140 options vs. date code

Hi,

I have an Int 140 with missing serial number. It has "D" date codes on the castings which would indicate 1958 or 1978. How can I know for sure? It has a 12v system and late model grille but also a pull-start and the older cartridge style oil filter. Found a numbe stamped on the right side of engine 68068. Any thoughts. Thank you.

If the stamped number you found is the engine number and it is still in the original tractor, it was assembled in August 1958. The serial number would have been 1,100 plus or minus a hundred or so.

A 1958 model should be 6 Volt and should have a "560" style grille, though. The later style hood and grille didn't start until 1962 or 1963.

In order for it to be a 1958 with the later style hood and a 12V system, someone would have had to gone to a lot of work and expense to get it there. Could be a tree fell on it and the insurance paid for the repairs, for all we know. Normal farmers don't buy new sheet metal when the old gets damaged. They just bang it out as straight as they can and hang it back on.

It would be interesting to know the history of the tractor.

I have seen several early model 140s that had the later model grill. I suppose the original grill got smashed and in later years, when you went
to IH for a new one they sold you the new version.

And so many tractors have been converted to 12v that it is meaningless as an indicator of when one was built.

[quote="Jim Becker"I'll post some photos when I get a chance.

What kind of front wheels,,the 1978 would have the solid rims,,the 1958 would have the front wheels like a Super A.

(quoted from post at 20:19:17 06/30/16) What kind of front wheels,,the 1978 would have the solid rims,,the 1958 would have the front wheels like a Super A.

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epended on tire size, not year.

This tractor is very new to me as are Internationals in general. Here are some photos. Front tires are 5-15 and rear 11-24.

If you casting code is a "D" you probably have a 1958. I believe the casting codes started over in 1977 with "A" which would make "D" casting a 1980. Unfortunately last year of production for the 140 was 1979.
You can google "farmall casting codes" for list of years and dates.

Also you have a cartridge style oil filter and the later year models were the "spin-on" oil filter. Also the later year models had a key start switch with a solenoid instead of the push ON-OFF switch and a starter "pull to crank" rod. The later year models had caution flashers mounted on the fenders so you should have at least the mounting holes for flasher brackets. The caution flashes might possible been an option but all later model 140 in my part of the country had them installed.


You might want to look at the casting codes on torque tube and final drives and see what is stamped to them. Since the 140 series parts were so interchangeable it is possible to find tractors that all the casting dates are off by years on several different casting. The overall condition is of the tractor in most people eyes more important than the precise year made.

BMD

I'm pretty sure now that it is a 1958. Does it look like it has original sheet metal or does it look like someone changed the sheet metal when they added the late model grill?

Changing the grille requires changing the grille support (the sheet metal housing that covers the radiator and holds the grille). The hood would be the same either way, except that the early style would have had stamped aluminum name plates on each side of the hood. Yours now has the name stickers like the later style tractors.

Other smaller sheet metal parts had minor changes to go with the 12-volt equipment. Looks like you have the earlier version of those parts. By the way, there was originally a battery box that totally enclosed the battery. The box also served to brace the instrument panel/steering support. Without that support, the panel can flex forward/backward which affects both the speed and hydraulic position settings.

(quoted from post at 21:16:07 06/29/16) If the stamped number you found is the engine number and it is still in the original tractor, it was assembled in August 1958. The serial number would have been 1,100 plus or minus a hundred or so.

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I saw another post here where someone stated that 140 s/n 501 started with engine s/n 65046. Is there a list online which shows engine S/n vs tractor s/n? If the engine on my 140 is s/n 68068, then would the tractor s/n be 3022+501=3503? That would make it a 1959 with all D castings. Or did engine s/n progression not track with tractor s/n progression?

I guess I'm trying to figure out the tractor s/n with some certainty.

You've got a 1958 tractor with 1978(ish) sheet metal on it.

The oil fill location almost threw me, but then I remembered that is the correct location on a 240, which has the same engine as a 140.

There is no resource online of engine vs. tractor serial numbers that I am aware of. It wasn't perfectly linear, but you probably aren't far off in your extrapolation.

These early 140s are interesting. I rebuilt the distributor this winter and found it is an "X" distributor. At first I thought someone had put the wrong dist on the tractor because the parts manual calls out an AB without exception. However the I&T shop manual states that 140 tractors with engine S/N prior 73050 should have an X marked dist.

Another thing I discovered is that while the owner's manual states to adjust tappet clearance to .014 int and .020 exh, the service manual purchased from this site calls out .014 both int & exh for engines s/n prior 95097.

I followed what the shop and service manuals say to do. What I don't understand is why it makes a difference if technically they use the same valve and rocker parts. Also what performance difference would the advance of an AB dist make relative to an X dist.

As I already said, your serial number is somewhere around 1,100, nowhere near 3,500. As ByE said, the 123 engine was shared with the F-240 and I-240U. The total of all three tractor models put together would have been somewhere around 3,000 when your engine was installed.

The Historical Society has a lot (but not all) monthly serial number lists. These give the number of the first tractor each month and some years give the first engine number as well. That is where I got the range around 1,100. That is all that is available unless some 140 collector has collected his own tractor to engine list and has several entries from the month your tractor was built.

The X distributor has a 30 degree advance, the AB has 22. They probably made the change to eliminate detonation or some similar problem. The valve lash setting could have been to compensate for a compression ratio increase, a discovered heat related issue or who knows what. I thought there was some change to the engine to up the power somewhere around that engine number.

(quoted from post at 15:32:53 01/31/17) As I already said, your serial number is somewhere around 1,100, nowhere near 3,500. As ByE said, the 123 engine was shared with the F-240 and I-240U. The total of all three tractor models put together would have been somewhere around 3,000 when your engine was installed.

The Historical Society has a lot (but not all) monthly serial number lists. These give the number of the first tractor each month and some years give the first engine number as well. That is where I got the range around 1,100. That is all that is available unless some 140 collector has collected his own tractor to engine list and has several entries from the month your tractor was built.

The X distributor has a 30 degree advance, the AB has 22. They probably made the change to eliminate detonation or some similar problem. The valve lash setting could have been to compensate for a compression ratio increase, a discovered heat related issue or who knows what. I thought there was some change to the engine to up the power somewhere around that engine number.

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Thanks....I didn't think about the fact that the 240 shared the C-123.