Outdoor Power Equipment (Lawn Mowers, Snow Blowers, Chain Saws and more) Discussions

Our '52 Ford 8N served us well for 11 years and moved many feet of snow, but this year it was time to move on to something less expensive to maintain (we hope).

Then:

Now:

Very nice!

Keep that 8N, they're going for a decent amount of money restored! The dang chains on it are worth a fortune, LOL

Marshall,

I sold the tractor for almost what I paid for it and it more than paid for the Ariens. It was hard to see it go, but it wasn't practical to keep it; kind of like my '88 Mustang 5.0 that I had to let go when the second family came along. I learned to "drive" on Farmall Cub and plowed alot of snow with a Ford 2N and later a '53 NAA.

Jonathan

Well, we have to be able to finace other things sometimes don't we? If not, I would have every vehichle I ever owned!

Nice new and old machine!

Sorry you had to let the old Ford go.....

I had a 88 5 liter with the trunk not the hatchback, granny grey, a total sleeper. Power to rate ratio it was the fastest stock street car made in the US in it's day. Man was she sweet! So much fun winning a race and never shifting out of second.....

C

Chris, you have a little of this goin on?

Chris,

Mine was a hatchback. The state troopers had some like yours. I let a friend with a V-6 Pontiac Firebird try it and the power scared him. It was an adventure driving in the snow. I ended up putting aggressive tread snowtires on all four wheels and a couple sand bags in back. It got around fine that way.

Jonathan

LOL...Yes Marshall, like Jonathan, pre-family..... Great pic!, that was her, plain grey with the stock rims though, man what a little hot rod sweet heart she was!! She didn't look like much but could out-run almost or run almost anything down and if she could't outrun it or catch it she could certainly keep up, of course for the time I owned her nothing ever out ran me nor kept up lol....

The power was something Jonathan, I never did drive it in the snow, man I can't imagine what you had to go through to find traction even with aggressive tires and weight!

Fun memories.....

C

Guess you guys didn't have any Buick Grand Nationals in your area.

I bought one new in the June 1987 & sold it in 1997 when I bought my pickup. It ran 14.0's in the quarter stone stock. After a few mods (custom ECM chip, cooler thermostat, ported turbo housing & larger impeller, modified wastegate, 2.5" exhaust with HUGE Walker mufflers for quiet stealth, 55lb/hr injectors, Bosch fuel regulator & fuel pump, & cold air kit) it ran 12.80's @ 109. I will admit it wasn't the prettiest thing - often, many referred it to a "loaf of bread on wheels"...

Marty

Jonathan...

Bet you're gonna' miss the 8N someday... and you guys... your 5.0 Mustangs... and other muscle cars... Yeah the Grand National IS quick ! My brother-in-law had one...

I co-owned a '51 Freguson TO30 farm tractor with my son... just ~ like the 8N... he wanted one but didn't have enough $$$... so we went partners and picked it up from the original owner on his 15th birthday... he refurbished it...
I sold him my 1/2 when I divorced... now his younger brother owns it... lotsa' good memories with that tractor !

I owned a '89 Mustang 5.0 5-speed from new... red hatchback... drove it year-round... snow and all for ~ 12 years...
Never had it over 75MPH... ...and only pulled a few hole shots with it... it's tranny was notchy... couldn't speed shift well... Don't really miss it...

As always... on to new things !


Dave...

Those are some heavy duty skids on that Ariens. They almost look like they belong on a sled!

Dan

IIRC, the Buick GNX was the baddest of the land in stock form wasn't it?

LOL....I wasn't stupid Marty, I would never take on a Grand National much less a worked up one lol.....never ran into one when I owned the Mustang though.....

Yes Marshall, when it came out it was.

Yes Dave the shifter was notchy, I just rammed it in there lol....

One thing I can't stress enough was the sleeper quality my Mustang had, ya just had to see it, well really you didn't lol..... Granny Grey I called it lol.....

C

Or for the not too subtle look in a street machine.....

Chris...

Yeah... sleeper... that's why the State Police used 'em here...!

Kept mine completely stock... except for Flowmaster exhaust when it needed replacing...

I had the original Goodyear tires w/ ~40% tread left when I sold the Mustang to a 16-year-old female
~12 years later... She had it on the road at least a year... sent me an Xmas photo...


Dave...

Dave that is amazing!....Man I wish I had those tires lol..... I am on a first name basis with the local tire shop lol.....

Emmo where did you get a picture of my car!!!!

C

Mad to the Max.

Chris... original tires...

They were stored in the attic... they were almost useless on just wet roads... if I stopped on a wet hill... I'd have to back down to make it up... or sit there and spin...


Dave...

Uhg....

Doesn't that just make driving fun?......

C

The Eagle GT's that were shod on the GN were absolutely the WORST tires I EVER had on ANY automobile I've owned. They offered little to ZERO traction in the rain & snow, and they only lasted about 25k miles (gee - I wonder why?). When the car was stolen (yeah - happened twice) Eagle GT+4's were put on there - they were no better than the original GT's. After the Plus 4's were wasted, I put on BFG Touring T/A's - what a difference they made. The car actually had good manners in rain & snow - limiting factor was the limited slip differential which always made snow driving interesting. Of course, I had M&H DOT legal slicks when I raced it at E-Town.

My GN was a decent car, but the seating was HORRIBLE for my 6' 4" frame. When I sold it, I shed no tears - was glad to see it go bye-bye.

My 1997 C1500 is a wonderful vehicle & I wouldn't trade it for anything.

Marty