300 for it and trailered it home. 1 flat front tire and one new rear tire. Rear treads don't match, and neither do the wheels. I got the MS carburetor in a coffee can, along with a full rebuild kit. Cobwebs were free.
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I rebuilt the carb, slapped it on. Put my new fuel line on - no gas. Sediment bowl was full of caramelized fuel.

Took it apart and rebuilt it. Learned these tractors have a reserve setting in the process. Cool. Fuel was now flowing.
I took the air cleaner off to check it out. Lots of oil caked dirt on it. Seems there no way to open it up easily to really clean it. I soaked it with carb cleaner. Seems it will work OK for the time being.
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(con't)

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tburch

04-25-2015 19:02:10

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Thanks. Ifn and when I want to do a trail (and we've already talked about a trail), I'll use my buddy's skid steer to make a hole. ;)

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tburch

04-24-2015 22:54:39

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Thanks everyone.
I've been told her name is Bessy. We'll see if it fits.
The "grill mod" is just the grill leaning against the sheet metal, upside down. It wasn't attached when I picked it up. Does kinda looks like a gapped tooth woman though.

Howdy1960 - thanks for the pictures. I saw mine was leaded too, but I couldn't tell if that was factory or a previous owner's signature.
Yes, I have worked on a few engines before. Took auto mechanics back in high school (class of '80), and I can't recall how many engines I've rebuilt� maybe a dozen or more. Fords, Chevys and Chryslers. Replaced the rear seals in a 42' French sailboat once too. It's been a while since I've had any grease under my nails. At once time I was certified, when certification just starting to come about, back in '80-'81, for tune ups and electrical systems.
My plan for the tractor is mowing and driveway maintenance. I'm on about 6.6 acres and 2 of that might be woods. My plan is to get a flail mower. For the driveway, approx. 100 yards long, either a blade or a box blade. I think I might get more use out of the box blade though� not certain, 'cuz I'm new to this stuff.
I have restored several cars/trucks (done everything myself, including paint), and I do have a tendency to go overboard. However, right now, I'm biting my lips and forcing myself to NOT just start buying all the stuff I could buy to get this thing up to snuff. I want to run it and make sure it (it = this particular tractor) is worth it first.
Oh, and here are a couple more pics that didn't make it last post. My caramelized sediment bowl and the rusty rusty starter.
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Todd

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Ultradog MN

04-25-2015 14:09:10

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 22:54:39

Sounds like you'll use it for the same things most of us do.
As to the flail mower, I would have you consider a brush hog mower instead.
First of all, though flail mowers do a cleaner job of mowing they Love horse power.
So your 23 hp N may not be up to the task.
Secondly, you say you have a couple acres of woods. So you might want to mow trails through there someday? For that the rotary style brush mower is better suited.
Get a 5' for sure as it is the perfect size for an N.
And absolutely put an over running clutch on it (orc) for safety reasons.

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howdy1960

04-24-2015 15:58:44

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Welcome to the forum. Lots of great info to be found here.

Your air filter looks much like mine and here's a couple pictures of what the inside looks like. The bottom of mine was leaded in place and pretty easy to remove. Cleaned insides and leaded back together.

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greywolf224

04-24-2015 15:20:37

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Welcome and good luck. Learn all you can. Sounds like you you have worked on an engine or two before.

And like it was said. These machines suck you in like the slot machines at Vegas. You gotta know when to let the next guy take a crack at it.

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Ultradog MN

04-24-2015 10:53:19

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Welcome Todd.
Whatever you do don't get caught up in the restoration craze on it.
You'll soon have 3 times what it's worth stuck into it and still not know if it will suit your needs.
Better to get it running, fix what's wrong, bone up on your tractor/wrenching skills and then run it for a season.
Then decide.
For the price you paid you could easily sell it for a decent profit and put that $ into something like a Jubilee/NAA or a 600 or 2000, etc.
Ns are great machines but they do lack a lot of features that came out on models just a couple years newer that make the newer models able to do more work, easier.

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tburch

04-24-2015 10:27:00

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Inside the air cleaner, wasn't a place I wanted to hang out much. It was very nasty. New life forms and old life forms. Gross.
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I went to turn it over� Click click click, and the ground strap (6v) started smoking. Took off the starter and about a pint of water came out. Armature was all rusted, along with all the other steel in the starter.
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Sanded the rust off, put it back together, and now it would turn over. No spark. Traced it back to the ballast resistor connections rusted to the point of being open. So, now I'm going to build a new temporary harness and order a ballast resistor. I'll eventually upgrade to 12V, so that's why my harness is temporary. All the wiring on this tractor has 2-4 splices on each wire and all the crimped connectors are heavily oxidized. I bought a harness at the local tractor supply (Hey, $25!), but it wasn't even close to being correct. That's getting returned. I ordered all the manuals earlier this week, so they should be here soon.
I'm looking forward to participating here and learning from those who have been here, done that. Plus, I'll post my progress as I go forward. My buddy has a nicely restored 8N that got me hooked on these.

Todd

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HCooke

04-24-2015 10:23:13

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to tburch, 04-24-2015 09:54:09

Welcome to the forum. Lots of folks got started here just like you have. $300 was a good price. Looks like you are off to good start.

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BMACK518N

04-24-2015 14:39:28

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Re: New member, and another 8N on its way back to life in reply to HCooke, 04-24-2015 10:23:13

You did well, by the time you are done reworking it I'll bet you will have a name for her. I like that grill modification have not seen that version before. Good luck, a lot of knowledge here to help you.

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