“This tractor is haunted! And it hates me!”

Those were the words of a lady selling her tractor a while back. I had been looking for a tractor with a front loader when I saw an ad in the local weekly shopper paper for exactly that. I called the number and found that the seller was a lady that lived on a ranch about ten miles north of my place and that I had known for a long time. She told me that she did not want to sell the tractor to a friend “because it was haunted and it hates me”! I asked if I could at least come out and look at it. She reluctantly agreed, so I went out to see what this “haunted” tractor was all about. 

It was an old Ford and she thought it might be from the sixties. One look told me it was a Ford 9N and was even older than me (and I’m over 80). Later checking the serial number showed that it was actually a 1944 2N. I drove it around the yard and checked out the loader operation. It ran good, everything worked, and I told her that I would buy it. She reluctantly agreed to sell it to me, but was not very happy about it. Later I found out that she still had misgivings and had called a mutual friend of ours about selling it to me. The friend answered her that I once had a similar Ford 8N for 35 years and could certainly find a ghost in this machine!

A few days later, I went back to the ranch to load the tractor on a trailer and bring it home. It would not start. “See I told you it was haunted!” she shouted. My first impression was that the problem was in the fuel supply. The fuel-system was really cobbled together with no sediment bowl, just a pipe fitting stuck in the fuel tank, a short rubber hose running to an ancient brass valve and another short hose to a lawn mower fuel filter. Then another rubber hose going to the carburetor. I thought that some dirt or rubber flake may have plugged a passage in the carburetor. I pulled the carb and took it into the ranch shop and blew out the passages, and put it back on the engine. It started right up and we loaded it on the trailer and brought it back to my place. I drove it off the trailer and around my yard a while and then, parked it. 

A few days later I went out to use it and, guess what, it would not start! So again, I pulled the carb, and flushed and blew it out. And it started. I was really worried about that rubber hose running so close to the hot manifold, so I ordered a whole new original fuel system: sediment bowl, metal fuel line, and carb elbow filter and fitting. And a rebuild kit for the carb. After all that was put on, it would not start. A few days later, I went out and it started like nothing ever happened. I was beginning to think that maybe this “ghost” story was for real! 

Since I had eliminated any problem in the fuel system, I turned my thoughts to the electrical system. Somebody long ago had changed over to a 12 volt system and alternator that seemed to be wired correctly. The key switch looked to be worn, so I replaced it. I had voltage to the coil, but noticed that it wiggled when I touched it. No gasket. So I put the correct gasket in. Then a set of new plugs. With every fix, I thought that now, aha, I had found the ghost. No dice. Still sometimes it would start and sometimes it wouldn’t, with no rhyme or reason. 

About this time the starter went out. Probably from trying and trying to get the tractor running over the past few months (or years). So I replaced the starter and also a new 12 volt coil. But now it was mostly not starting whenever I pushed the starter switch. This ghost was really starting to get the better of me, but I wasn’t about to give up just yet.

I now figured that the ghost had to be in the distributor. But how to get it off the engine. It is a front mount distributor and with the loader cylinders and frame in place and the alternator blocking the way, it was almost impossible to get adult-sized hands in to get a wrench to the two bolts holding the distributor in place. So there the haunted tractor sat while I was looking for someone with six-year-old sized hands to get a wrench into the front of the engine.

After a few more months of looking to no avail I decided that I would give it a try and see what happened. That darn ghost was not going to beat me with whatever tricks it could pull! Well after a few days of bruised and bloody hands and a few bad words, I was able to get the distributor unbolted and off the tractor. It looked OK. The points looked good and the advance weights moved OK, what could be the problem? But then when the light was just right, I saw a tiny hairline crack in the primary conductor. It was nearly invisible in regular light and just looked like a little dirt on the copper foil. But when back lit, a little glimmer of light shown through. I guess whenever the temperature changed or the distributor was bumped, the connection was made or broken and the tractor would start or not.  

After fiddling around trying to repair the old conductor without success, I ordered a brand new distributor from Steiner Tractor Parts!   After some more bruised and bloody hands, I was able to get the new distributor and coil bolted back in place. A fresh charge in the battery and the moment of truth had arrived. Had I really got rid of that: ghost once and for all? I hit the starter and pulled the choke. And on the second try, it started right up and ran smoother than it had in a long, long time.  

Thanks Steiner for making it possible to keep these old tractors running and useful for years to come!

Paul Brick
Arizona

If you would like to send in a story with photo(s) about an experience with your tractor, interesting facts about its history, or a restoration project,  please go to Tractor Story Submissions. If your story is picked to appear on the blog you will receive a FREE Steiner hat.* Some stories will also go on to be published in our quarterly magazine. We look forward to hearing your story!

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