WWII Farmall H

[bbranstetter]

Ah, come on. No thoughts on that at all? LOL. I know, need to get the engine kit ordered, been working 12hrs a day and just haven't gotten to the dealer yet

 

[mhomrighausen]

A #37 wheel disc. Only make sure to get one with the greaseable bearings otherwise if you've any sandy areas the non bearing disc will get sand into the grease area real quick. DTDT

 

[sblunier]

8-10 foot model 37......

 

[bbranstetter]

Sounds good. I'll be on the look out, thanks again!

 

[bbranstetter]

Warm weather if finally upon us so I've got a Farmall H project that is long over due. Here is a few progress pictures of the motor being torn down.

Pistons pushed right out for the most part.

Rods appear to be in good condition, will be getting them checked out though.

Crank shows some wear and the mains were too but I think the crank might be alright, probably not standard size but shouldn't need too much machining.

Next step will be to remove the sleeves and the cam bearings but before we get too wild might just as well measure the sleeves and see just what condition they are in. Never messed with cam bearings so looks like a call to the machine shop for advice.

 

[eford]

Glad to hear it Brian! A friend of mine redid his H a few years ago but sent the engine out to family for any machining and got it back completed.

 

[bbranstetter]

Figures. Get things rolling and been sick all the rest of the week, what a drag.

 

[bbranstetter]

O.K., back up and rolling along and feeling a lot better.

Dad and I managed to get the broken head studs out and the threads cleaned up and as of yesterday it was all dropped off at the machine shop. Ran into a small wrinkle when they looked at my cam shaft and said it needed to be cleaned up and they couldn't do that. Hum, thought this was a machine shop but I guess there are some things they won't do, so moving right along I just headed to the hardware store for some very fine steel wool and some oil. Cleaned up the lobes and found a few pits on the lower side of the lobe. They don't seem to be very deep and I'm talking about 10 thousands or less so I'm going to look at the condition of the lifters and make a decision on weather to replace the cam shaft, have the original fixed or use it as is. My guess is with a little tlc and careful cleaning and polishing that it is still in usable condition.

So tonight I'm planning on heading to CASE/IH and ordering my new piston and sleeve sets, the shop will need the wrist pins to size the rod bushings. It been a tough deciding on weather to make it original or go high compression but it's looking like 'fire crater' piston sets at this point and making it a gas motor. I suppose it could be put back if I really wanted to and had other tractors later down the line but it will be a lot more fun as a high compression motor with the 2-16's that will go behind it. The only thing left will be to find a gas head that is in good conditon so just need to get busy on that.

I've decided to go with CASE/IH parts. I know they don't make the parts any more but I would hope that this would be the best option for the best quality part. Lots of folks are using Tisco and I've heard mostly good things but for my first major project it seemed like a good idea to go as close to OEM as possible. Just hope this is a good decision and worth a few extra bucks.

 

[eford]

Your idea on the cam should work fine, a friend of mines dad has high compression pistons in his M and loves it, he does pulls and mowing with it. The tisco parts are fine, he and friends of mine with the letter series use them. I'm not surprised the shop wouldn't do your cam, I'd have to go down to Chicago to find one by me that does it all.

 

[bbranstetter]

Thanks Earl,

I think it will be o.k. even if it was worked hard. I'm going to spend some time making sure that there are no sharp edges around that area and that the lobes are polished clean again and I think that will be good enough.

 

[eford]

We used sand paper on the cam and crank of a 1000 ran fine for 5 years until we sold it, was rebuilt with wrong size parts. When your in junior high and have no money...
My buddies uncle did that on his w-6 in the 70's and it still runs fine, though it hasn't been used in real farming for 20 years. I like what your doing, I have a soft spot for H's, always liked them

 

[bbranstetter]

Good News from the machine shop! The block is clean and solid and the crank is usable and will be turned under as well as the rods are still in usable condition. Sweet!

Thanks Earl!

 

[bbranstetter]

Here are a few progress pictures. Had to stop by the machine shop and get the serial # for ordering engine parts. I was pretty impressed with the clean up!

Taking a ride to the engine shop with a few other projects.

After a little hot tank cleaning.

Nice Detail!

 

[kmcconaughey]

Brian, nice!

 

[bbranstetter]

Thanks Kraig,

Ordered the engine kit yesterday afternoon from Case/IH. Parts should be in by Monday or Tuesday which will allow the machine shop to size the rod bearings to the wrist pins. Still need to source a head this week or next so I can get that into the machine shop and get parts for it. Should be able to start reassembly in early April if all goes well.

 

[bbranstetter]

After talking to a few folks that work on engines they seem to feel that the cam shaft is good enough to get my H back into fighting shape! a little more polishing on the lobes and to the engine shop it goes! One problem solved and a few hundred more to go.

 

[bbranstetter]

Well a couple of big boxes showed up at Case/IH with sleeves, aluminum pistons, rings(Hastings at that), rod bushings and a seal kit. A buddy of mine is going to lend me his sand blast cabinet and I can get all the tin cleaned off so I should be good to go for awhile.

All that needs to be done now is figure out how to put the motor back together. Still have a lot of questions yet as I have never set a crank before in some thing this big nor have messed with a motor this big. Hum, lots to do and find out.

 

[bbranstetter]

Motor done! Just ordered the new expansion plugs for the block and will be headed to the farm tomorrow to put it back on the engine stand. Wish I could find a more comprehensive assembly manual. I have the factory manuals but those are written with a different audience in mind, someone who knows more than me. Are there any other good options out there? IT maybe or some thing similar?

 

[brhodes]

Brian, this past fall I went to visit my uncle who has some 19 Farmalls
Here is one thought you might like.
Sorry now I did not get a better shot.

Some of his others.

 

[bbranstetter]

Wow, Beautiful!! Thank you Bill.

I'm carefully reading my service manual this morning and looking for a place to buy plastigage, want to make sure this assembly goes right. Also, need to get the Mag, starter, and Generator sent out for rebuilding, got to find an electrical shop.