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The 8N restoration
You are visitor
since I wrote this page,
which was at 16405 since June of 1997 when I moved it here November 15th 1999
This is the photographic record of the restoration of my 1948 8N Ford. The photo series starts with the tractor on the transporter, having just arrived at my home from the Family Farm the Sunday prior to Labor Day 1996 and ends with Dad, Two of his grandsons and my brother on the day I delivered the finished tractor to Dad the first week of November 1996
This is how the tractor looked prior to coming off the transporter. Note the tan wire on
the work lamp. This turned out to be #14 solid core house wire. Needless to say, the
lights did not work.
In this next shot some of the other problems which had to be corrected become apparent. A
close look reveals that the battery tray is shot, and the starter solinoid is not attached
to anything except wires.
These problems are more closely looked at in this shot along with a clear view of the
bunge being used to hold the batter in place. A close look will show close to 50 years of
grease, oil and dirt accumulations around the steering gear.
Since the next several images are just a study in the conditon of the tractor when it
arrived at my rebuild shop, I will pass on express comentary. Many of the images have been
enhanced to show the dark area details so the old grey may well look just a little bit
washed out.
Note the conditon of the wires on the solinoid in this shot. The next shot is an enhanced
closeup of the solinoid and the feed wire for it.
Note the indications of excessive current draw and resulting wire and insulation
degridation. This was the first item fixed, although it initially represented an emergency
repair, and the correct level was accomplished during the reassembly following painting.
Here you can see the temporary repairs to the wiring along with the new restraint for the
starter solinoid. For lack of a correct bracket I used a 6 inch hose clamp. Dad indicated
that he had the holes for mounting filled in when the starter was replace a few years ago.
The remaining pictures of the before just detail the progessive cleaning and disassembly
of the unit. The one point I failed to get a good shot of during this point is the leaking
breaks. If you look closely at some of the photos on the farm
page, you will see the signs of hydraulic fluid on the right rear wheel
The next 2 images show about half done on the cleaning 13
14
This is a photo of my master restorer inspecting my work. This little guy helped with
inspection of every weld, fab and piece.
This is to illistrate the poor condition the fender was in. I ended up having to replace
this piece
Almost ready to paint
Starting to go back together.
Almost done, the
end is in sight
This is the moment of truth. Dad is looking at his restored tractor for the first time.
Finished paint and decals
This is to represent after, just check out the before to refresh your
memory
Delivery day. Dad & his grandsons enjoy the "new old ford" as my youngest
nephew (in dad's lap) calls it.
The final verdict??
174 hours, $450 in parts, $100 in paint and $200 in materials (bar stock ect).
Was it worth the effort?
Without a doubt. I would do it all again. The smile on dad's face made it all worth while
The next project I did? My 1949 Farmall Cub. It made the Ford seem like a simple wash job. For the Ford? The next big thing I hope to do is install a power steering system from Jackson Power Steering, and yes I will post a step by step of it. Check out Roland's site and let him know you saw it here.
Please check out my Farm page for pictures and post restoration history of this unit.
I have placed a series of links on my restoration links page to help you find some of the hard to locate parts. Check it out and let me know if it was any help or additional links I should include.
Please forgive the shameless plug but, check out some of my commercial pages. If you see anything you want just drop me a line and we will get together on
it. As I am sure you are well aware, restorations are not cheap :-), and these are one of
the ways I try to pay for them.
Please feel free to email us with any questions you might have
This page designed and maintained by DJ Hilliker, Intricate Articles All information © 1997 DJ Hilliker. Please contact us for requests to use any of our photos in any way