There should be an aluminum plate on the left side on the bell housing, with the serial number stamped in it. Super H's were only made in '53,and '54. If it is in fact a Super H, there should be a C-164 cast into the block, designating the 164 cu. in. engine. If it has a C-152, then it is more than likely a regular H.

Had to blow the picture up, but it appears to have a Delco conversion distributor in it. So if it needs, or you want to do a tune-up on it, you'll need to go to an auto parts store, and get a contact point/condenser set, and distributor cap for an early 60's vintage Chevy 153 4 cylinder engine.

Since it has a 12V battery, since I can't see the left side, I'll assume they've put an alternator on it. You could take it to a starter/generator shop, and have it tested to see if it works. The simplest alternator to use, is a single wire GM alternator. They have a built in regulator, and only require 1 wire, which you would run to the post on the starter.

If it still has a generator, more than likely it needs rebuilt, and new voltage regulator. The 6V starter will work with the 12V battery, just don't grind on it too long, to try and start it. If the battery cables have been replaced with lighter 4 ga. cables, that's more than likely why they put a 12V battery on it. A 6v system requires at least 1/0 cables to handle the amps.

The 3 pt conversion looks fairly new, and that alone is worth in the neighborhood of $800-$1300 alone, depending on the brand. And that's minus the cylinder, drawbar, and hose. They're not perfect geometry wise, but do work decent. Had one on an M I had 30 years ago. They are limited to what they can pick up, as the OEM hydraulic pump only produces approx. 800-850 psi. if the pump is working properly. And, it will be somewhat slow. The tractor does not have live hydraulics, so the 3 pt. will only work to lift with the clutch engaged. It is controlled by the rod, going to a lever on the side of the torque tube, where the belly hydraulic pump is located, to the right setting in the seat. It should have 3 positions, pullback to lift, all the way forward to drop, and midway, should be a nub on the rod, that catches on like a flat spring steel piece, for the hold position.

I'd highly suggest a set of sway bars, or chains to limit the lift arms side motion. Even with a 3 pt. blade set at an angle, it will pull it off to one side. Something like a rotary cutter will slam to one side, when making a turn, especially on a slight side slope. And, if your plans are to use a rotary cutter behind it, some weight on the front isn't a bad idea. These tractors were designed to be used with drawn, on mounted implements, not 3 pt.

The gauges not working could be more than several things. There should only be an amp gauge, and oil pressure gauge. As far as the amp gauge, depends on what has been done to the electrical system. If it still has the OEM generator, more than likely it needs rebuilt, plus an new voltage regulator, or simply, just a new VR. If it's been converted to an alternator, they've bypassed the amp meter, and wired directly to the starter post, as mentioned above.

Oil pressure gauge could be a couple things. The small line plugged with sludge, or just a bad gauge. Easiest way to find out, if loosen the small line where it attaches to the block, and see if it leaks oil when running. If it does, you can disconnect the line at both ends, and spray carb./brake cleaner through it to clean. Maybe a good shot where the line attaches to the gauge to clean that in there. Then reconnect, and see if the gauge works. If not, depending on how particular you are, you can get a replacement gauge, that uses a pressure line to operate, at an auto parts store. I haven't bought one for years, but most came with adapters to connect to several different sized lines. Case/IH does not offer gauges, but there are a multitude of aftermarket one's out there. I've seen good, and bad reviews on one's from even the more popular aftermarket vendors.

Overall, that tractor looks to be in good shape. Tires look to be decent shape, unless cracked, or weather checked. That in itself is worth quite a bit, with the price of new tires in todays world.

Here is a lube chart for an H, and Super H that might help you out on drain/fill locations, and the amount it takes. It also shows lube points for grease zerks. If you plan on keeping it, or just not sure about working on these older tractors, I'd suggest getting an operator's manual, and service manual. An I&T brand service manual would be the least expensive. Not the best, but will give you specs for tune-up, and various adjustments. An Op. manual will give you a lot of info on periodic maintenance. I've found ebay to be a good source of buying manuals.

Here's the lube chart. If you have a printer, after opening the attachment, you can print it off to a full sized sheet of printer paper. Handy to print off, and put in a service manual.

 

Hi jerlom

click on this link and scroll to the bottom

https://www.tractordata.com/farm-tractors/000/2/9/290-farmall-h.html for some information on ID numbers and year

 

Thank you for the very comprehensive reply. I will check these things out for sure. And probably have more questions as a result.

My goal here is to be able to run a log splitter and a brush hog on a field I have, then hopefully with any luck plant on it.

It might be asking a lot of an old machine but I refuse to buy a new one if I can avoid it.

 

That tractor doesn't have a lot of hyd. pressure to run a splitter, unless you have a huge diameter cylinder. Dad solved that problem by running a hydraulic pump with the PTO. Even with a newer tractor, I doubt I'd run a splitter off a tractors hydraulics. I worked with a guy who did that with his 2520 Deere years ago, and within 3-4 years, the hydraulic pump needed rebuilt, as it started leaking where it goes together. Plus the fact on any tractor that happens to, the tractor is down, until the pump is repaired, and put back in service. JMO...

 

That's a good point. The field is more important, the splitter was more for fun since I don't own one of those either.

 

Some more photos,
Is it save to assume i have a 41 or 42 distillate engine?
would it be possible to put a distillate header on a gas engine and thats what ive got?


Missing my choke tube! Unsure what’s happening here with the 12v conversion. Likely incomplete.

 

According to the serial number, the tractor is a '41 H, so it's not a Super H. Pretty sure the gasoline, and distillate engine are the same, what I'm not seeing is an extra gas cap, or smaller tank to start on gas, then switch to distillate after it reaches operating temp. Also pretty sure distillate models have shutters in front of the radiator, to help warm the engine temperature up, to the point of switching to distillate.

The choke lever is there, what's missing is the choke rod, that should run back to the operator's station.

I'm also not seeing the resistor, to drop the 12 volt, to 6 volt ahead of the coil. Here is a link to Tractor Supply showing a resistor for reference only. https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/ford-electric-resistors The resistor should be inline, between the wire coming from the light switch, and coil. If you have a volt meter, check to see how many volts you have coming to the coil. You can also check for voltage coming out of the coil, putting it on the post going to the distributor, and grounding out to the block, to see if the coil is even working., basically looking for current going to the distributor.

Could be a previous owner just stuck a 12V battery in it, and the system is still the original 6V generator, starter, and coil. If they did that, without putting a resistor before the coil, it's probably toast. If they did put a 12V coil on it, more than likely the points and condenser are burned up. Even newer tractors with a 12V system, wiring is designed to give 12V to points for start-up when the switch is in the starting position, then goes to 6V when in the run position to extend contact points life.

Seeing the model year of the tractor, and Delco conversion distributor, that tractor more than likely came out with a magneto, and was converted to a distributor system. Along with that, the generator had a cut out, not a regulator, as it appears to be on it now. If the voltage regulator you have on it now, has 4 posts coming off of it, 3 on one side, one on the other, they have also converted it to a standard VR.

Just need to look it over, and see what they have, and have not done. I'd first check for current to the coil, then voltage to coil. If you don't have a volt meter, a simple test light will tell you that. A digital voltmeter isn't that expensive if you don't. Both of these tools are almost a must have to resolve wiring issues. A test light to do a quick check for current, the volt meter to check voltage. You can also switch the VM to Ohms, to check for continuity, tracing wires that may not be connected to anything.

If it were me, I'd have to look inside the light switch/amp/voltage meter box on the steering post, and see/check the wiring, and see where they picked up current, to go to the coil. There are scads of wiring diagrams for the Farmall H online if you don't have a manual. That's why I keep my computer, and printer for such things. I print off the wiring diagram, and have a hard copy in front of me to repair/replace them. I've totally replaced the wiring on my Farmall 130 & 140 from scratch, from a 12V hack job, back to the OEM 6V system. A little time consuming, but not that tough to do.

 

That's why I keep my computer

I'd of sworn it was for saving my bacon and preventing me from buying a bunch of the wrong parts! I appreciate the reply.