#64: Maybe the Best Tractor Ever. Ford 8N story and brush hogging.

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#64: Maybe the Best Tractor Ever. Ford 8N story and brush hogging.

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Күн бұрын

The Ford 8N is maybe the best tractor ever. Best tractor all-time - could be! Our Ford 8N has been in the family since new in the late 1940's. It was one of two 8N tractors that maintained the family land, and a shetland pony farm. From making hay, mowing, mixing cement, and more, this 8N has done it all over the past 70 years. It's extremely reliable, heavy enough for productive ground-engaging work, and powerful enough to run the finish mower, brush hog, hay bind, post-hole auger, and many other implements. #purplecollarlife #outdoorgans #Ford8N
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Published Sept. 13, 2020
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Пікірлер: 73

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Please subscribe to our channel here: kzfaq.info Follow us on Facebook and Instagram. Just search for "Purple Collar Life" Check out our older videos for more information about our John Deere 2210, tractors, chainsaws, firewood, RV camping, rural living, and more!

@jchlawncare5730 Жыл бұрын

I don't regret buying my Ford 8N. Paid 1250 dollars for it two years ago. Runs like a champ

@PurpleCollarLife Жыл бұрын

I love hearing stories like that. These old Ford tractors were made to last forever!

@WhoDaBoss-dc4or 3 жыл бұрын

I'm sure the green guys wouldn't agree but there's an awful lot of seventy year old red bellys still kickin. I just finished plowing my driveway with my '52

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

My dad still plows his long driveway with the 8N. It works great. Do you have chains? Are the rear tires loaded?

@WhoDaBoss-dc4or 3 жыл бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife No , I don't have chains or loaded tires but I certainly could use both. I had to do multiple passes today. Chains would cut plow time considerably. Im probably going to replace the tires in the spring so I may try some washer fluid loading. I bought the tractor because I was on a low budget but I fell in love with it. I'll never sell it even if I buy a compact loader tractor. There's just something about it.

@disco4535 3 жыл бұрын

This old workhorse is older than my grandpa lol. Love finding old tools and equipment like this tractor. Its always so well built and really easy to work on.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

I love those 8Ns. You're right that they are workhorses. Still going strong all these years later. I'm pretty impressed with the new cub cadet 149 we just picked up. I released that video today. kzfaq.info/get/bejne/edqlhsV0sN-3ZqM.html

@BrettVaughnB100 3 жыл бұрын

That’s the tractor I learned to drive on

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

I bet many people learned to drive on a Ford 8N, 2N, or 9N. Great tractors!

@longdistancefarmer7836 3 жыл бұрын

Those 8Ns have a great reputation! Thanks for the invite...we subscribed.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Thanks for the sub! Appreciate you commenting and watching.

@edwardcaissie1214 2 жыл бұрын

I have a '54 Ford NAA and I agree with you these little Fords are the best.

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Nice! I never had an opportunity to drive a Jubilee or the NAA. But from what I’ve read and heard- they’re much like the 8N, with some better advancements. They’re certainly all classic machines.

@gwilliammaggs 3 жыл бұрын

They are such workhorses, a great size to get in and get the job done. I like the extra weight on the front to keep the front down. I have spent some time doing lots of work on them, and do like to see you keeping it going. Thanks John, Canada .

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Yes they are! Thanks for watching and commenting. The weight on the front isn't much, but it makes a huge difference when the brush hog is on the back.

@2LateIWon 3 жыл бұрын

I agree 8n is a great first tractor to own

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Totally agree.

@StruggleandStrive 3 жыл бұрын

I love these old tractors.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

The best!

@HomesteadEngineering 3 жыл бұрын

I think I have this same tractor. Its sitting in a field up in Michigan at my parents house. Needs a restoration. My dad bought it in 1967 and I started driving it when I was about 10 years old. New sub!

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

David - thanks for subbing, watching, and commenting. We really appreciate it. These old Fords are unbelievable tractors - all these years later and they're commonly found as workhorses on farms.

@stevejones7593 9 ай бұрын

I sure miss mine, great little machine.

@PurpleCollarLife 9 ай бұрын

The old 8N Ford tractors are amazing. Thanks for watching! We have lots of other 8N videos on our channel.

@duanebolen543 Жыл бұрын

Back in the 70s I I worked for woods Brothers I made a lot of parts and on their mores they recommended having the chains having the more held up instead of using the three-point they had a kit that you can buy that would fit in the top link and it would go down to the mow and that way you can keep the same height on your cutting

@duanebolen543 Жыл бұрын

They also recommend the over-running clutch if you didn't have it on the more you had to put it on the tractor otherwise that sucker would push you right along

@duanebolen543 Жыл бұрын

I see you have the shear pin instead of the clutch disc the clutch disc makes a lot better mower

@PurpleCollarLife 11 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching!

@PurpleCollarLife 11 ай бұрын

That overrunning clutch is a huge safety addition!

@cotton648 Жыл бұрын

I'm buying a 9n tractor to re build with my boy. I already have a 6 foot cutter but it seems big for it. Than I see you using one just fine

@PurpleCollarLife Жыл бұрын

You'll like the 9N. I think the 6' (72-inch) cutter would be hard for it to power through thicker/heavier grass. Our brush hog is the M5, 5-foot (60 inch) cutter. And the finish mower I have for the 8N is also a 5' cutter.

@rayvoorhies7180 3 жыл бұрын

I spent many a hour bush hogging my family's pasture on a 8n tractor. I never got good making turns. The u-joint rattles hard if the turn is too sharp. My uncle often got onto me about it.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Ours doesn't seem to have that issue. The brush hog stays pretty straight behind the tractor. Using the sway/stabilizer bars really helps since it keeps the 3-point arms from swaying right and left as much. Thanks for watching!

@dmalloy96 3 жыл бұрын

We’ve got a 8n really handy little tractors got a video of my daughter brushing for her first time

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

They are great tractors. So reliable!

@jonsey3645 2 жыл бұрын

Please make a video about not pulling too heavy things with the 8N tractor. I bought one a few weeks ago and flipped it over on Dec 31st. I am very fortunate not to have been badly hurt, only a twisted ankle. The tractor was not so lucky it will be fixed but it'll take money and time. Please do this!

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Glad you were okay. We know of some people who have been badly hurt or worse from tractor accidents, including the 8N. You’re right that a safety video would be a good idea. Some people make the mistake of pulling from the top link connection point, or with the arms up high, or just trying to pull too much. Thanks for the reminder.

@garywhite8369 2 жыл бұрын

Considering your 8n does not have live p t o , you did a great job mowing in reverse. I do not know what brand mower you have but it did a beautiful job! Not mention that you just might be a pretty good tractor operator.

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks, Gary! I have many years of experience on the 8N and 9N machines. The brush hog is a Woods brand - M5 model. It's an older model. But it works great!

@lucasstoneking5997 3 жыл бұрын

Man thats a clean ol tractor. Just picked up my 8N last weekend.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Nice 👍. Is it your first 8N?

@lucasstoneking5997 3 жыл бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife it is!

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

@@lucasstoneking5997 You're going to love it! Let us know if you have any questions we can help with.

@lucasstoneking5997 3 жыл бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife i agree! Will do, thanks! Subscribed!

@craigtate5930 3 жыл бұрын

Love the looks of these. My neighbor let me borow his in the past. The only thing I really never liked was the brake pedals were so awkward due to how they are designed

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

I do like the brakes on the 8N series much better than the brakes on the 9N and 2N models.

@cdjhyoung 3 жыл бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife Brakes? Who ever own one of these tractors that the brakes actually worked after a few hours? I grew up using a 9N, in fact learned to drive on it when I was 9. Great little tractors, but they do have some short comings. In era, the N series tractors had many add on after market parts that made them much more useful. Sherman transmissions to make them work faster or slower; improved lift controls; adapters for the PTO like over run clutches; the list is almost endless. But they do have some short comings: the earliest tractors didn't have very advanced metallurgy, so the casting for the transmission and engine were sometime brittle and could fail from flexing. They were not very good on gas. The engine really could use a head-off tune up every 3-5 years. The flat head engine design allows for a lot of carbon build up in the combustion chamber that reduces the already limited power. Tune up parts are still easily available, but don't break anything: these are 70 plus year old tractors and most parts are hard to come by.

@JohnHBatte 9 ай бұрын

@@cdjhyoungthey are the most fuel efficient motors, they can go many many decade without anything but points and basic carb work and yes I have many decades using them.

@xdawpax 2 жыл бұрын

I got the same one, also a 48, still 6v. I have a 50, 12v, as well with a deereborne loader. i have a bit more work to get the 50 going 100% im missing the oil bath air intake. gotta order that and maybe itll run a bit better. thanks for the video!

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching and leaving the comment. We love hearing about other people’s 8N tractors too. I haven’t seen many with the Dearborn loader - that’s a good piece to have!

@xdawpax 2 жыл бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife the 50 has a Sherman step up transmission too. Seem much slower in 1st gear in normal mode. If the Sherman is engaged it moves!

@mopreppinmolivin 7 ай бұрын

Do you have the breakaway clutch on the PTO shaft? If not I would suggest it. The tractors are so light that without it if you happen to mow up to something like a fence or a bank and push in the clutch the energy from the mower can push you right on through the fence or over the bank. Also use a chain on the top link instead of a solid connection. That way when mowing on uneven terrain the mower can float up and down as it needs to.

@PurpleCollarLife 7 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! Yes - we do have an overrunning clutch on the PTO of this 8N. You're 100% right - if you don't have one, the flywheel momentum of the energy of the brush hog will keep pushing the tractor forward, even after the clutch is pressed. We talk about that in this video: kzfaq.info/get/bejne/oseTZNiL1ZiZaJc.html

@mopreppinmolivin 7 ай бұрын

@@PurpleCollarLife Very good!

@KingsOutdoorLife 3 жыл бұрын

Until I bought my John Deere 770 about 2 years ago, I used a 1964 Ford 2000. Dependable old tractors.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

It's a keeper for sure.

@deeprewitt7830 3 жыл бұрын

You really need to add stabilizer bars on there. It’ll run better if you do.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Hi Dee - check out today's video. That's exactly what we do. Thanks for joining us!

@larrywoodruff7530 2 жыл бұрын

Every tractor has it's limitations, these little tractors were horribly abused by idiot owners and their hired help, amazing most of them survived, they were built to last.

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Absolutely true. The nice thing is that most parts are readily available, and they're fairly easy to work on by someone with basic mechanical aptitude. Thanks for watching!

@Spelterdon 2 жыл бұрын

Decisions, decisions: do I call it brush hog or do I call it bush hog? :)

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

I've wondered that too. We've generally called them a brush hog. But the one we had when I was growing up as the Bush Hog brand. Thanks for watching!

@lazyrob2684 3 жыл бұрын

You do know that the time sun sets doesn’t depend on where you live as much as it does the time of the year, right?

@solventtrapdotcom6676 3 жыл бұрын

I'm pretty sure people on Australia would disagree...

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

That's somewhat true - but location also plays a part. I always knew (for example) that Alaska has long days or long nights depending on the time of the year. What I didn't realize was that as you travel north up the United State, there is somewhat of that same effect. For example, during my travel to northern sections of Michigan, (and Wisconsin, North Dakota, etc.), I've noticed that it stays light longer into the evening in the summer because of the location on the Earth, when compared to lower 48 states like South Carolina or even my home state of Pennsylvania.

@solventtrapdotcom6676 3 жыл бұрын

I keep seeing, hearing, reading conflicting information about how the PTO works on the 8N... I just watched this tractor do what everyone else tells me is impossible.

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Hello - I'm not sure exactly what you mean, but I have an idea. I think maybe you're asking about the PTO being connected to the transmission. It is. It's not what they call "live PTO". Live PTO is when the PTO operates without the transmission. Some older tractors do have that feature - my old Cockshutt 540 did. But the Ford 9N, 2N, and 8N do not. In order to get the PTO to spin, the transmission must be active. It can be active in neutral (clutch out), but otherwise you're typically in a gear when the PTO is running. The 3 point hitch on these tractors is the same way. They will only lift if the tractor is running in gear, or in neutral, with the clutch out. When the clutch is in, the PTO and the Lift will not operate. A second point about this - our 8N has what's called an "overrunning PTO clutch". I highly recommend this for any older tractor like this. The overrunning PTO allows the PTO to "coast" when the transmission disengages (or the clutch is pushed in). This allows the brush hog, or rototiller, or flail mower, etc. - to nicely rotate "freely" to a stop. Without the overrunning clutch, the abrupt stop of the PTO can damage the tractor or the equipment when operating attachments. Thanks for watching and asking a question. Hopefully this helped. Let me know if that is what you were asking about.

@lt_dan4845 2 жыл бұрын

Hey Chad, just started checking all your videos since I may have an opportunity to buy one. Question, what's the cost of upgrading to 12V?

@PurpleCollarLife 2 жыл бұрын

Hi LT_Dan! Welcome to the channel. We love our 8N. The cost of the 6V-12V upgrade depends on a few things. Will you be doing the work yourself? Is your 8N a front-mount distributor, or a side-mount distributor model? I'd estimate the cost to be between $150 and $300 if you're doing it yourself. There's actually several "kits" available on Amazon. I've never tried one of them, so I'm not sure if everything is included, or how difficult the process is with these kits. Here's a kit for the side-mount distributor setup: amzn.to/3eH9I7q You won't regret upgrading to the 12 volt system. Starts are much easier, especially in cold weather. Keep us posted on your progress!

@brianborden8394 3 жыл бұрын

What Gear do you normally bush hog In

@PurpleCollarLife 3 жыл бұрын

Hello Brian - unless I’m in a totally open field with long stretches, I brush hog in 1st gear. If I’m in an open area with log flat straight stretches, I’ll go in 2nd. Good question. Thanks for watching and asking.