This is my second tractor, a 1956 Ford 850. It is closely related to but slightly larger than the more common 8N and 9N tractors, but it has a five-speed transmission with a "Christmas Tree" shifter instead of the four-speed found in N-series tractors. It has been nicely restored, with the only major problems from a restoration point of view being a non-stock seat, no decals, and no headlights. It was my Christmas present. Shortly before Christmas we saw it on the side of the road for sale, and we stopped and bought it. We probably paid a little bit too much for it, but the price we paid wasn't outrageous by any means.
Why a 1956 Ford 850? Nostalgia, mainly. I like vintage equipment, and it reminded me of the 9N that my grandfather had, and I think it was a certain visual appeal compared to the hyper-modern hydrostatic fully-loaded "compact tractors" some of my neighbors have. And I could hitch my $4,000 Ford 850 to my neighbor's $20,000 New Holland "compact" and tow the New Holland backwards for as long as I wanted to. One of the problems one faces when buying vintage tractors is the dread spectre of the "proprietary hitch". But with a Ford, this isn't a problem. The Ferguson-Ford hitch arrangement became the standard type, so any modern category-one three point implement should hitch right up, unlike the case with other vintage tractors, where a certain amount of adaptation is sometimes necessary. I'm not sure if the Ford's PTO output is standard, but since I don't have any PTO attachments, it's irrelevant for now. (And, frankly, a lot of PTO attachments kind of scare me anyway.)
It came with the blade as shown above, but it was rusted to the point it wouldn't pivot. Some persuasion with Liquid Wrench, a long 4x4 and my largest hammer broke it loose, though, and now I can pivot the blade just by leaning on it. I want to find a one-bottom plow or hardpan breaker for it now - the tractor is shown sitting on the spot that will one day be our garden, but I currently have no implements that will break up the hard desert soil.
It starts easily and runs well. It is quiet. It is also fast in fifth gear. The only leak is a tiny bit of seepage from the front main seal. The hydraulics, transmission and differential are tight and leak-free. The clutch doesn't grab or chatter. When I first got it, the right brake hardly worked at all, but fixing it was a simple matter of adjustment. When I first got it, it steered fairly hard to the left, but after pumping a bunch of grease into the front end it works much better. There are a couple of cracks where the top link attaches to the draft control linkage, but I can weld those. And the hood is difficult to latch because I think it's slightly misaligned.
I'm very pleased with it. It isn't as handy as my lawn tractor, but it'll do work that my lawn tractor won't. I've moved quite a bit of dirt with it already, mostly building a flood control berm along the north and west sides of our property, and I've used it to fix our private haul road and to build a private horse cart path around the back of our property. And sometimes, I confess, I start it up and fiddle with it just because it's fun. My two tractors work pretty well together. The Ford breaks up, moves and positions the dirt; and the Bolens does the final grading.
I've ordered some stuff for it. I ordered three generic 12-volt headlights (the tractor is already a 12-volt system with an alternator) so I can mount two on the front and one at the rear as a work light. My wife ordered me the user's manual, shop manual and parts manual (that's how I knew how to adjust the brakes!).
Now I just need a plow. And a box scraper. And forklift blades. And a post-hole digger. And a PTO tiller. And a three-point hitch disk. And... And...
No comments:
Post a Comment