1950 Ford 8N Tractor, s/n 8N249439 (page 4)
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Before (2002):
June 20, 2008
Made a lot of noticable progress! Tin got it's last coat of grey, and while that was drying, I started assembling components on the tractor, including exhaust, battery and cooling. Also started on lift components, plus painted the steering wheel and repainted the seat, which had received a bit of overspray from painting the other parts.
My barn friends again…
June 21, 2008
Final assembly continued with installation of dash gauges, throttle lever, distributor, wiring harness and all electronics except the starter (still have to rehab one of the three sitting on the hay rack). Also installed the swinging drawbar.
One of the absolute most difficult items to install on the whole tractor was the little rubber boot that goes over the base of the shifter to keep water out of the transmission. The boot had a 1" opening which was supposed to fit over a 2" collar on the shifter. I used baling wire, three hooked-end springs and two other hooked pieces of metal to get it stretched out enough to pop over the collar.
June 23, 2008
Started building up the hood tonight, and have everything done except running the headlight wiring back to the dash area.
June 24, 2008
Finished up wiring on the hood; finished the plug wires; installed a new throttle lever spring; wirebrushed the gas tank and shot a coat of paint on it. I picked up carriage bolts for the fenders today, and got 8" ones (next size up from 6", which sounded like would have been too short). Turns out I shoulda got the 6" ones after all... Back to the store tomorrow!
June 25, 2008
Sheet metal and stabilizer bars went on tonight. Also ran wiring for rear lights. Will require some touch-up painting - scratched the hood and dash all up making everything fit (remember, this tractor was pretty banged up when it came apart). Still - it's amazing what a difference it makes when you bolt on those few pieces of metal.
June 26, 2008
Installed the carb, air tube, fuel strainer and fuel lines tonight, plus applied the decals. Also moved (pushed) the tractor back into the center bay of the barn so when we're ready to attempt a start, we can roll it outside easily (for safety!). That thing is really hard to push right now - the brakes are tight!
June 27, 2008
Installed two of the three oil lines, and learned they should have been installed much sooner in the process. Also found out that modern replacement oil gauges use a different type of fitting, which of course I didn't have on hand. Back to the parts store, again!
Hooked up the headlight switch, and tested my three starters and found only the newest one (non-OEM) works. As I had stripped it to keep my loaner 8N running some time ago, I had to cobble parts together from all three to make one that will work. I also skipped cleaning and painting it for now - I really want to hear this thing run this weekend!
