trying to restore a 9n ford S/N 20853 trying to figure out which grill belongs on it i think it was an horizontal bar but there where 2 different styles. i bought it as a work horse and than decided to restore it this winter. the grill was missing when i got it. also is this tractor a low enough S/N to be worth anything as a collectors tractor or would i be better off putting a cheap vertical bar grill and using/ selling it as a work horse? any sources for the grill cause stiner and all states ag parts dont have the horizontal grill.
BTW this is my first attempt at restoring a tractor

thanks in advance and God bless
carey

HiYa Carey-
Your early 9N is a mid-1940 Model based on the serial number. Two different horizontal bar grilles? -let us know how you determined that. The aluminum grille was changed to a special " 41 grille " at serial number 45899 and only used for approximately one year. The early 9N's had aluminum doglegs as well and all are referred to as 'smooth doglegs' because of they way they attach. After the 41 grille, the new steel doglegs sported the attachment bolts at the bottom of the doglegs. Rosewood Tool Mfg in Rosewood OH repops the horizontal bar grilles -click on the LINK below. You can find their info in our LINKS forum. They come with undrilled holes so you can make it fit exactly to your tractor. Dennis Carpenter, Just8Ns, STEINERS, and everyone else sells their grilles as well. Duane Hellman owns the company but I think he is retired now and his son runs it. Rosewood also repops the aluminum early 9N doglegs and snap-in battery cover. You can get some more info on early 9Ns at John Smiths web site, under subcategory "Tractor ID/History".

Tim Daley(MI)

http://www.rosewoodmachine.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Store_Code=RMATC&Category_Code=F2N8N9N

• Rosewood Machine Tool

thanks for all the info guys
tim
i think i made a mistake on the grills i was looking at a Ferguson which has a slightly different grill. i never guessed that restoring a tractor would be such an in depth process.
thanks again
carey

Yeah, the early Ferguson models had a horizontal bar grille too but they do not interface with Ford grilles.

Tim Daley(MI)

Rosewood Machine and Tool makes the horizontal bar al. grill for steel hoods. It will set you back about $230, so not cheep, but makes for a nice restoration. I would not spend that kind of money on a tractor doing heavy work, they break too easy.

The early horizontal grilles were quite fragile and when they broke, they were replaced with whatever was current in the dealers parts stock (i.e. vertical bar). It's only been in the last 10 years or so that repop horizontal aluminum grilles have hit the market for those fussy restorers.

As to the relative value of a 9N in the 20,000 serial number range, I'd have to say it's a matter of opinion and those opinions will vary. To me, I'd say no, not worth a ton. When you get down into 3 or 4 digit serial numbers, then you start to see collectors get excited.