Show me your tractor

[footgoose]

Actual tractors, not Guzzi motorcycles I don't have one to show but I'm looking to buy, plus I just like older tractors. I don't intend to buy one more than a few years old and will likely buy new, as it seems used is hard to find. Looking for recommendations and perspective.

I recall @Bill Hagan possibly drooling over a Kubota awhile back and am curious what you ended up with?

We recently moved to some small acreage and I'll be spending the rest of my life grooming it. Irony wins as our property is in the middle of the area I always loved to ride, and I'm faced with the phrase one often sees in 'bikes for sale' ads. ... "no time to ride"

Long gravel drive and parking, landscaping, snow, swale maintenance and improvement, and a bush hog are my needs. Got to have a front loader. I don't need a belly mower as I have a great zero turn. 

Looking to see what you have, have had, or want. Even just what you think is a beauty, just for the sake of a tractor. I do love the old Fords. If I ever run out of things to do I just might get one as a project.

@docc I didn't intend to put this in personal ads for sale, but I guess it's a good a place as any??

[docc edit: "moved" . . .]

 

[gstallons]

What series / year is this ? The hood lamps attach to the hood different from any I can remember and the front wheels and tires , I don't remember ever seeing this set-up before . My 1st cousin has between 35-40 of these things around his house and big yard. He can spew production #s , every change ever made to these , specs , you name it. He should have been a tour guide to a ford tractor museum. 

[footgoose]

I just googled Ford 9N. The front tires are too large to my memory. As old as this line is and as many as there were made, I imagine oem is rare. Seems like ten percent of the yards I pass around here has one in it.

[docc]

I thought this Ford was an 8N? We always called those RedBellies, but I learned they are also called "Boomers."

After I sold my International Harvester, and thirty acres, Ford-New Holland built an homage Boomer 8N. Never even seen one, but had a hankerin' for one . . .

[footgoose]

Could very well be an 8N Docc. I can't tell them apart. I've always loved the simplicity of them. Something about a frameless motor+tranny+axel with a seat and wheels that I find lovely. They remind me of the 'deuce coupe' hot rods. That Boomer rocks. 

thanks for moving the topic.I posted pre-coffee.

[docc]

 

 

After downsizing to 3 1/2 acres, I could no longer justify a full size tractor.

"MrBill " is a single cylinder flat-head Briggs&Stratton ( 2nd motor, 2nd deck, 2nd transaxle) now in (light duty) service for his thirty-fifth (35th!) season. 

"Swampee ", the CubCadet, runs a 750cc Kohler air-cooled V-twin and came to me with a dubious history that may-or-may-not have involved some sort of swamp racing.

Both are MTD products from Ohio, USA . . .

Swampee has long served as my Hawker Odyssey test bed, running one of my PC545 out to its fifteenth year . . .

[MartyNZ]

8 hours ago, footgoose said:

Actual tractors, not Guzzi motorcycles I don't have one to show but I'm looking to buy, plus I just like older tractors. I don't intend to buy one more than a few years old and will likely buy new, as it seems used is hard to find. Looking for recommendations and perspective.

I recall @Bill Hagan possibly drooling over a Kubota awhile back and am curious what you ended up with?

Looking to see what you have, have had, or want. Even just what you think is a beauty, just for the sake of a tractor. I do love the old Fords. If I ever run out of things to do I just might get one as a project.

Bill Hagan is right, Kubota makes the most reliable and durable range of small tractors on the planet.

If you get an older tractor, make sure it has 3-point linkage, needed for attachments like a grader blade. I think that the Ford 8N has this.

You could consider a John Deere Model B for something more eye-catching as a project. Spare parts are readily available in USA.

[footgoose]

18 minutes ago, MartyNZ said:

John Deere Model B for something more eye-catching as a project

this '46 *orchard* model B is interesting.

The more plentiful *row crop* version with the narrow front wheels is certainly striking, but wouldn't be of ideal use with my rough terrain. The Kubota L02 series is at the top of my wish list if I must buy new, or used - that be the size I *think* I need. All the experts say get more horse power than you think you need. I am not convinced yet and haven't ruled out the next size down, the LX 

[docc]

No one has ever heard the phrase, "Sorry I got that Kubota" . . .

[footgoose]

1 hour ago, docc said:

I could no longer justify a full size tractor.

those are some nice classic land grooming equipment, and they look the part. You have the Jeep if you need to drag a log around or something. I've been using mine as a tractor as needed while searching for the real deal. 

14.6V on that battery? Is that charging? 

[footgoose]

1 minute ago, footgoose said:

Is that charging

well, duh. now I see I was blind.

[activpop]

When we moved into this place with 2.5 acres 30 years ago, I wanted to buy a tractor then. My wife "suggested" that we really don't need one. She said when we do, just rent it. She was right. I saved over 10k. Fortunately for me, that tactic doesn't work for motorcycles.

[gstallons]

 

 Now for the tractor , Cuz says it is an 8N from 48-52. The 16'' rims are a replacement for the original 19" front wheels. The headlamps are maybe aftermarket. The earlier style had round mounts (think ball & socket)and the later style tractors had a winged back for the headlights to mount in.  Also , the dealer sold aftermarket mounts too. These are probably one of these kits.  

I should have read all the thread before posting.  Yes "red belly" is the moniker for these tractors ! IDK what all the kit would fit but you could install a flat-head V-8 in or on these tractors. I'm sure these would TCB ! 

I have a buddy that has a "new' red belly and I spent an hour looking at this like it was an Indian artifact.  They were able to make a new tractor and keep the spirit of the original intact.

 Bill Hagan and all others : Yes , if you are going to buy a toy tractor , it had better say Kubota . These are the best and best built tractors on the planet. This company knows how to make tractors and equipment.

Edited August 3 by gstallons

[HRC_V4]

9 hours ago, docc said:

After downsizing to 3 1/2 acres, I could no longer justify a full size tractor.

My good friend in GA has 2.5 acres and decided his Massey 1010 was not enough, so he bought a 25hp Kubota. And he has his grandson's 8N.

I keep mine smallish, I have three Snapper/Massey 1855, plus a couple of Simplicity 7790 with the Lombardini diesel engines.

[audiomick]

I suppose it is not really helpful, but a bit of essential knowledge.... 

Tractors for real men:

Quote

The Lanz Bulldog was built with a single-cylinder, two-stroke Akroyd engine – the so-called Bulldog engine – that was designed by Fritz Huber.

The Bulldog engine was made with various different displacements, with the 4.8 and 10.3 litre versions being the most common ones.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lanz_Bulldog

And for those with sporting aspirations:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lamborghini_Trattori