My newest find is a 1950 Ford Tractor.

My newest find is a 1950 Ford Tractor.
It has a Flathead 4 cylinder motor.
Looks like I have to find a water pump for it
because I don't see any flow in the radiator.
I have never worked on a flat head before
so I don't know much about them.
I look for a thermostat housing but could not
find one. The top radiator hose goes to a pipe
that is cast as part of the head.
The guy I got it from say's he has a parts catalog
for it. So I'll see if the have a manual for it as well.
The guy has one like mine but it a 1947.
Here a link with a short video of it.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/kurtvara/15302115806/

Bought this one 20 years ago had a loader on it but it wasn't much good. I use it to cut grass and grade the drive way. Certainly has paid for it self. This is a 8N,

You done good!!! Looks to be an 8N or 9N.

You know there is a cure for working on those old flatheads don't you?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DxlYVCXPFhw

:LOL::LOL:

There's one of those running around in New Zealand with a V12 Lincoln in it.

Windsors are for girly-men. Real men will step up to an FE....:LOL:
http://www.farmcollector.com/~/media...nk-ford-01.jpg

Faxon has manuals......
http://www.faxonautoliterature.com/Search.aspx?c=177072

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Wow I had no idea they did that kind of stuff with these.
cffisher your's seems to be in better shape then mine, but the guy told me it needed work.
Then he told me exactly what it needed, but I begged him to sell it to me anyway.
I think I am just gonna rebuild the flat head so it will be for practical use.
I still have a 500 HP 351 Cleveland in the garage but I think I would kill myself if
I were to put that motor on there. Thanks Mike. John Boy, you know what's funny is the lady
I got the old truck from behind the tractor called that ol' International pick up John Boy.
She even had a wooden name plate in there that she took when I bought it. HE! HE! HE!
Tech, I noticed how much counter weight that guy's tractor had in the front to help keep
him from killing himself with that big FE. HE! HE! HE! Thanks for the tips on the Manuals.
I am definitely going to order some of them to help with my questions and build.
Thanks again Kurt

Neat old tractor. If you need to change the clutch and pressure plate I wouldn't buy from a tractor supply. My late father in law had a 48N, I believe, and the parts at the local tractor supply were ridiculous so we went to local parts store and bought heavy duty parts for a 48 1/2 ton pickup.

There are MANY places to buy parts for these. These tractors believe it or not are in demand. Do a little web searching. I just changed the clutch in mine now that's a fun job. You need lots of room and 2 hoists or chain falls you actually split the tractor into 2 halves. Fun little guy

Thanks NTFDAY.
Ya know cffisher, I was asking the ol' guy I bought it from about that.
I asked him if you had to remove the whole front end because the snout of the crankshaft goes right thru the front of the frame.
He said he rebuilt his 47 and he picked it up and strait out, but I didn't get a chance to look at his and compare it to the 50 I have.
So it may be a little different then the one he sold me.
Kurt

Quote:

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Originally Posted by vara4

Thanks NTFDAY.
Ya know cffisher, I was asking the ol' guy I bought it from about that.
I asked him if you had to remove the whole front end because the snout of the crankshaft goes right thru the front of the frame.
He said he rebuilt his 47 and he picked it up and strait out, but I didn't get a chance to look at his and compare it to the 50 I have.
So it may be a little different then the one he sold me.
Kurt

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Kurt,
The 8N debuted in July '47 and ran through '52, then they came out with the Golden Jubilee in '53 which had live hydraulics and an overhead valve engine. Lots of people are confused by the numbering, thinking that the 9N is newer but it was a '39 through '46. In '42 they had a run of 2N's but the serial numbers all started "9N...." so we see tractors in this series either 9N or 8N. The '47 that the guy kept should be virtually identical to your '50.

I can't see your engine BUT if you have a side distributor you have the early (mine) if the distributor is on the side you have the later. Mine doesn't have live hyd. I have to have the clutch out to operate the hyd. system. I had a bucket on mine but it was a cable trip and didn't work right. I saved the cylinders and scraped the rest. I also changed mine over to 12 Volts MUCH better.
$500. man that's a steal around here they go for around 2k.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by cffisher

$500. man that's a steal around here they go for around 2k.

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Not sure where you saw $500 Charlie, but my eyes may be bad?

My Dad had a Ferguson T020 which was produced after the Ferguson/Ford split but was essentially the same tractor. Seems like every time I went over to their place I had to adjust the carb, as he just couldn't leave it alone. :LOL::LOL: His sold for $1800 in 2002, and they are still right in that range around here today, from $1800 to $2000 depending on what comes with it. I'd really like to find a Diamond Jubilee model with the live hydraulics, which opens up a whole new world of options on accessories.

[QUOTE=techinspector1;530418]Windsors are for girly-men. Real men will step up to an FE....:LOL:
http://www.farmcollector.com/~/media...nk-ford-01.jpg

The Ford in the picture belongs to a friend of mine, fella named Art Nordstrom. The tractor and Art have been a fixture at one of our area dirt tracks for the last 30+ years as he was a part of the officiating crew and a huge supporter and promoter of anything having to do with going fast on the dirt!!! Art retired from officiating duties about 3 years ago. His (family run) business is Nordstrom's Salvage, a junkyard, repair shop, and U-Pull-It yard for the last 50+ years! Art also has a very, very nice car collection, mostly '57 Chevy's!!!!

Your right about the 8N and 9N still being popular, average price around is in in the 2K range too. They were and are just a nice sized tractor. The hay crew I worked on as a kid always used one to haul the hay racks back and forth from the fields to the barn.

Back around 1968 my Dad was working at the local Ford and Oliver Tractor dealership. Even back then when they wore out the farmers opted to have them rebuilt....there was usually always at least one torn down being overhauled.

It didn't take long for the them to start getting upsized engines though, the Funk conversions for Flathead 6s and Flathead V8s were around from 1948. I saw one of the flathead V8 ones once and fell in love with it.

Ford 8N Funk Conversions


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The V8 flat head is an easy conversion almost bolts right in. I've seen a few around here. Roger watch (listen) the video he mentioned what he paid. I don't know for sure but the more I look at the tractor the more I know its not an 8 and may not be a 9. Lots of things in the wrong places. I've owned mine a while and work on it all the time. The carbs are easy to get out of adjustment and easy to put back BUT they are getting harder to find and buy. I think they get a wooping 27 HP out the back.

That is a steal at $500! I watched an 8n that had junk tires and didn't run bring $1800 at an auction a month ago.

Kurt, it almost looks like your rear tires have been sharpened for pulling? That's nice the loader and blade came with it too and even work!

One reason that they stayed popular with the farmers over the years is how low they set which is because of the wide front end-this allowed them to get into a lot of barn stalls with a loader to clean out the manura?-----also reason so many still have loaders on them-there was an accessory / conversion for a hydraulic pump mounted on the front driven off the crankshaft that created LIVE hydraulis-this is another reason they became so popular with the loaders-you could pick up the shit without having to take it out of gear and let the clutch out-


And young kids could drive them standing up and be able to step on clutch and brakes ----------small kids couldn't reach pedals on the regular tractors and or be strong enough to push them down------------

Charlie, I am not sure what you are trying to say about the distributor, You said the earlier then you said the later are off to the side, so which one is off to the side???
Mine is all the way to the front of the motor and off set to the passenger side a little. My bucket is controlled by a rod that drops it all at once, then you have to lower it to the ground and lock
the handle back in to place for scooping again. The rear blade is controlled by the clutch by letting the clutch out. The front is not and will go up or down all the time, weather the clutch is in or out.
The frame support for the front hydraulic's and bucket were made by a pipe and steel company as a add on to the tractor. It's serial number is 17322 and model number is 100.
I have looked for another tag but am not sure where to look to see if it's a 8N or 9N. Anyway I have not found another tag yet. I hope it's not hard to remove the front hood because
the pipes that support the bucket run along side the motor and don't leave a lot of room to work. Also the snout from the crank goes thru the frame and plugs in to a pump for the Hydraulic's to work.
The guy I bought it from also took the generator off and replaced it with a 12 volt alternator, so it's a 12 volt system too now. Thanks Roger, the only thing I noticed that was different on his 47 was he had newer bucket and hydraulic's and his bucket can be controlled to move the angle of his bucket to any position, where mine locks in the flat position for picking up and then just drops when unlocked.
I noticed that a lot of folks are putting different tires on the front like Charlie, are they changing the rim's or are they just putting car tires on the tractor rims???
I already got the tractor tires and tubes so they will be going on it till they are bad, this time anyway. Took the rim's off the front end today so I have to take them down and get the new tires put on.
Thanks Dave, Good info on your friends tractor, I always like some history on old stuff just makes it more interesting and gets the ol' wheels to turning sort of speak.
NTFDAY you said a 48 1/2 pickup for the clutch and stuff. I am sure you mean a Ford but for what motor??? A flat head 4 cylinder motor??? Heck the car store's around here don't even carry parts for my 70 Buick Riviera. They probably won't carry that either. I knew when I bought this, it would need some work so I don't mind putting in the wrench time of a few more $$$$'s.
The more you guy's tell your stories and talk about your friends with them, the more I am glad I got mine.
Thanks Guy's Kurt.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by rspears

My Dad had a Ferguson T020 which was produced after the Ferguson/Ford split but was essentially the same tractor.

His sold for $1800 in 2002, and they are still right in that range around here today, from $1800 to $2000 depending on what comes with it. I'd really like to find a Diamond Jubilee model with the live hydraulics, which opens up a whole new world of options on accessories.

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They're still around that price over here in NZ with the ten-acre-block fraternity.
Although far more popular and desirable is the 3 cylinder diesel Fergy 35X model. a far better 'balanced' tractor than the later Fergy 135 or the Ford 3000.
They had far more 'oomph' than the little TEA model, and with the live drive were a very versatile machine.
I used one (still got it,) for logging up in the bush for forty years...with the right chain connection they are capable of snigging (pulling) three times their own weight of log.

I bought another one recently in far better condition than mine with a view to cannibalising the good unworn parts from the new one to my worn old one...but so far other things have got in the way!

:LOL: :LOL: :LOL:

Vara4: the trip loader on yours (where you pull the handle to trip the bucket,) is far faster to load and unload a trailer than any hydraulic crowd-action loader.
Stick with it...believe me...I've done thousands of hours with both.

The crowd action is only superior when it comes to loading hay or pallets, when placement on the trailer/truck is important.

Ya I ain't gonna change it, Johnboy.
I may try to find or buy other attachments for it,
But I won't change anything that works, and the bucket works fine.
I am really happy because I can use it to pick up stuff now.
Where before I had to go get a bunch of guys to help me pick heavy stuff up.
And I don't know many people out here so that's been a problem, because I
am always doing something where I have some thing heavy to pick up.
Now I can finish building my stand for my knew giant swamp cooler and then
pick the swamp cooler up with straps and sit it on the stand with out begging for help.
Plus the wife and I have been wanting to landscape the front of our home and have a
lot of gravel brought in with different colors. So spreading them will be easier the using
a wheel barrel, like I had to do in our dog run area. That was a small area and it took me
almost a month to do it. Oh ya paint me very happy. Plus I go in for a second knee
replacement surgery this week. I just had my other knee done back in april.
I fell in my drive with what I thought was my good knee last month and could not
get it back in socket for about 2 hours, so I laid in the drive because it hurt to bad to move.
So once my Doctor found out he said we are gonna do that one now too.
Ya I'm happy to have a tractor and take the load off, sort of speak. HE! HE! HE!

Kurt

Kurt, don't know if you've come across these pages or not but it might help with identification.

Identifying Old Ford Tractors

Change history '39-'64 Ford Tractors

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Do any of you guys tractors have the optional overdrive transmission gears??????


And a note of caution to anyone using a pto driven rotary mower ---------if the mower is rotating (flywheel effect) when push the clutch pedal in, the mower blade momentum will continue to drive the tractor forward(or backwards) this isn't only a safty thing for when your mowing up close to anything--parked vehicles in the driveway--vs being out in an open field--------but also will affect shifting gears while moving as the gears aren't syncro but are engaged----------

Good point on using the mowers on these. Back when I was around these many years ago, most people used an overrunning clutch to help prevent any disasters.

They were either built into the PTO shaft or an add on like this:

PTO Overrunning Clutch 1 3 8 Yanmar Kubota | eBay

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there were also many injuries caused by people reaching into a mower or other PTO operated object because the machine hadn't stopped rotating---------

I believe it has a 10" pressure plate and clutch disc and Rock Auto and O'Reilly's carry the parts. I remember it was a bugger to get apart and wasn't that easy to get back together.

You have the front distributor you have an 8N there should be an 8N cast into the engine right to the rear of the starter motor.

OH YES Jerry's post reminded me if you get a bush hog for it be sure to get an over running clutch for the rear PTO shaft. That thing can push you a long ways. Guys here have gone into rivers and lakes and buildings trying to stop.

I know of one time a guy went over creek bank and did 2 or 3 rolls--------------

Thanks Mike Jerry & Charlie for all the great info.
If I ever get a bush hog I know now I will need to pay special attention, and get some of the safety stuff you guys talked about.
I know for sure now that mine is a 8N because of all the info you guys supplied me with.
It had the dash with the Proofmeter in it the scripted rear fender, the short oil fill tube, the extendable front end, the side mounted distributor.
The 4 speed transmission with PTO and the 3 point lift and the 172ci. flat head motor.
It also had the smaller bolt pattern on the rims with a big bolt in the middle of the back rim for a two piece axle.
Going first thing in the morning to get the new tires and tubes installed on my front rims then I am coming home and clearing my two acres next to my
home then maybe I'll go over and clear our other property two blocks behind us if I have time. I need to get it done because I am going in for
knee surgery this week and I'll be down for a couple weeks.
Thanks again for all your help guys, I appreciate it.
Kurt

Well had my new tires and tubes put on my tractor front rims this morning.
Checked the water and oil and went to work on my 2 acres.
It was all kind of uneven when I started with tumble weeds, cactus and three big mesquite trees.
Those mesquite trees have big thorns about 3 inches long and are very unforgiving if you tangle with one.
Anyway in 2 hours I had it almost completely leveled out and 2 of the mesquite tree completely out and the other
on it's side with a few root's hanging on for dear life. The wife came out and called me in to eat so I wrapped it up for today.
Man I could not be more pleased with that little tractor it did one heck of a job and I piled everything in one corner where I
can scoop it up with the bucket and dump it on my trailer to go the dump. My wife was in shock and could not believe I got
all that done in 2 hours. It was a very ruff ride at first till it started to smooth out.
That's one tuff little tractor, Thanks for all your help with the info and sites, It was more help then you guys know.
Kurt

Nice find, I’m really happy for you. There are a lot of places from where you can buy parts for this tractor. You just have to know which parts are fit for it. It often happens that not every part goes well and you buy it for nothing. A waste of money, that’s what it is. I recently bought a tractor and added to it an attachment that I’ve found here https://www.growgardener.com/top-5-b...ation-reviews/ to make from it a snow blower. I was lucky to find the perfect one.

the 8N is only about 25 horse so you really do have to watch what it will run. Mine can bog down with the bush hog. I tried pusing snow with it that will not happen. A snow blower may work depending on what it takes to turn it

Do you realize this is a 6 YEAR OLD thread?

Yes but I was replying to a current post

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Originally Posted by cffisher

Yes but I was replying to a current post

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I was not referring to you, but to the newby whose FIRST post is to a 6 year old thread. IMHO, all threads need to be archived after a certain period of time.

I wish I had found something like yours. It is so hard to buy a tractor like this nowadays because most people who own one don't sell it. They keep it as a vintage piece of machinery. However, I decided to buy a small tractor from https://www.machinerydealer.co.uk/ and keep it to show my nephews and kids that tractors still exist and have an interesting structure. I assume everyone would like to have an old tractor and show it to people, but some are just happy to hold one because it is quite expensive and requires special care.