As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
I have had a love affair with the appreciation of the durability Farmall tractors which literally transformed America. Yes those John Deere things are around, but they were just iron with an engine, while a Farmall was something designed to do almost everything so you did not work yourself to death and these gems did not nickle and dime you to death like a Ford would or not be up the job and break like an Allis Chalmers does.
That is why when I started asking God about tractors for the end of the world preparation, I turned to the Farmalls. I had experience with them and honestly my old man never took care of anything and his tractors ran in starting even if you had to pull them.
That is why with all of you being so evil in this evil time unleashed it has been hard for me to deal with the Farmalls we acquired would not run. I have never experienced this before as my old man abused things, but these people with satan have created a new form of abuse.
The H tractor which is my personal favorite has about 28 horsepower. It is a small tractor and this is what it has:
It has a belly pump for hydraulics to lift things via cylinder.
A PTO to run implements off it like mowers.
A belt drive pulley (This I need to find in the gears) so I can run a buzz saw.
A drawbar to pull things.
A frame to mount things on like loaders and cultivators.
What the Farmalls did not have is a 3 point rear system to lift like Ford and Allis Chalmers have. That is the only thing which was a mistake in the creation of these tractors.
The one we got was 500 dollars, parked in a shed with a John Deer #5 sickle mower. It was evil against us, as this thing would not fire.
I put in gas, and the gas ran out, as the float and needle valve were wore.
Changed spark plugs and nothing.
Tried to pull it as they always start and nothing.
Ordered a Chinese carb kit by mistake as the Chinaman fooled me in being in America, and that was a piece of shit, so used part of the carb kit leftover from the Super M project and it still would not fire.
So started on the points, condenser and rotor. Wrong parts. Told to get the number off the distributor which was a Delco as it was upright and not horizontal like a Farmall.
Got the new parts and still the wrong parts, so back to town on 3rd trip dealing with that shit.
So put in the condensor I had in there as that one was right and now have the other one sitting here. Put in the points, which are more stupidity in there are two spring arms, metal steel and copper, and a little tongue of fiber to put grease on which is supposed to lubricate the cam when it spins so the rest does not wear off the points.
Set them at .20 inches and spun the engine over. They opened and closed and as I had JYG's junk yard battery charger hooked up, cost 10 bucks as I needed a 6 volt charger, and got the battery charged up again. Put it all together and decided to turn it over with the switch on as nothing runs when I do that, and by the time I figured out on the second time over it had blown the can off the muffler (keeps rain out of the engine) the H was purring literally and running quiet as a mouse.
I was pleased and stunned after all the problems for 4 months. I have no idea as I took all the connections loose before and shined all parts up, so it would seem the points which seemed ok in still being there were the problem.
As it was running, ran when I opened her up, bit was not liking low idle, I plan to have the Tractor Whisper look at it as it is easier to do things with a tractor running than a lawn ornament.
The H is an economical gas tractor to run. Once they are convinced to be alive, they stay living and almost will never die. I was really pleased in this tractor showed no smoke and the engine seemed really tight, as in I will not have plugs fouling and not need an overhaul probably ever as this is going to be for mowing hay, raking and the buzz saw, which is not any heavy load at all.
I'm totally in love with this little tractor now. She is small and it was the first tractor I did most of my farm kid stuff on in raking and pulling. The old man traded ours for a Super H, which was a good tractor too. Is a bit more horsepower, but the Super has live hydraulics meaning when you push the clutch in you can still lift things. The H you have to shift back into gear for lifting things which is something done in sickle mowing hay.
This has about a 15 gallon tank. I used to mow hay, three notches from wide open all day, and just add 10 gallons the next day and do it all over again. That is a great deal of work for 30 dollars in gas in today's prices.
These tractors have no computers so nothing to fry. They were built idiot proof for idiot children of ignorant farmers, and they were pretty indestructible. Someone though broke the frame by the radiator on this one and welded it and may have broke the drawbar and welded a heavy chunk of reinforcement on it, otherwise it is our little kitten now and will never be abused again.
I have to go through and drain the rear end, put in new oil and check it out now that it is running, but this tractor was only used for mowing hay by the people who had it, and it has not mowed hay for 10 years.
By the sounds she was making, she is in love with me and I can tell. She is glad to have TLC and be home till Jesus comes back.
I know people like the Mulberry Lady, Maine Guy and Gun Guy have things and know things, but for those who are wondering.........sure if you are like all the rich donors and can drop 5 to 12 thousand on a Kubota or John Deere, for a garden rig, go right ahead. For poor people though there are still H tractors around. By God's Grace this one was offered to me and I had no idea it was there. Kid wanted to get rid of it, as he could not get it started, and that is the beauty of this Farmall as like old Ford's and Chevy's you got spark and gas. It is either or , or both which is the problem. No computers, not injectors, not shit so you can not see the engine. There are videos and still oldsters around who can get things running. This H was in Lazarus shape though in the carb and points, but again, as long as you do not do it on the lawn where you lose parts (being poor I put down a bedspread to catch any mistakes and work inside on things I take off) you do not need to be a genius on this stuff. Every community usually has someone like Bugsy, the Tractor Whisperer etc... in them who are not complete head up their ass shit for brains who can walk people through things as they do know how to maintain these tractors.
Here is one though in I was talking to the Whisperer and he said there was this kid, who overhauled a B John Deere. Took the oil pump out, but there are some kind of keys or something in there. The kid's fell out. He would not listen, kept running the tractor and it went without oil so he brought ruin to the engine. Carbs and points are not ruining an engine and either it will run or not, but the point in this which I'm making is, once you see what is going on, get acquainted with a Farmall, the behave nicely in trying to run for you.
I'm planning on trying to sell the WD 45 with loader, and the 3 point I put on it, so acquire another H, which I intend to put on a 3 point after market and use that for gardening. It is a bit much for their limited hydraulics like a WD in running a cylinder and a 3 point. The Allis has no hydraulics on it, just the 3 point. You didn't really get into a serviceable all around tractor until the 350 and 450 series of Farmalls. They have single, double hoses plus a two point quick hitch, but for me they clatter to much and will ruin your hearing under full load. International did not rectify that until the advent of the 560 series as those engines just purr like this H does.
Yeah I can talk tractors for hours, old tractors. I dislike this new computer chit as it is not going to be running 100 years from now and there will still be H tractors running. The only thing I dislike is falling in love with a tractor and I will be restoring it more and that costs money, as I got this girl to end the expense of eating chainsaw blades and getting food for the animals easy.
Yes she still needs help as the calcium chloride they put in the one tire for weight in pulling, started leaking out, and ate the hub and was leaking when we pulled it home, so that means a new hub, tire and tube........expensive in the 900 dollar range which sucks in a 500 dollar tractor with a mower, but maybe I can find used things and go from there. That tube might run 20 years with that booted old tire or it could go tits up tomorrow. Put enough expense in that Super MTA which is a fine tractor now in running to and will stay running. Just need to switch out the regulator as JYG thought the battery was draining because the point was stuck in it and he is probably right.
These tractors running should price at about 500 to 1200 dollars. Yes on Craigslist you always have some prices in the thousands, but you can also find them not priced like gold too. I know my neighbor has two parked in a shed, never uses them. Other neighbor has a 400 with a stuck engine that I might connive to get out of him, as long as the block or head is not cracked, you just put in penetrating oil in the spark plug holes, let it set, and then jack up one rear tire, put it in reverse and see if you can get it unstuck that way. It is heavy, takes some work, but for all the tractors I see listed with stuck motors, as long as the engine is sound, that is not the bugaboo, especially if you have someone who can work on them cheap as implement dealers are 150 an hour now and you do not want that kind of charge.
So anyway you probably got some pointers in this meandering saga and my plotting to get sister to this H for gardening when the budget allows. I just know I will be an expert in this crap before this is over, and I will be getting more shit that does not run, and then being a Tractor Whisperer and having love affairs with all of those raised from the dead cast metal sirens too.
The little H is alive and I'm so very pleased as Sandy's husband knows how to breathe life into these things, but this was my first resurrection from the dead.
Nuff Said
agtG
