This reminded me of my first tractor. When we took over the family farm several years ago (mid-80s), my father-in-law me left his 8N. I got the idea I needed a loader and found a Wagner that had been used at a greenhouse. It was setting in a weed patch. This was west of Indianapolis (I live about 40 miles south of there) and I stopped by the Ford dealer with the loader setting on my trailer to ask what I needed to get it mounted. The parts counter guy didn't flinch, he just yelled for Wilbur.
Wilbur was a retired mechanic who continued to hang around the shop. He came out and told me he had worked on that loader, rebuilding the control spool. He actually was able to locate the crankshaft pulley with the pump connector still in the parts inventory. All I was missing was the front mounting bracket that attached the loader to the front axle. Wilbur wasn't able to help me there.
This was pre-Web, so I went to library and looked up the company listed on the loader tag. A few phone calls later, I was talking to an engineer at Wagner - the paint sprayer company. He told me that the company had gotten out of the loader business in the 50's, but he know where some old drawings were stored and would get back to me. He called a few days later to say he was sorry, but hadn't found any drawings or parts manual for my loader.
So the loader sat in weeds for a few months, until I spotted an 8N with the same loader sitting outside a barn. At the time I was traveling with a couple of co-workers to a meeting. I demanded that they stop the car and drive back to the house. My day job requires a suit and tie (still does) and I am sure the elderly women who answered the door thought I was crazy. I tired to quickly explain that I really wanted to come back and take some picutres and measurements of the loader. She agreed, but wanted to make sure her husband was home. I did get to take a look before we headed to our meeting and determined it was going to be a simple fabrication. This action only confirmed what my co-workers already knew - I am slightly crazy.
I returned the next weekend to the farm with camera and tape measure in hand. I was able to get a local machine shop to build the front "L" shaped bracket and got the loader mounted and running. The loader was a newer model with a step-over design instead of the early cage style that required crawling over the rear and had a hydraulic bucket. My first job was to dig out a willow stump in the front yard. I ran the bucket under the stump, pulled on the lever and neatly lift the rear of the tractor about 2' in the air.
I used the tractor for 5 years or so. Without power steering, it wasn't a lot of fun, but it worked great and I knew that any tractor I owned would have to have a loader. I upgraded to a 1964 Ford 4000 with a loader and PS and last year to a NH TC40DA. Thanks for the memories.
