Original or pieced together tractor?

Yooper Farmall · Nov 5, 2010

I am in the process of rebuilding my recently aquired 41H. Last week we installed high top pistons and installed the head last night. I"m thinking that as early as 1941, the engine serial number should match the tractor serial number but this what I found.

On the bell housing tag:
H FBH 79681

Stamped on the engine below the spark plugs:
49622

Given the chart below, could I guess the tractor is a "41 but the engine is a 1940? The bell housing tag also mentions 1800rpm"s was that standard or did some say 1600rmps?

Year Starting Serial Number
1939 501
1940 10653
1941 52387
1942 93237
1943 122091

Thoughts?

old · Nov 5, 2010

This is just an educated guess but when ever it got close to the end of the year and they had an engine or to left over you could end up with a 1940 engine in a 1941 frame plus in 1940 and 1941 things where changing fast because of WW2 and all and many things got done different for a bit

rustyfarmall · Nov 5, 2010

Most likely it is a pieced together tractor, or at least the engine is not original to the rest of the tractor. My 1940 H has matching engine and chassis serial numbers, as does my 1940 M, and also my 1950 H.

mkirsch · Nov 5, 2010

Engine and chassis serial numbers may not have matched in 1941, but they were certainly closer together than THAT...

IMHO, nothing to lose sleep over.

D Slater · Nov 5, 2010

Lots of IH tractor parts books say in the front pages that no attempt was made to match chassis and engine serial numbers. Not so with H tractor parts book, they indicate that both match.
Off the top of head I think the no load high idle speed is 1815 RPM and 1650 RPM under full load.

Dave H (MI) · Nov 5, 2010

When you rebuild a tractor and every piece you take out of it has an inventory code written in grease pencil THEN you will have a pieced together tractor. I wouldn't let it get me too worked up.

Yooper Farmall · Nov 5, 2010

Sounds like a 1941 H tractor should still match, maybe the tractors after the war got off a little as they started making more engines than tractors. Either way, in this case the engine number appears to be lower than the tractor, and given that they surly made more engines than tractors, this must be a replacment engine. No worries, I"ll enjoy it as much either way!

Farmallhal · Nov 5, 2010

I have two Farmall H's, one a 1951 s/n 374---X1 and a 1952 s/n 389---X1 and both engine s/n's match the chassis s/n's. As I recall I think the engine s/n's have the alpha letter "M" as part of the prefix to the s/n and might stand for "motor". I believe the H is one of the few IHC tractors where the s/n's originally matched throughout production. I don't know how the stationary engines or replacement engines were stamped as I haven't been inquisive enough to find out. Maybe someone will respond with the s/n of a stand alone H engine or powerplant with how they are identified. This would be a good post for Guy Fay, Jim Becker, Bermudaken or another IHC historian to chime in on, Hal.

TomH in PA · Nov 5, 2010

Whether the numbers match or not they're 65+ years old. The mismatch is just something to talk about when you show it to people.

sd pete · Nov 5, 2010

What difference does it make. Its 70 years old.

soybeanjoe · Nov 5, 2010

I wouldn't sweat it. I have a 53 SM that according to the serial # was built in mid March of '53. Almost all the major castings have '52 codes. I bought the tractor from a friend who was the 2nd owner , he bought it at the original owners sale when it was 2 yrs old and he says that he got the original bill of sale when he bought the tractor & it listed it as a '53 & serial # was the same as the plate.

36F30 · Nov 6, 2010

(quoted from post at 21:26:00 11/05/10) I wouldn't sweat it. I have a 53 SM that according to the serial # was built in mid March of '53. Almost all the major castings have '52 codes. I bought the tractor from a friend who was the 2nd owner , he bought it at the original owners sale when it was 2 yrs old and he says that he got the original bill of sale when he bought the tractor & it listed it as a '53 & serial # was the same as the plate.

model years changed November 1st with IH's fiscal year, casting codes are the date of casting. your 53 was assembled in March of components cast in 52 for the 53 model.

soybeanjoe · Nov 7, 2010

That was what I was trying to point out to the original poster. Just because the casting codes don't have the same dates, or even yrs, doesn't mean that they were not original to the tractor. I tjink my '53 SM is an excellent example of that. Virtually all major castings, including the engine, have '52 castings but serial# plate and the original sale bill shows that it is a '53. Most people would look at the castings & think it was a '52.

Actually, it would be worth more to me if it was a '52. I'm been trying to find a '52 to finish oput my SM collection but haven't had any luck. Seems I can find all kinds of '53 Stage 1s but not a '52

Original or pieced together tractor?

Yooper Farmall

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old

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rustyfarmall

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mkirsch

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D Slater

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Dave H (MI)

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Yooper Farmall

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Farmallhal

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TomH in PA

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sd pete

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soybeanjoe

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36F30

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soybeanjoe

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