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The Ford N-Series tractor was a range of farm tractors produced by Ford between 1939 and 1954 spanning the 9N, 2N, 8N and NAA models.
The 9N, produced by Ford, introduced the first three-point hitch system on American-made tractors, a design which is still utilized on most modern tractors today. The 2N was an updated version of the 9N with minor improvements introduced in 1941. The 8N debuted in 1947, a largely new machine featuring more power and an improved transmission which proved to be the most popular farm tractor of all time in North America.
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The first Ford tractor was the 9N, the first tractor to have both three-point hitch and a rear Power Take Off. The 9N (the "9" was taken from the last digit of the year 1939) was first demonstrated in Dearborn, Michigan on June 29, 1939. Like the Farmall, it was designed to be a general-purpose row-crop tractor for use on smaller farms. An extremely simple, almost crude tractor, the 9N was fitted with the Ferguson system three-point hitch, a three-speed transmission, and featured footpegs instead of running boards. The 9N's relatively tall and wide-spaced front wheel design resulted in somewhat sluggish steering and reduced maneuverability compared to competing machines such as John Deere's Models A and B, and the Farmall 'Letter series'. Uniquely, the exhaust was routed underneath the tractor, much like an automobile. All 9N tractors were painted dark grey. This tractor has a rear Power Take Off (PTO) which could be used to drive three point or towed implements. The Ferguson hitch was designed to solve some of the problems found in the earlier Fordson tractors such as flipping over if the plow hit an obstruction.
The 9N was revised a number of times, until being relaunched as the 2N in late 1941. The 2N still came in dark grey, but now had added improvements including a larger cooling fan and a pressurized radiator. However, the 2N, like the 9N, still had only a 3-speed transmission, a disadvantage compared to the Farmall A and M. By this time, wartime regulations had imposed manufacturing economies, and some 2Ns can be seen with all-steel. Batteries were reserved for the war effort, so the all-steel wheel tractors came with a magneto ignition system instead of a battery. After the war the steel wheels and magneto system were replaced with rubber and batteries.
The original 9N engine was a four cylinder engine and was designed to be powered by distillate fuels. The engine was half the size of the Ford V8 automobile engines. However, many Ford auto and truck parts were used in this engine.
The 9N engine was a side valve, four cylinder engine, with 3.19 inches bore, 3.75 inches stroke, and comes with a displacement of one hundred and twenty (120) cubic inches. The transmission was the standard three speed.
The finished tractor weighed 2340 pounds, and initially sold for US$585. This was an advantage as tractors from other manufactures cost almost twice as much.[1]
Official production of the 8N tractor began in 1947. Equipped with a 4-speed transmission, this model was destined to become the top-selling individual tractor of all time in North America. The most noticeable differences between the 8N and its predecessors was the inclusion of a 4-speed transmission instead of a 3-speed in the 9N and 2N, and an increase in both PTO and drawbar horsepower. The other big change on the 8N was the addition of a 'Position-control' setting for the hydraulics. This change was made partially to improve flexibility in varying soil conditions, and partially to evade Harry Ferguson's patent on the hydraulic system, since Ferguson's production agreement with Ford had been terminated at the end of the war. The original automatic draft control on the Ferguson system would allow the depth of the implement to vary based on soil conditions, which did not work well for some implements. The new Position Control setting bypassed the draft control and allowed the implement to remain at a consistent position relative to the position of the Touch Control lever. A continued drawback to this series of tractor, was the safety need for an overrunning clutch at the end of the PTO shaft. This was addressed with the advent of the PTO overunning coupler.
The 8N was equipped with running boards and was painted gray on the sheetmetal and red on the body. It was the first Ford tractor to feature a clutch on the left side and independent brakes on the right. The wide-spaced front wheel design of the 9N and 2N was retained. In 1950 the 8N design changed to feature a side-mounted distributor, as well a Proofmeter (combined speedometer, tachometer, hour meter) located on the lower right portion of the dash.
In 1953 Ford introduced an overhead valve engine in a model dubbed the Golden Jubilee, also known as the Ford NAA. Larger than the 8N, the Golden Jubilee featured live hydraulics.
The contents of this page are derived from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_N_Series_Tractors>
Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License;
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