The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

On a show 3 weeks ago in my neighbourhood there where standing 2 nice 8N tractors



and the new one

Is the "new" 8N a New Holland built tractor or is it a restyled IHI Shibaura?

The new one is one of the ugliest tractors I have ever seen The old one had style and lovely clean lines and proportions.

If you are going to make a new tractor, then at least design one for the future and leave the old ones alone.

the new one looks like something out of Bob the Builder or other cartoons where machines have eyes and mouths!

I have to agree the new tractor looks like a gimmick to get people who never really knew what a real tractor should be like to buy a new machine just because it reminds them of what they may have seen in the past that was a real tractor. Too much of this retro stuff is going on now, just look at the new Mini and the new VW Beetle, neither new car is anything special, but the originals were world leaders in their time. Just my two cents worth.

Regards, Frank.

Hello, I dont know if its a new build IHI Shibaura, if I am right its made in the US and they have sold 500 pcs overthere, On the show it was just to see if the dutch people like it and if they are going to sell it overhere (I dont think so) but I will post the poll if I know the answer of the dutch voting.

I voted for the new one.
Not that I don't like the old one. The two can't be compared in any way. The only thing that give you some reminders of the 8N are the colour and a bit of the grill. But I like the design.
If I had a choice of buying one it would be the 8N.

The new Boomer 8N uses a Shibaura N844L 2.2 litre 4 cylinder engine with 43hp@PTO. Maximum engine speed 2800rpm.Torque deprivation, Why do I get a sence of dejavu?( Previously owned a Shibaura Se 4040 4wd.) With regards to "Retro stuff" what about the new Fiat 500? Looks good in (Dark) Blue!

I like retro stuff, but taking a modern tractor and putting a hood and grille on it that has a very slight resemblance to an 8N doesn't work for me.
I like the Ford Mustang and T-Bird, and the Chevrolet SSR. International now makes a class 8 truck that looks a lot like the old KB series. There was (or is) a company in Tennessee that made an almost exact copy of a '52 Chevy pickup, except that it was powered by a modern Ford engine. Those are my idea of good retro stuff.

The old 8N was a great tractor in it's day, and the styling is unique. But to make a modern tractor to look like it's older brother is not good thinking. You would think that they would want to compete with the newer versions in it's own time frame. Oh well, I guess they didn't ask me if it was alright to mimic an older version, so nuff said I reckon.

It's a bit like trying to compare chalk and cheese. Both are tractors of their day yet decades apart, and should be judged on their merits.

If you hadn't seen an old 8N, then you may think that the new version is the bee's knees.

Is the poll about aesthetics, or the merits of retro styling?

I like them both in context.