Ford 8n or ?

I'm in the process of buying my 1st tractor and was wanting some advice. I recently bought a house that has 600ft+ of gravel driveway and was thinking maybe I could get by with a Ford 8n for a box blade. My question is will the non-live hyd. be ok for using a box blade or do I need live hyd.?
PS. I am on a budget and don't want to spend more than $1800 on the tractor.

An 8N will run a box blade. You just have to learn to make all movements with the 3 point while the tractor is in motion. Live hydraulics are nice but not mandatory.

Rick

The 8N will be fine for a box blade as long as you don't get too big of one. The 8N has position control so you can maintain a constant height. No need for live hydraulics for just grading your driveway with a box blade.

Kyle--an 8N would work very well for what your stated use is.....however, if you are not in a big rush, keep looking and you will be able to find a 100 Series Ford for about the same money...and much more of a tractor...if just for resale value....I own N's and 100 Series....

Tim
Current example

An 8N,9N or 2N will do what you want to do,but if you can find an Oliver Super 55 or 550,they have live PTO and live hydraulics. They have the same 3 point and will take all the same implements.

WOW Tim! thats a good deal on that 960. 5 times the tractor compared to an 8n. Hell the pie weights on that thing are worth $500.00. And it comes with a blade, chains and a disc.

A good deal it is!!... I should have added that I am not the owner or seller and have no connection to the seller.....

P.S.---I do wish I was closer....

Tim

An N Ford will work, but it will be a PITA without live 3 point. Any Ford from NAA on up will have live 3 point, and would be a far better choice. An Oliver S55 or 550 would be even better (they're what an N Ford wants to be when it grows up), and 1800 would be at the lower end of their price range.

I live in North Carolina and the Ford N's are everywhere and you can find some pretty good deals if you don't mind doing a little painting. I've never even seen an Oliver down here, much less one for sale. I think for just grading my driveway a Ford N will be sufficient. Can anyone tell me if the Sherman transmissions are worth the extra money and would I even need one for grading a driveway?

(quoted from post at 10:43:10 12/11/13) I live in North Carolina and the Ford N's are everywhere and you can find some pretty good deals if you don't mind doing a little painting. I've never even seen an Oliver down here, much less one for sale. I think for just grading my driveway a Ford N will be sufficient. Can anyone tell me if the Sherman transmissions are worth the extra money and would I even need one for grading a driveway?

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Yes the Sherman's do make the N more valuable and no you do not need one to run a box blade.

Rick

(quoted from post at 10:43:10 12/11/13) I live in North Carolina and the Ford N's are everywhere and you can find some pretty good deals if you don't mind doing a little painting. I've never even seen an Oliver down here, much less one for sale. I think for just grading my driveway a Ford N will be sufficient. Can anyone tell me if the Sherman transmissions are worth the extra money and would I even need one for grading a driveway?

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Look on CL and see what the current asking prices are for various tractors in your area.

Rick

Kyle,I use a back blade on my fergie TO 30,Live power is not a issue,becaues your not using your pto so you keep it running and than you have live power as long as your not holding your clutch in,other equiptment is different,but with a over-riding clutch and some experience its operable

jimmy

Keep looking for live pto and live hydraulics.

I own a 9N and use it for a few chores (most of my work gets done with a Ford 3600 w/loader), but would recommend looking for a 100 series if you can find one. For not much more money you have a much more usable tractor. For a time collectors were driving the N values higher and I think they still have some influence. When that was happening you could probably have found a 00 series cheaper than the N.

If the place has a 600 foot drive it is probably large enough that you need to think about the other things you will use the tractor for as well.

Good luck,

Kirk

I agree with Kirk about the other uses. I have a '57 600 Ford that takes care of my 1/2 mile of gravel drive. I live in the hills so maintaining my ditches is the most important thing. I started out with just a box blade and wasn't satisfied about how it worked keeping the ditches clean. I got 2 straight scrape blades now and haven't had to buy but 3 loads of reclaimed concrete in the last several years.
Tim

The Oliver S55 is one I would love to find but then I do like my Olivers

Depending on where you are a 8N for $1800 is not likely to be much of a tractor. In my area common to see them in the $2000 plus range if the tires are good and they are in good shape.
While an N series will do the job I would save up a bit more and go with something like a 601/801 series or other such ones in the 30-45HP range

The 8N is an OK tractor and might be a good choice as a starter machine. Just about anything you might need to keep it running is easily available. They are quite simple and basic and if you found that you wanted something better, you could probably get most of your money back out of it if you decided to sell it.

There are other old tractors that also might work out OK for you, and they might have features others have mentioned that would come in handy for you. I would suggest finding a tractor with a front end loader, as well as a 3 point hitch, since those features are the ones I use the most on my machines.

It was a little unclear if you just plan to try to maintain the gravel driveway a bit, or if you will need to move snow. I have tried using my box blade in the snow and found that it really was not made for that. It would move a little snow, but very slowly. Much better is the 8 foot back blade, which can be adjusted with quite an angle. It tosses the snow off to the side and plowing can be done at some speed. For snow plowing you also really need a set of tractor chains. Without chains, you end up getting stuck. BTDT!

If you get lots of snow, you probably want to consider a snowblower, and the N"s and many other older tractors are not very suitable for use with a snowblower. Many of the older tractors will not back up slow enough and do not have live PTO.

My neighbor has an older Kubota 4wd and a rear mounted snow blower. It has hydrostatic drive and live or independant PTO. It works GREAT for moving snow--he doesn"t even need to bother with chains. A few times over the years when we had lots of snow accumulation, my neighbor has come over and widened my driving area, after I had about run out of places to push snow with my tractor.

Can you find a tractor that will work for you for $1800? Maybe, maybe not, it depends on what you can find. Personally, I would plan on spending some more money and getting a better, newer tractor from the much wider group of choices. Good luck!

Ditto to rrlund comments.

Here is some insight.
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/articles/artint259.htm
S55/550 Checklist

An 8N will do what you're asking and more. They've been doing it for decades.
Are their better tractors? Sure, technology has evolved.
The Ford hundred series and up as mentioned are still reasonable priced.

What have you got around your area for parts support?
If you don't have a Deere dealer for example, I wouldn't buy a Deere.
Oliver S55 or 550, is a great choice if you have dealer support.
They are far pricier in my area or I would own one!
If you have a Case New Holland dealer, they're your Ford dealer.

If you have no dealers, you can run down to your local TSC
and get parts for a Ford N. They're not quality parts, but in a
pinch they do carry tune up kits, coils, spark plugs, fuel filters,
voltage regulators, carb kits, seats etc, etc etc for the N's.
They carry very little for any other tractor.

(quoted from post at 16:42:00 12/11/13) Ditto to rrlund comments.

Here is some insight.
http://www.yesterdaystractors.com/articles/artint259.htm
S55/550 Checklist

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While Oliver's were a great tractor in my area dealer support sucks. The dealer wants to sell new equipment so parts for anything that old have to be ordered and at times he will lie and claim a critical part is NLA. I know that to be a fact. His shop was rebuilding an engine on my BIL's tractor. They called my BIL and told him the crank was shot and was NLA. I got online and found that they could indeed get the crank new. BIL had to drive to another dealer to get it and take it to the shop. He no longer owns that tractor and that's why.

Rick

Heck, I do not think I would even buy a tractor if my only use for it was grading a lane every now and then. Heck they make some Reese hitch graders that attach to a pick-up truck hitch that might work good enough for your needs.

That said an 8n will easily handle your box blade duties. While the hydraulics are not live it is really not that big a deal for this application. The hydraulics work anytime the clutch is not depressed so if worst comes to worst simply put it Neutral let the clutch out and you have hydraulics.

Now a 9N or a 2N does not have position control on the 3 point hitch like the 8N does factory. However, you can add the Zane thang to a 9N or a 2N to gain the desired position control for blade work. Cost is reasonable.

Grant there are better tractors out there than the N's, but if the price is right and for your listed uses an N will certainly work.

No you don't need live 3 pt or pto to do what you want. Also, a 6-7-8' blade would be better choice than box. Everyone seems to miss the part about "$1800" ! If that's what you have then that's what you have,period! That won't even touch most descent live power tractors. My sugestion would be Ferguson TO 20 or TO 30 over the old flathead Fords though. Same price but better tractor with more modern overhead valve Continental engine. Where are you located? Might be able to help you. My e-mail is open. I have a TO 20 with loaded tires and 8' blade and I just put it on angle and go, it handles it just fine. RB

"No you don't need live 3 pt or pto to do what you want."
Yep, I agree!

"Everyone seems to miss the part about "$1800" ! If that's what you have then that's what you have,period!"
Agree again!

"That won't even touch most descent live power tractors."
I have to disagree with this one if we're talking about Fords.
I paid $1200 for my 960, $1500 for my 4000 RC SOS and less
than $1000 for my 640. You just have to be patient and watch.

I use a 6' box blade on my 8n and it works just fine. Loaded tires will allow you to move more gravel (mine aren't on this tractor but were on my first one) but are not a requirement. If you go with an angle blade and want to turn it to push backwards while on the tractor, 6' is as big as you can go. I wouldn't go over 6' on a box blade on an 8n.

Thanks for the size advice. I was wondering about what size box blade I'd need.