farmall Archives - Antique Tractor Blog

1953 Farmall Super A

08/12/2019 by ST Leave a Comment

I am submitting this information and these photos on behalf of my Grandfather. He has worked hard his entire life to help provide for his family. He stops at nothing to give everyone the very best of him.

My name is William H. Patterson (also known as Cotton Patterson.) I am a 77 year old resident of Clay County, Alabama. I have been working in the fields and maintaining gardens since I was old enough to hold a tool and differentiate between a weed and a crop. I started at five years old and used mules until the year 1960. That was the year I was able to purchase my tractor. I worked driving a school bus until I could save up the money to purchase a 1953 Super A International Farmall from a man in Talladega, Alabama. I paid $900 for the tractor plus some equipment. I have rebuilt the engine three times and in my opinion, there is no better tractor than my international. I maintain three gardens and we grow and harvest everything from corn to watermelon. Being able to retire those mules has been one of my greatest blessings.

William Patterson of Talladega, Alabama

Right on Point Tachometer

06/22/2019 by ST 3 Comments

Note, the replaced tachometer, both in the run and in the off position. It looks just as it should. Everything I’ve done was cosmetic. The tractor itself was mechanically sound and all the “pretty stuff” was purchased from Steiner’s. It looks good for a first time restoration job. My painter, who pushed me to get all the parts said it looked like a Steiner warehouse blew up and lit on it. Not to imply that I am in the same league as your usual restorers, but for me I think it looks great!

Thank you again for all the help from your customer service people.

Dan Sheehan
Monroeville, Indiana

A Ford and A Farmall

06/11/2019 by ST Leave a Comment

1951 Ford 8N was my first project over the winter of 2017 and 2018. A friend had ask me for help reinforcing a lean-to. The Ford was parked underneath. I was only going to buy it to park outside as lawn art. Well guess what, I had to see why it wouldn’t turn over. One thing led to another and I was hooked. That’s how I caught the bug for restoring old tractors.

The Farmall 100, belongs to a local farmer. It was the first tractor his Dad bought when they started the farm, back in the 50’s. I did a partial restoration on it in return for a Farmall Super A.

Lonnie Love
Sequim, Washington

Farmall M Restoration

06/08/2019 by ST Leave a Comment

This 1951 Farmall M tractor had sat unused for 10 years. Engine was stuck at first, we were able to free it up and get it running. Then we stripped the tractor down and repaired numerous problems. Repainted and reassembled.

Converted to 12 Volt system and put in all new fluids. Tractor had been converted to a 9-speed transmission and added power steering in the past.

Many improvements have been made thanks to Steiner tractor parts. Have driven it in parades and to local antique tractor shows.

Gaylen Anderson
Oakland, Nebraska

How to Get More HP from your Farmall H Tractor

05/23/2016 by RG 1 Comment

Would you like to get more horsepower out of your Farmall H?

These classic Farmall tractors are rated for 19 horsepower at the drawbar, 24 at the belt. With a quality restoration job, you can get this same horsepower or better on your Farmall H. But for those of you who want to increase the horsepower of your Farmall H beyond factory standards, here are some tips.

If you can only make one change, start with replacing the intake manifold and carburetor. Replace these parts with ones from a Farmall 300. The Farmall H bore is big enough to handle the increased fuel from the larger manifold and carburetor – out of all the swaps you could do, this one will give you the most bang for your buck.

If you’re up for some bigger changes, consider replacing the head. The regular Farmall H head can be swapped for one from a Farmall 300. You could also put in different pistons and sleeves. You can get more horsepower out of a Farmall 300 or 350 piston and sleeve kit, but it won’t fit in the Farmall H block the same way. You’ll need to either replace the block with one from a 300/350 or you can put in an overbore piston and sleeve kit in your standard H block.

No matter what changes you make to your tractor’s engine, don’t forget to think about how you will transfer that power to the drawbar. If you are pulling, pay special attention to the hitch height and tire specifications. These small details are easy to overlook, but they make a big difference too. Read more of my best tips for setting up your pulling tractor here.

Steering Sector Kit

05/06/2016 by ST Leave a Comment

Our new and improved custom built steering kit for the Farmall A – 140 now includes woodruff keys in addition to the bearings, seals, bushings and the gear housing gasket. Assembled in Michigan, our kit includes an OEM 41096DBR steering worm bushing along with a made in the USA housing gasket. The addition of the woodruff keys completes a very handy and well thought out kit! Order number is IHS1800

International – Fits: A, AV, Super A, Super A-1, Super AV, Super AV-1, 100, 130, 140; Replaces: 1981225C1, 261733, 2099680, 358775R91, 358782R91, 358812R91, 358815R91, 382229R91, 382229R91, 382230R91, 41096DBR, 47675D, 47676DR, 47703D, 48956D, 85652H, R39667, ST287, ST288

Our exclusive 11 piece kit includes:

Steering worm shaft bushing 46767DR (IHS1776)
Steering worm bushing 41096DBR
Steering worm shaft bearing ST288
Steering worm bearing ST287
Steering gear housing gasket 47675D
Steering worm oil seal 47703D (ABC1628)
Steering worm wheel shaft oil seal 48956D (IHS1532)
Woodruff keys (2) 117989 #31
Woodruff key 124553 #19
Woodruff key #15 1/4″ X 1″

Bushings must be honed (reamed) to size when installed.

Cinco de Tractor

05/05/2016 by ST 1 Comment

Growing up on a dairy farm near Benson, Minnesota, I have always loved tractors. After being discharged from the USAF and then working for the Air Force at Hill AFB as a civilian I took up residence in West Point, Utah

I found my first tractor, a 1949 Farmall H sitting just up the street by an old barn… It had a tree growing up between the frame and engine. I asked the owner about it and he said you can have it. I cut the tree out, towed it home and started tearing it a part. That was May, 1989. After complete restoration, from seat to tires to paint, it was parade ready by September 1990. That started my small collection.

The 1953 Farmall Super C was also found in West Point. The owner also said you can have it. After getting it started, I drove it home. It smoked so bad it looked like a steam engine going down the road. It had car head lights on it which worked. It also took about a year for full restoration.

The 1940 Farmall B was found and bought in southwestern Minnesota during a trip back to see family. It ran but was in very rough condition. I had it shipped to Utah and a full restoration was done.

The 1944 Farmall A was found in the community of West Weber here in Utah. It had been used on a small farm. It ran but needed a lot of work. After purchasing it for a fair price, it was hauled home and a full restoration was completed.

The 1947 Farmall Cub was purchased from a family whose son, a retired Army Sargent, had passed away. The Cub was partially restored but needed help getting it running. It had been in storage for a couple of years. Full restoration was completed and it purrs like a kitten.

All the tractors were restored to original condition and run great. The original owners of the H and Super C drove their “new” old tractor in parades after the restoration. Each owner received a picture of their restored tractor.

I am a member and past president of the Great Basin Antique Machinery Club, EDGE&TA, Branch 95, Ogden, Utah. I also have two 1949 8N Ford tractors and a 1954 John Deere 40 (which I hauled home from Estherville, Iowa), all are fully restored.

Marty Simonson

Internally Resisted 12 Volt Coil

04/15/2016 by ST 1 Comment

ABC509

After many months of testing we have developed an internally resisted coil that outperforms the competition. This coil (ABC509) now puts out nearly the same voltage as the hot coil without using an external ballast resister.

Farmall H Brought Back to Life

03/08/2016 by ST 1 Comment

This 1951 Farmall H was purchased new by my Grandfather and used until about 1980 on a small farm in Southeast Ohio. I salvaged it out of a barn several years ago, with the idea of restoring it some day. I just recently finished it with a lot of help from Steiner Tractor Parts.

Stuart Bruny
Logan, Ohio

Farmall Super MVTA Restoration

03/07/2016 by RG 2 Comments

Here’s a restoration project to drool over – a very rare Farmall Super M-VTA, restored to perfection by Eric Shuster of Moweaqua, Illinois.

As far as I can tell, this tractor is one of just 44 built to these specifications. While the Farmall M is an incredibly popular tractor, this variation was very specialized. Here’s the breakdown:

Start with your standard Farmall M – an iconic American tractor, tens of thousands manufactured over the years.

After 14 years of production, Farmall added the “Super” designation in 1952 – essentially the same tractor, but with slightly larger engines and hydraulics as standard equipment.

After 2 years, Farmall further tweaked the design by adding a Torque-Amplifier (the TA in the model designation). The Super M-TA was built only in 1954, with production ending in October of that year.

A Super M-TA is rare enough to be noticeable – but a high clearance really sets this particular model apart. Only 64 Super M-VTA tractors were built. Out of those 64 tractors, 44 of them used gasoline. This tractor is one of those 44 gasoline-burning Super M-VTAs built.

Based on the serial number and information from the IH Archives, we believe this tractor was built in the last month of production, October of 1954. Our best guess is that this was the 2nd to last Super M-VTA (gas) ever built.

Not much is known about this tractor’s path from the factory to restoration. We suspect it was a southern tractor, used in farming tobacco or cotton. By the time it was picked up for restoration, it was in rough shape.

The hardest part of the restoration project was the hood – it arrived at the shop without one. Because this particular model’s hood was longer than the standard, it was hard to locate a restorable hood for this model. Eric located one but it was in rough shape. More than 50 hours of work went into this piece of sheet metal alone – and it looks great! If you didn’t know the story, you’d never suspect the hood ever had any repairs.

With so few tractors like this made, information on the correct details is hard to come by – and parts are even harder to find. Experts at the IH Archives and the Red Power Magazine helped with research. By the time he was through, Eric had completed an incredibly detailed restoration – right down to the original hardware, radiator shutters, wiring harness, fuel line, manifold cover, and correct tires. Eric had help in this restoration from the tractor’s previous owner, Dale Smith of OEM parts, who had started the restoration process and custom fabricated many of the parts before he passed away.

As you can see from the pictures, the crowning glory of this restoration job is the perfect paint. Shuster’s Tractor Restoration really outdid themselves on this project, using 11 gallons of Iron Guard 2150 paint.

What a beauty! This tractor will be on display and offered for sale at the Mecum Gone Farmin’ Auction in Davenport, IA in just a few weeks. Thanks, Eric, for sharing your story with us – well done!