It's been over 20 years since I did any real work to my winter work tractor-a 1947 Ford 2N. When I brought this tractor home in 1997 it was in pieces and I rebuilt it into a working tractor. Other than a few odds and ends I haven't done anything to it other than rebuilding the distributor last summer, so it was time for a little maintenance. Since the weather was rainy all weekend it was the perfect time to spend some quality time with it in the shop.
The first item of business was to replace the old carburetor. I had rebuilt it in 1997 and it was in rough shape back then, and after another (almost) 20 years it was simply not worth rebuilding. It also wasn't one of the better original styles, so it would never perform as well as some of the newer designs. This is a working tractor and I don't have a problem with functionality over originality, so it now has a shiny new carburetor.
The original 69 year old water pump was starting to wobble a bit, so it's time to replace it. When I sandblasted the tractor back in 1997 I uncovered the original gray paint. This is one of the last 2Ns made before the changeover to 8Ns. The serial number and casting dates put it in late May of 1947, and at that time the 9Ns and 2Ns were painted gray and the 8Ns were gray and red. Since the last of the 2Ns and the new 8Ns were hitting the dealers at the same time, many of the 2Ns received gray and red paint at the dealer so they didn't look outdated next to the 8Ns. There was original gray paint on the water pump; I'm fairly certain that it's original to the tractor and it's time to replace it. Off with the hood, radiator, etc.
While I have it opened up I replaced the front axle bushing. The tractor had a loader on it in the past, so the bushing was getting sloppy.
I also replaced the fan belt and fixed up a little wiring.
The fan is all bolted up to the new water pump. It's nice to have virtually all the parts for these old tractors so readily available.
Buttoned back up-just a couple quick carburetor adjustments and it purrs like it should and idles better than it has in years. I pulled it out and warmed it up smoothing out the gravel portion of the driveway, and after making sure there were no leaks dropped the blade off behind the shop and it's put away until fall. I'll pick up a set of new front tires between now and then and put them on before the snow flies.
The first item of business was to replace the old carburetor. I had rebuilt it in 1997 and it was in rough shape back then, and after another (almost) 20 years it was simply not worth rebuilding. It also wasn't one of the better original styles, so it would never perform as well as some of the newer designs. This is a working tractor and I don't have a problem with functionality over originality, so it now has a shiny new carburetor.
The original 69 year old water pump was starting to wobble a bit, so it's time to replace it. When I sandblasted the tractor back in 1997 I uncovered the original gray paint. This is one of the last 2Ns made before the changeover to 8Ns. The serial number and casting dates put it in late May of 1947, and at that time the 9Ns and 2Ns were painted gray and the 8Ns were gray and red. Since the last of the 2Ns and the new 8Ns were hitting the dealers at the same time, many of the 2Ns received gray and red paint at the dealer so they didn't look outdated next to the 8Ns. There was original gray paint on the water pump; I'm fairly certain that it's original to the tractor and it's time to replace it. Off with the hood, radiator, etc.
While I have it opened up I replaced the front axle bushing. The tractor had a loader on it in the past, so the bushing was getting sloppy.
I also replaced the fan belt and fixed up a little wiring.
The fan is all bolted up to the new water pump. It's nice to have virtually all the parts for these old tractors so readily available.
Buttoned back up-just a couple quick carburetor adjustments and it purrs like it should and idles better than it has in years. I pulled it out and warmed it up smoothing out the gravel portion of the driveway, and after making sure there were no leaks dropped the blade off behind the shop and it's put away until fall. I'll pick up a set of new front tires between now and then and put them on before the snow flies.