Farmall's!



A Short Farmall History
The old reliable IH Farmall 'H', and it's big brother the 'M', were sold in the hundreds of thousands during the 1940's. Farmall's were seen on farms just as often as John Deere's (International Harvester and John Deere were the two largest tractor companies at that time). The 'H' was in production from 1939 through 1952 when it was finally replaced with updated and more powerful models (the 300 series). Early models came on steel or rubber with rubber being an extra cost option. During the war years of 1941 through 1945 you couldn't get rubber tires so everything came on steel. Lights were also optional as well and many early models came with a magneto instead of battery ignition so that the tractor did not need any electrical system at all to function. Another option allowed the engine to run using distillate (kerosene). This option included a slightly lower compression head, an additional fuel tank to allow starting on gasoline, and radiator shutters that allowed the operator to run the engine hotter than normal thermostat temperature.

The Farmall BN was made from 1939 through 1947. The A and B were IH's answer to the small tractor market. They were made for those jobs that their H and M were just too big for. The later models had hydralics on them and were very useful for cultivators, mowers, ect. However, the A and B still suffered from one problem that was solved in the model BN: ease of viewing when cultivating! The BN has a wide rear axle and the seat is offset to the right of the tractor so that directly in front of the operator is one of the rows being cultivated. The steering and all foot controls are moved in front of the driver. Unlike the H and M, the cooling system on the BN (the A, B and BN all share the same engine) is strictly convection - there is no water pump, the water circulates because warm water rises and cool water sinks. Given this, the BN was equipped with a set of shutters so that in cooler weather the engine shutters could be closed to allow the engine to run warmer.



My '42 'H' - Serial #FBH106313

My '42 H was ordered from the dealer in 1941 and not delivered to my Grandfather until 1942 on steel wheels. During World War II it was used almost 24 hours a day by several famrers in the area. To the best of my father's knowledge, the engine has been overhauled 9 times including my complete rebuild in 1988. The tractor is well worn but still runs well. The transmission is pretty loose and whines a lot particularly in road gear, but it gives no problems.
This tractor has the distillate option so it has two fuel tanks: the standard "main" tank, which holds about 15 gallons and a "starting" tank which holds about 1-1/2 gallons. Unfortunately the shutters are long gone although part of the control mechanism is still there. The exhaust manifold baffle is long since rusted into place and probably gone on the inside of the manifold. Normal operation was to start the tractor on gasoline with the manifold baffle switched to "heat" and the shutters closed and let it warm up. When the engine had reached normal temperature, the gasoline was turned off and the kerosene turned on and the heat baffle moved to the "normal" position. Shutters were regulated to keep the engine hot enough to run well using the significantly harder to burn kerosene. Some time in it's life I believe that the cylinder head was changed to a high compression head (there is an 'H' stamped on the head and my Dad always told me that signifies high compression). The advantage of having the high compression head is increased horsepower. This '42 is significantly more peppy than my '50 'H' and will outpull it any day!

After the war my grandfather wanted rubber tires on the tractor, but did not want to purchase all new wheels. The solution, which many farmers took, was to cut off the steel rims, leaving the inner hub and spokes in place (both front and rear). Rubber rims were then welded onto the steel wheel inners resulting in the look that my tractor has.

My Dad gave me this tractor in about 1986 and at that time my wife and I owned our first home and had a whole 1/2 acre! I kept it in the garage and used it to work the garden and haul wood for our wood stove to heat the house. Ever since I was little, the old tractor used and leaked lots of oil so I decided to rebuild the engine. I did that in the summer of 1988, putting in new sleeves, pistons, rings, complete valve overhaul, hoses, belts, etc. It has really run well since then. I also converted it to 12 volts and put an alternator on it. The 12V battery sure makes that 6V starter spin over!

My H is shown here with an IH 6 foot sickle mower attached. I use this tractor regularly to keep the roadside and other areas of the farm looking ship-shape.



My 1950 'H' - S#FBH350466

My 1950 H was purchased at a farm auction by my Dad in the late 60's. The man that owned it was an older gentleman that did not use it much. I'd be surprised if the tractor had more than 100 hours on it when we got it. The tires all had dry rot and the engine only ran on three cylinders (the tractor had sat for a long time and a valve stuck so when it was turned over for the sale the pushrod bent). We tore the engine down and rebuilt it and it has run well since and plowed a lot of acres with a 2 bottom plow.
This was "my" tractor when I was growing up and I even had a radio on it for quite a while. I used it for plowing and dragging and I spent a lot of time in that seat! This is pretty standard model with no factory options. It is shown here with an IH front end loader. The engine had started to use some oil and I suspected it was either gummy rings or needed valve stem seals. It also had a leaky exhaust valve in one cylinder. Dad used this tractor for a lot of years for very light work at low engine speeds which is why I suspected gummed up rings. I tore the engine down in the spring of 2004. After getting the head off and pulling the oil pan I discovered, upon inspection, that the valves were all in very bad condition. I took the head to a local machine shop where they milled the head out and put in hardened valve seats for the exhaust valves. I put in a thinwall sleeves and dome pistons thereby increasing cubic inches and compression. Once back together it ran great and had a lot more power! I have also converted this tractor to 12 volts and put an alternator on. Starts anytime, warm or -20!


My '47 'BN' - Serial #FXX198XXX

For quite a while I have wanted an 'A', 'B', 'BN', 'C' or 'Super C'. I had the opportunity to purchase this BN and jumped at it! It is in very nice condition, the engine runs perfectly! Everything seems to be in great shape, the transmission is smooth and quiet. The only thing that does not work is the generator. I am going to convert the generator to 12 volts to keep the original look. Oh, and the mounted cultivator is history!



   
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