Fairing with FAA

[FAA]

FAA and the flight crew hit the county fair five miles from Flemington, NJ. $15 a car was a steal. Plenty of rides, a petting zoo featuring a llama and a stilt walker named Chachi. Four barns: cow, horse, goat, sheep. Also about 80 tractors under one roof going back a century. Here’s a front and side view of a 1939 Ford 9N. I love how the flag overhangs the side view. The 8N was a doozy too. I was intrigued by the Fordson. This Henry Ford brand began in 1917 and was the first lightweight mass produced tractor affordable by the average farmer.

[FAA]

More of the score.

[olds442jetaway]

Very very cool. We have a 1950 Ford Tractor that my great Uncle bought new. It is on the family farm in Southwestern Virginia. Still operates perfectly. I have driven and worked with it, but not since I was 17. If I remember it is an 8N. It first came out just before WW2 and was a big deal because it had a 4 speed transmission. I could be mistaken, but I think your photo is an 8N. We also had a 1950 Chevy short bed pickup. ( I used to tune up that one ) and a late 1940s Coal delivery truck with a wooden bed. Can’t remember the make on that one. Your post revived lots of memories.

[felix]

The thing a lot of people don't realize is that with farm equipment and implements, it's the cost of parts. Farm work is hard on a tractor and parts need replacement. So not only were the Ford tractors for the "every man" farmer when new because of the lower price, the parts were also very reasonable, especially compared to John Deere. Even today, all these years later, JD is the most expensive tractor to keep running because the parts are so high. Some will say, yeah, but you don't have to fix it as often because it is higher quality to start with. Maybe, but it really hurts to get a repair estimate for a JD that is 3X the price of a similar repair on a Ford or Massey-Ferguson.
I was raised with the ethic that a dollar in routine maint on farm equipment (or vehicles) is worth $10 in service and/or parts. We had to keep the equipment up or else.
The 1950 Ford tractor that Olds is referring to that operates perfectly all these years later --- that is a good sign of regular maint and care. I have seen some farm operators with younger family members who seem to think the tractor is like a 4-wheel drive Jeep and they treat it badly. If you want a 1950 model of anything to still be perfect today, invest in maint and make sure EVERYONE on the farm, family and help, treats it right.
Also, don't get me started on the Korean and other Asian brands of farm equipment. Light weight junk from Day One and now with the tariffs I hate to think of the cost of parts.

[FAA]

Even these old Deeres look sturdy. You see both the 8N (white) and 9N Fords. The 9N is labeled “First year built.” But how about the flag appearing to graze the 9N in the side view? Just a nice touch. It was like walking through a time machine. I could have lingered in that space for a couple of hours.

[olds442jetaway]

We had a special area in the barn where Tractor maintenance stuff was kept. White lube for cables and such, wheel bearing grease, moly, of course motor oil. ( Texaco ) only because my Great Grandfather had a General Store and 2 pumps out front. Fire Chief and Sky Chief. Yes the motor oil and such was right in the living room with socks and ice cold Cokes or Pal. That was the main area of the General store. By the way, he built the house/store himself in 1934. His son my Great Uncle worked the farm. The farm was only about 5 miles from the house/store that was only 1/2 mile from town. I think the population was about 1,500 back then. My brother had a JD rider mower he bought new. Maintenance and parts were very expensive. Finally, when the frame cracked that was the last straw and he ended up selling it for parts. Lasted less than 10 seasons. . It was great when it was great, but bad when it went down!

[olds442jetaway]

Check this out. And right on my way to Bizarro. Going to get there before fall weather sets in.