Didn`t Continental have a bad series of engines?

 

I don't know about bad series but on these engines the sleeves were about 3/8" or so thick and that left practically no block between the cylinders. I have seen many that cracked between the cylinders and the crack went down and cracked the main bore. The block actually split in half.
TractormanBill

 

Bill, My dad has 5 or 6 To-35 and 1 Te-20 Fergies, with the z129 and z134 Continential engines. I guess he has been lucky so far, we have never seen a cracked one. They are good little tractors. They would be a better tractor if they had used the Ford 8N or the NAA engines.
Mark

 

He probably never has let one get hot.
TractormanBill

 

I second BigWin's Farmall Cub idea. My 1954 Cub pulls my '56 F500 all over the yard. Not bad for less than 10 horsies.


I also use my neighbor's Bobcat for tricky spots. Has a little more power than my Cub. haha

 

So after I pulled the flattie out of my '50 F6 today, I went by the shop of the guy I bought the diesel engine and transmission to pick up a pair of fuel tanks he has (a pair of diesel tanks off of a '60s F800) and sitting in his shop was a freshly painted Ford 8N!

So I told him that recently I have been thinking about a tractor but right now I just don't have the money for one, and he told me that this tractor belonged to the owner of the company he works for and he is doing some work on it before he sells it for him. I asked him how much was he looking for, and he said he didn't know. I said I heard these go for about $2500- to $3000- and he said that sounded right. He then said that the owner had a second tractor that he wants to sell after this one, same model except it had an additional two speed transmission, giving it a dual 'high/low' range. It needed a lot of cleaning up but the engine runs strong. I told him I was interested but first I had to finish the F6 so I would probably be looking for a tractor around Fall, and he told me he would make sure that the second tractor was available about that time.

So it looks like there is a tractor in my future.

 

Wow that would be great! The aux tranny makes them more desirable that will be a great score!!!

 

I'll probably catch some flak for this but those 9N, 8N, NAA and even later Ford tractors are some of the most overpriced useless little tractors. No live power and no gear low enough for mowing, about all they are good for is a back blade, parades and pushing things into the garage. Even my 640 is too fast in first gear for the sickle bar mower or the brush hog, plus it doesn't have enough power for the brush hog anyway and no live power makes it a real pita in tight places. If you need a REAL tractor spend a little more and get a 2000,3000, or 4000 and then you have something. If you want a relic, you can buy an H Farmal or VA Casel for about 1/2 or 1/3 of what the Fordsons sell for and have just as good or better tractor.

 

I kinda agree......on the farm my 8n has very limited use, I mainly use it to turn the hay windrows. It's narrow enough to fit between them.
Mostly I just cuss it....it never seems to start or run right when I need it.

As for power. my ol dad used to say, "this thing couldn't pull the skin off of warm pudding!"

I have 2 Farmall's (C and an H) that I use all the time....Plus a couple bigger IH diesels...

 

All this is unfortunately true! But it is old school cool and gives me an excuse to wear overalls and a farm hat!

 

Remember the N series Ford was designed in the 1930s for use on a small farm. It was a huge sales success. It was designed to pull a two bottom plow in most soils and other jobs around a small farm. Widespread use of a live PTO or live hydraulics was not dreamed of. The NAA did correct the live hydraulics problem and live PTO was available on the NAA as a feature but few people knew about it, not highly advertised or pushed. So far as gearing, the 850 and 851 were big improvements, ground speed vs engine speed and live PTO was available on the 851. Yes, Ford caught flack for not being innovative or even keeping up with competition. There was a lot of internal Ford posturing during this period. Money was tight in the tractor division. Aftermarket folks like Sherman, Funk, and others came up with improvements to the Ns.
Ns over priced? How about our old Ford trucks? A truck that sold for a thousand dollars new bringing what they are today, prices all over the board. An N that sold for a thousand dollars bringing a couple three thousand today for a nice example. Which is the most out of line! Our old Ford trucks won't even stay with traffic today in stock form. They're a hazard on the highway.
We beat this same tractor horse many years ago on Yesterday's Tractors and a couple other tractor forums.
Having owned, restored, refurbished, played with and worked sold these old Fords, I caution any potential buyer to understand the features and limitations of any tractor they are interested in. These old Ford have a huge following, support group, and parts availability. IMO, the mark of success.
So far as under powered for a rotary mower, I've got at least a few hours seat time on all series and never run out of power pulling a five foot 'hog' when the mower was set up right. Some of the mowing was custom mowing after I retired from a paying job.
Peace.

 

Work smarter, not harder! Pulling the cab off the F6 today.........

 

I use one wife and two to three grandchildren - I do the steering!

 

My Dad got a 1948 8N new in 48. He used it on our small 24 acre farm. In the 60's he wanted a more powerful tractor so he could pull a 3 bottom plow. He traded the 8N in for a 54 NAA. My brother and I liked it cause it was more powerful and could go faster. Well after a week or two my Dad missed his 8N so much he went back to the Ford dealer and bought it back. So now we had two Fords!