The Palo Alto
    Vintage Tractor Company

Restoration brings a worn old tractor back to life. Allowing present and future generations to see how it looked on a dealership floor decades ago.

  An early 1939 9N tractor on a trailer making the first leg of a journey for restoration. This will require months of effort including a full dis-assembly and cleaning, repair of many parts including broken castings and a full engine rebuild.

As with any high quality restoration as many of the parts must be original as possible and much time is spent hunting for rare pieces to complete the package. Reproduction parts are available for some items , but these often fall short of a faithful duplication of the originals and are less than sufficient for an authentic re-creation of the original tractor.

This tractor is serial number 9N292 placing it in the second month of production, which makes it one of the earliest still surviving. With it's aluminum hood it is a real find.

Photo of a later 1939 9N tractor undergoing restoration in the shop. This is a full museum level reconstruction of a valuable tractor. Parts have been media blasted to remove old paint and rust. Missing parts have been found and purchased from all over the United States, everything has been disassembled, cleaned and inspected and rebuilt for full operation.

During the first six months of production the 1939 9N tractor went through many changes as it was produced. Some subtle differences between this tractor, which was produced in the sixth month of production, and the one above on the trailer are apparent to the trained observer. Things like the exhaust manifold, generator, air cleaner and some gauges are different. Understanding these types of details is essential to the exhibit level restoration work that Palo Alto Vintage Tractor specializes in.

Right: Fitting a repaired grill into an 8N tractor prior to painting.

Ensuring the fit and proper spacing at joints and seams is a time consuming, but necessary, operation if the tractor is to look correct.

Grills are almost always damaged during their working life. Finding a straight original is virtually impossible so they usually need to be rebuilt.

Rear wheel rim from a 1947 8N tractor after returning from the zinc plating shop.

Original rims were zinc plated to prevent corrosion. Most restorations paint the rims a silver color to simulate plating, however this is not as accurate as fully re-plating the rims after stripping all old paint, rust and remnants of the original coating. Often rims are severely damaged and require welding in of new metal to various areas prior to refinishing.

Restoration of gauges is also a part of the project. Reproductions do not match the originals. So often these need to be found and then professionally restored. These are before and after photos of the same gauges.

Museum level restoration of 1939 9N Ford-Ferguson tractor completed by the Palo Alto Vintage Tractor Company.

For more information contact us.