Wifey and I just purchased a new place. It is 6+ acres and I feel the average garden tractor is going to be pretty marginal. Noticed a few 9Ns for sale in the $1000 range. I grew up around tractors of this vintage and feel something this size might be more appropriate. They seem simple, rugged and common enough that I feel like I would be able to keep it running (not to mention in the price-range I was hoping for). Any one with real ownership experience?
I learned to drive on an 8N when I was a kid - maybe stuff is a little easier to find for the 8n since it's a later model than the 9N and has a 4 speed instead of a 3 speed - and a little more power. Out of the three tractors we had around, the 8N was the one that always ran - mostly dealing with hay - cutting, raking, baling and we used it with a pto driven pump for irrigation - occasionally with a bush hog. The generators are almost identical to the one that came on my TR4. Quite a few get converted to alternators. The accessories add up to more than the tractor. Depending on the land there's all kinds of mowers - sicles, reels, tow behind bush hogs or finish mowers or belly mowers. Most parts are still available from a dealer or as a repop.
Steering box and joints tended to take a beating since we had a rock farm pretending to be a tobacco farm - and exhausts tended to wear out fast and seals wear out - oh for tow behind mowers get the overrun clutch - otherwise the momentum of the blades keep pushing you forward when you try to stop - like 10 or 15 feet (knocked down a few fence posts learning that one). Just looking recently - looks like $3,500 gets a pretty decent one. Most will need some tlc
We have a 1949 8N. Not a show piece but a working tractor that earns it keep hauling round bales, dragging logs, harrowing our sand ring, augering post holes, plowing snow, bush hogging paddocks and whatever else I need it for. Cheap to own and simple to fix. It lives outside year round and it has the patina to prove it. The farm tires are too hard on the grass to use it for lawn cutting duties but if you install a set of turf tires you'll be fine. You'll need to pick up a 3 point PTO driven finish mower but it should work out well.
Oldtin is right about the overrun clutch. Our bush hog doesn't have that much mass but it'll still drive the tractor forward if you don't plan for it. A few bunny nose moments have been had.
I have a Ferguson, which the 9N is a copy of. Good tractor, the Hydraulic lift will likely need servicing. Of you want to use a brush hog get an over run coupler, if you don't you won't be stopping quickly. The PTO is driven off the differential.
My dad had a Golden Jubilee (1953) NAA on our 14 acres when I was a kid. Did a good job for us with mowing, plowing, grading, hauling, and occasional haying. I don't remember dad having to work on it very often and parts availability seemed good when he had it in the 80's through early 2000's era.
Just bought a used tractor- a 1986 Yanmar, diesel, 4x4. It only makes 18Hp compared to the (IIRC) 30-some for the 8N and 9N. But the diesel engine is awesome. It seems to use almost no fuel, very economical.
I have about 3 acres of property, and I use the tractor at least every other week, and we don't even have a mowing attachment for it. It's really freaking useful.
A couple of things- my primary driving reason for getting a tractor was to have a bucket. It's unbelievable what you can do with hydraulics. The front loader on the Yanmar is the greatest invention in the history of tractordom. I never realized how much I missed having a loader. So, if you get a tractor, make sure it's got a loader. By a tractor with a loader already on it. It's more expensive to buy the tractor and then shop for a loader, and then you have to mount it.
The 8N and 9N are great old workhorses, but they will use some gas. Also, the lack of power steering can make maneuvering in tight quarters a pain. Especially if your female S/O needs to drive it- and it can be very handy to have your partner working the controls while you're on the ground. The Yanmar 186D I got is smaller in size than one of the old big tractors, and again, this is great for maneuvering. It still has a foot locking rear diff and with the front wheels digging in it's nearly impossible to get stuck. I really, really really love 4 wheel drive.
I do have the bar tread (ag tread) tires and they do tear up the ground, but they give traction. I have a smaller tractor I use for mowing.
Plan on spending upwards of about $3000 for a tractor with a bucket in any kind of operable condition. The rig pictured set us back about 4500, and I literally drove it home (bought about 4 miles from our house).
Something like that yanmar would probably be a better solution for getting real world done on a small piece of property. The loader selection for the Fords is limited. Mine has hydraulic lift, but no down pressure and gravity dump. The 3 point does not have down pressure either.
Great info! The Fords just seem so common that they would seem like an economical way to go for something that is not really going to be worked hard or be used on a serious farm. There was a Yanmar for a good price on Craigslist last night. It was gone this morning. 
This is GRM, I would be remiss if I didn't advise you to Google up "funk conversion" for the old Fords.
My forklift use the Ford industrial engine based on the 8N Ford one and it is as reliable as a hammer. I remember having an 8N as a kid but dad replacing it with a Farmall H pretty quickly. He missed the 3 point but the loader was so much better than anything available for the Ford. I tried to make the H work on my 5 acres but even with a 3-point conversion the non- live PTO just didn't work with the snowblower. I bought a slightly used Nortrac diesel and love it.
I have a 53 Golden Jubilee, which is used for tootling around and being awesome. For real work I use my new Kubota. It does EVERYTHING better by miles.
oldopelguy wrote: This is GRM, I would be remiss if I didn't advise you to Google up "funk conversion" for the old Fords. My forklift use the Ford industrial engine based on the 8N Ford one and it is as reliable as a hammer. I remember having an 8N as a kid but dad replacing it with a Farmall H pretty quickly. He missed the 3 point but the loader was so much better than anything available for the Ford. I tried to make the H work on my 5 acres but even with a 3-point conversion the non- live PTO just didn't work with the snowblower. I bought a slightly used Nortrac diesel and love it.
Shaweeet!
Aesthetically, the old Fords can't be beat. And they look awesome towing a parade float. Unfortunately, if you want a tractor to do real work, get something ugly, built in the 80's.
One thing I discovered about the Yanmar- the rear PTO will run without the tractor moving. Not sure how unique that is, but important for running things like a generator or a wood chipper. (without having to remove the rear wheels or put the tractor on jack stands!)
I looked at some 4x4 Fords and Kubotas before I bought the Yanmar. Pay attention to the power ratings- some of the Kubs I looked at only had 11 or 13 HP. Mine has 18, and I have stalled it.
Well, I still don't have a mower. But, I do have a tractor...of sorts. My friends and I were cleaning out a house that they are selling that has been in the family for nearly 100 years and vacant since 1986. I spotted this jewel that had been set aside, but no one seemed to want. I volunteered to take it.
So, here it is:
It certainly doesn't solve my mowing issue and may never even be started, much less used for anything aside from showing at a county fair. But, I think it is a really cool piece of history and glad to be its keeper, for now. 
If that is a David Bradley then mower attachments are available for it.
It's an Ellinwood Bear Cat. I don't think there is a mower attachment for it, but I could be wrong. Information on it is pretty sparse. Here's one that has been restored: Yesterday's Tractors Forum
My brother has a Massey Ferguson branded Yanmar that he thinks is just a cool as heck.
Welp, here is what we ended up with for now:
Still want a bigger rig, but haven't found one that suits us, yet.
Zombie thread revival! I've been searching off and on since starting this thread and this is what I finally came up with. Meet my 1948 Ferguson TE20 
In reply to carzan:
Is that a hand crank hole in the bottom of the grill?
I miss being around tractors, city life sucks
In reply to HappyAndy:
It is indeed a hole for a crank. The PO couldn't find it for me, but they can be had for $15 online.
Just remember, if you like having thumbs, never wrap them around the crank handle.
Meh, if it's a '48, it should have electric start anyways.
In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:
I can't speak for this machine, but farm-alls were hand crank well into the fifties.
BrokenYugo wrote: Just remember, if you like having thumbs, never wrap them around the crank handle.
I had always heard that. Now is my chance to actually experience it 
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