I love tractors. If I ever hit the lottery I would probably buy land because it would give me a good excuse to go out and buy a ridiculously loaded John Deere. But, I digress. Although a ridiculously loaded John Deere is a tractor, my buddy Barry has got a TRACTOR. His is a 1949 9N Ford, built to work and last forever. The engineers succeeded in that aspect, because the 9N is still chugging along today. Granted, it’s not much to look at from an aesthetic standpoint. It is dented and rusty, but hey, it’s a working tractor! It’s not supposed to look like a Lamborghini.
The 1949 9N Fords originally sold for about $585. Models advertised online today range between $1200 to $1600, depending on the condition. The 9N’s featured a 20 hp 4 cylinder flathead engine, engineering marvels in their own right. Parts are getting harder and harder to find for these engines, with most being aftermarket purchased online.
Speaking of aftermarket, Barry’s 9N features a remarkable piece of aftermarket engineering of its own. The throttle handle broke, so a bungee cord holds the throttle open at one speed… wide open. The transmission is not synchronized, so shifting gears requires skill and double-clutching. Or, simply starting off in the gear you need. The electrical system is 6 volt and a generator. Yes, you can still buy 6 volt batteries! Barry inherited the tractor from his father-in-law in 1995 and the rear tires had just been replaced. At 21 years, they are still strong on the sides and full of tread, so that will give you some idea of the life of tractor tires. The 9N has aftermarket wheels on the front, due to the fact that after a flat, the lug nuts broke off trying to remove the wheel. There are some things even WD-40 can’t budge. There is also a small toolbox on the side of the tractor that may or may not be aftermarket. It holds the hardware and clips for the attachments, as well as a few tools for hooking and unhooking.
The tractor is used today for relatively light duty by farming standards, pulling a bush hog for cutting and a harrow for seeding. The old 9N used to see some highway time as well. The fuel tank holds 9 gallons, and the flathead requires non-ethanol gasoline. The gas station a mile or so up the road from Barry’s house used to sell non-ethanol, so Barry would crank the old gal up, grind her into 3rd gear, load up with a plug of tobacco (according to Barry, you can’t drive a tractor without a plug of tobacco), and chug up to the Shell station at 25 mph full throttle to fill up, waving people around when necessary.
But alas, the Shell station does not sell non-ethanol anymore, so the 9N’s road days came to an end. Barry fills up the portable tanks and adds about 4 gallons at a time. So fill ‘er up, hook up the old bush hog, turn the key and push the button. The old flathead rumbles to life, double clutch it into gear, and off to work… Still Cruisin’! –J.
Speak Your Mind