Ford Select-O-Speed "Custom" Tractor

By: John Smith of Old Ford Tractors

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This is our newest lawn mowing tractor. The two main questions "what model is it?" and "what year is it?" are hard to answer. It's a little of everything from several years. It's not a restoration, it's a "custom" tractor. It's built exactly the way I wanted it. The photos and text below will tell the story and describe the parts used during assembly.

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After 15+ years of mowing with an 8N I was getting the urge for something different. Occasionally I would think that a live PTO would be nice. More often I wished I could shift gears up or down on the fly, and even more often I was thinking power steering would be nice to have. I knew very little about Select-O-Speed tractors, but decided one of those that was just a few years newer than the 8N could offer all the features I was looking for. On a whim, I picked up a decent running '59 671.

The Repair Process

The "Workout"

The Final Verdict

It's fall again, but we managed to mow with it four times before the end of the season. It's been great so far, plenty of power and very comfortable. It's really nice to be able to jump up or down a couple gears when the grass gets thin or thick without missing a beat. The live PTO is nice, too, and the power steering is wonderful when making tight circles and the end of a run.  guess you'd have to say this tractor is a '52-'64 8N-671-801-2000. The old 8N is still around and the mower can be transferred back to it anytime if need be. But, so far, it looks like this one is going to be all I had hoped it would be.

It's fall again, but we managed to mow with it four times before the end of the season.
Side profile
great mower

Thanks to John Smith of Old Ford Tractor for allowing us to use this information.