I Think My Tractors Sexy, As Sexy as She Can be For a 66 Year Old

I like old things, I see value in old things. You are just as likely to get in the car with me and hear Nat King Cole or Doris Day blasting out of the radio as you are OneRepublic. I love the papery thin skin and blue veins of an older woman's hands. I like old trucks with ones with a long bench seat covered in vinyl so when you hit a bump in the road the springs in the seat make you bounce up and hit your head on the ceiling. I like the sounds that older things make like the creek that an oak floor makes when you walk on it, the hum of an old refrigerator and the chiming of a grandfather clock. So I guess it is fitting that for now we have put off buying that Kubota B3200 shiny new orange tractor that Mark wants. And instead have purchased a 66 year old 1949 Ford 8N tractor.

For some that may seem like a slightly crazy thing to do but lucky for me I married a mechanic so he can keep the old girl going for awhile longer. Lest you think I am too far up in the crazy tree you should know that the Ford 8N was the most popular tractor in North America. The N series tractor was manufactured by Ford from 1939 to 1954, the 8N was produced between 1947 through 1952. Between 1939 and 1954 nine hundred thousand N series tractors were made of that nine hundred thousand, five hundred and twenty four thousand were the 8N. What this means for us is some pretty amazing stuff. Due to the popularity of this tractor the Owners Manuel as well as the Service Manuel are still in print and available for purchase. eBay has 51 pages of items available from the entire tractor to fenders and air filters. The local Tractor Supply store still carries tires and the AMP and oil gauges.
I named her Gertrude before we even went to look at her. For me it was love at first sight. She is showing her age with dings and rust but I don't care. Gertie and I are a lot alike she is a little slow to start and so am I, she doesn't go that fast but she gets the job done so do I, she needs lead in her tank but then again so do I, we are both a little odd but we are alright with that. Gertrude will teach me patients because after all when you are riding along on an old tractor with a shade umbrella attached to the fender mowing your lawn you really shouldn't be in a big hurry and in return I will keep the rain and snow off her hood and her motor running for as long as I can. So if you are feeling nostalgic and need to know what it feels like to wrap your fingers around a big old narrow plastic steering wheel while you bounce along on a metal seat come see us. It's not quite as fun as Grandma pushing me around her yard in that old green wheel barrow but it's awfully close.