1948 Ford 8N tractor
The Ford 8N tractor was produced from 1948-1952. It was preceded by the Ford 9N (1939 – 1941) and Ford 2N (1942-1947). In 1953, the 8N was replaced with the NAA (“Jubilee”) in honor of the Ford Motor Company’s Golden Jubilee anniversary (1903-1953).
The ‘8″ designation 8N was derived from the year it was first produced. The “9” of 9N was 1939 and the “2” of 2N was 1942.
The 9N, 2N, and 8N, all shared the Model A Ford’s flathead 4-cylinder engine. The NAA was the first Ford tractor to get a newly designed overhead valve engine.
An 8N’s rear hydraulic lift can handle about 800 lbs. making it very handy for lifting auto engines and towing. I have boom pole and carry-all (fork-lift) attachments. With turf-tires it’s good for moving things on the lawn (as a golf courses do) without creating the deep tracks of a nomal tractor tire’s aggreive tread.
Early and late 8N’s are distinguished by whether the engine distributor is located on either the front or side of engine, and whether the dashboard includes a “Proofmeter”.
Rear Wheel Restoration
Often the rear wheels of tractors are filled with salt water for extra weight. If/when the tubes leak, salt begins to damage the wheel rims.
With signs of corrosion, I was hesitant to take on the wheel restorations. Luckily, the corrosion inside was minor and no signs of any salt. After removing tires and tubes from the rims, they wheel rims were sandblasted, epoxy primed inside and out, and finished in the correct shade of silver enamel paint. The wheel disks were also sandblasted, epoxy primed, and painted the correct body color. When reassembling, new tubes were installed with the correct locking valve stems.