Tractor for Dad

I wanted to buy a riding lawnmower project to fix up and mow some family property where my dad grew up. I came across a vintage 1948 Ford 8N for about the same price as most of the mowers I was finding. It immediately reminded me of my Dad who passed almost 3 years ago. He grew up on a dairy farm and had a tractor similar to this. I find that when I fix up old tools and machines that he would have liked that I feel close to him. So with some past amateur car repair knowledge, Internet forums, and YouTube, I fully restored this old tractor and named it after my father, Glade. WD-40 was a big help in getting old rusty nuts and bolts off of this 77+ year old tractor. I'm confident some of these bolts hadn't been touched in 50+ years. With a lot of WD-40 and elbow grease, I was able to remove, replace as needed, and reinstall everything. This project was truly a labor of love.

Search classifieds until you find the perfect project. Contact seller to understand repairs needed and purchase.

Once acquired and received at repair site, find VIN or serial number to verify make and model. (Classified ads are often incorrect).

Remove housing, covers etc to view engine parts and check for functionality. I verified that this tractor indeed had stuck valves. Despite much research online and efforts with penetrating oil ie WD-40, the valves would not free up and stay free. I had to pull the head and hand crank the engine to verify.

Where possible, find online videos showing the exact repair. Order parts. Complete repair. Reassemble. I ended up doing a full valve job on this old tractor. Luckily parts and instructional videos and resources were widely available. I decided on a color scheme with similar original paint colors and began the prep and painting of parts exposed with the hood off.

Engines mainly require fuel, air, and spark. I ordered a carburetor rebuild kit, disassembled, cleaned (using vinegar, electrolysis, WD-40, and compressed air). Reassembled carburetor. Detached, cleaned (vinegar and pennies shaken), painted and reinstalled fuel tank.

Ordered and installed (with help from YouTube) electrical conversion from 6v original to 12v modern. Installed new spark plugs and battery.

I failed to take pictures of the process of cleaning the vintage oil air filter, but it's the red cylinder in the left of the video.

Initially tested the motor with start spray, then connected air cleaner and rigged up a temporary gas tank and went for a spin.

I used spray paint exclusively to paint this old tractor. Bribe a kid if you have to for the fine detail painting.

Self-explanatory.

What it's all about.