1941 Farmall H Restoration
In 2011 I found an old 1941 model H International (McCormick Deering) sitting in a patch of weeds, it had been sitting there for years. The man that owned it was sending it to the scrap yard the next day, I asked him what he thought he could get out of it at the scrap yard and he said he hoped for anywhere from 5 to 7 hundred dollars.
I told the man if he would take 5 hundred dollars cash on the spot I would take it home, he agreed and so began a lengthy three year restoration.
The tires had rotted off from sitting on flats in the dirt for so many years, the rims had rusted through and the inner tubes would not hold air.
The paint had faded to a dull shade of pink or salmon, the motor and chassis were covered with a thick layer of dirt and oil, vital parts were missing and the machine as a whole, looked as if it had been turned over and caught on fire.
We sent the tractor to be steamed, sand blasted, primed and painted. When it came back it was the bright red International color and even with parts missing you could see hope in this restoration.
We found a company that specialized in tractor parts for restoration projects. Steiner not only had the parts I was looking for they also had technicians that could answer all my questions. I ordered thousands of dollars in parts and never once received the wrong part.
It is now the Summer of 2014 and as I look at this old tractor I can’t help but wonder about the day it was bought and taken to a farm. The farmer would have climbed up high on the seat and looked down the long hood. Everyone that saw the sturdy bright red International would have been envious. The farmer that just brought this powerhouse home was no doubt the proudest man around.
The big, massive machine with all of its horsepower and torque must have made this farmers life so much easier than whatever he had been using.
The big red 1941 model H International is now seventy-four years old, it has plowed, pulled and harvested.It has see a bountiful harvest and it has seen crops fail, it has seen things change; seasons, crops, the landscape, owners and the way of the times.
The big model H has come full circle now, it came from being the bright and shining pride of a farmer in 1941 to sign alone and forgotten in a patch of weeds, on its way to be crushed and shredded and now to its original beauty and usefulness. I wish the man that bought it originally in ’41 could see it now.
I want to thank all of the friendly and knowledgeable people at Steiner, you were always helpful and patient.
Taylor Hignite
Busy, Kentucky
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This old tractor looks as good as new. It’s a good thing that you were able to find a company that specializes in tractor parts for restoration project. I found an old car in a junk yard that I really want to fix up. There are several parts that needs to be replaced before I can start driving it. I hope that I can soon find a company that carries the parts for the antique truck that I found so that I can take it out on the open road soon.
I too, have save 2 h’s from 2 diff. salvage/scrap yards. still waiting repair
1 needs tranny work, makes little noise that’s a 44 h, the other I brought home in 3 diff
77′ f-150 pickup loads. front 1/2 then back 1/2 then tires . that’s 47 H
I’ve learned some stuff about H’s as time goes by, saving up , money to replace parts. I
have 1939 farmall H as my oldest and 1951 as my newest. The s/n LHS of farmall H near
the battery area . # example 336030 X1, the X1 means gas head & with that
there are certain things on the H diff. or not needed manifold does’t need heat shield to
warm up kero.distill. fuel. carb no drain cock as no need to drain out kero. & replace with gas
for next morn start. no need for the 1 gallon fuel tank or shutters and linkage to heat up engine
quicker, there were 3 diff. heads when rebuilding the head part # is under valve cover on top
of head. They do take diff. size valves when rebuilding, and the combustion chambers on the
heads are built diff. gas head the better head. the 39 – H has the tappered cut out tranny deck
under the channel or pipe seat. frame. channel seat frame 1939 only and rare. the the Monroe
easy rider seats use 2 diff gauge springs and 1 shock absorber either in the front or rear.
the spring will bottom out if your shock is bad or your too heavy for the lite spring & I can’t tell the diff from lite to heavy load easy rider seat spring by looking at it .
no X after serial number meant dual fuel. the original pto didn’t stick out more than couple inches past the back, and had 1 1/8 pto serial number change in 1940 45613 s/n changed
the counter shaft from dog to spline so it wouldn’t fail . if the tractor hasn’t had the seals changed, split the tractor safely using correct splitting stands. replace 2 seals in front tranny
both brake shaft seals rear pto shaft seal and both axle seals. always wiggle shafts to see if
there is a bearing problem . a tick in the tranny when driving it could be missing tooth on 1st 2nd ect gear. If plugs keep fouling out and look black oil like when cleaning them just trying to cut 5 acres of hay your engine needs a rebuild how far you go with the rebuild besides rings
and grinding the valves an gaskets is up to you and your pocket book .m&w throttles are on about 50 percent of the h’s easy rider seats are on about 90 percent . If you have rear wheels
with the square spokes ,you have an h that originally came on steel & they torched off the steel wheel and welded each flat spoke to a rubber tire rim
Need repair in transmission shift jams and won’t shift. can u help?