Woodrow Marek keeps a 1952 model around for mowing and other chores on his 15 acres near Temple. He first bought a Farmall, but grew frustrated because of the difficulty hooking up implements.
“My dad-in-law had an 8N, and he said you got to get one of these, look how easy it is to hook things up,” Marek said.
These old tractors often sat uncovered in pastures year-round, Marek said, adding Ford overbuilt (made stouter than necessary) the 8N back in the late 1940s and early ’50s.
“It was from that era when things were built to last forever,” the 75-year-old Marek said. “It’s a handy thing to have. All around good for anything. I could sell that thing any day of the week. ”
Marek says his 8N has required only preventive maintenance such as tune-ups in the four decades since he bought it. It’s easy to maneuver, and ideal for medium and light duty chores such as mowing and moving hay bales.
“You can put a cultivator on it, a batter (plow); there’s a scoop that comes with it and a box blade,” Marek said. “It’s so handy, a small just all-around play toy. You can’t beat it.”
According to Yesterday’s Tractor Co., the 8N is the third in a series of N-model tractors produced as a joint venture between Henry Ford and Harry Ferguson. Ferguson patented the three-point system, a labor-saving device in which operators could hook their tractors to implements without getting off the seat.
According to several local 8N owners, the trusty old tractor was popular for its four-speed transmission, 30-horsepower four cylinder gas engine, and of course that handy three-point hookup.
Tractor Supply in Temple has toy models on sale for $9.99. The online auction service eBay has for sale 8N seats, radiators, carburetors, even advertising signs. And the real thing, a 1947 model, is available for $3,500 in Traverse City, Mich.
But there is at least one 8N for sale a lot closer to home.
Alfred Mungia lives on Highway 95 in south Temple. When he retired mowing small tracts of land, his old 8N retired with him. It sits under an overhang with a for sale sign hanging from the front grill.
“It drives like a car. It can go under trees because it doesn’t have a muffler going up,” Mungia said. “It’s easy to handle, put in the trailer. It does the job.”
Winifred Hawthorne has had five 8Ns over the last 50 years. He’s used them for plowing and planting corn and cotton on about 48 acres. Today, retired, he uses his 1952 to plow his wife’s garden. It’s all original except for when he switched from a generator to an alternator, adapting to an 8-volt system. He walks behind his barn, and with a sly grin he says, “I’ll see if the old girl will start.” One crank later, he’s laughing and the motor’s purring.
“All you can plant is two rows at a time,” Marek says, comparing the 8N to today’s monster tractors. “They use a lot of them on sandy land farms ... watermelons, sweet potatoes and peanuts.”
The 8N is easy to work on, owners say, because of the simple technology. New plugs, points and oil, and you’re ready to go. Jim Gamrod, co-owner of Blackland Implement in Temple, said they can get almost anything you need to repair one.
One man who gave up his 8N lived to regret it.
Marek likes telling the story about his friend, Buck Street, who back in the 1960s sold his 8N for $850. When he found out what a new tractor cost, a sinking feeling settled in.
“He cried about that for so many years,” Marek said.
To read about a Pennsylvania man who amassed a collection of 64 8N tractors go to www.my9n.com and click on 8N man.
