manufacture year doesn't match with features

I'm restoring a F20 serial #FA76875 (stamped on frame and motor block) which has the electrical system of an "M" on it(lights, starter,alternator,ect,). I thought that these features were only introduced the last year the F20's were manufactured.
 
I believe the lights , and starter were optional for several years, but not standard equipment.
There was a cutout relay equipped generator system that was a part of that option setup. Alternators were not because they were not available until the late 1950s because the diode technology had not been mature enough to allow their construction. Jim
 
IH never offered a starter for a 20,that is aftermarket.The other stuff could have been options,but not an alternator(didn't exist then).My guess is that some former owner later installed these 'improvements'.All lot can happen in 70+ years....BTW,Leave that stuff on!!Do not remove it just because its "not factory".Those improvements are unusual,most people dont know those things.Makes a better showpiece,too.
 
(quoted from post at 09:24:47 12/30/12) IH never offered a starter for a 20,that is aftermarket.The other stuff could have been options,but not an alternator(didn't exist then).My guess is that some former owner later installed these 'improvements'.All lot can happen in 70+ years....BTW,Leave that stuff on!!Do not remove it just because its "not factory".Those improvements are unusual,most people dont know those things.Makes a better showpiece,too.

No to mention it could have been an IH approved "field improvement package."
 
heres the skinny on what you have.

Starter setup. if its a starter bolted onto the bellhousing under the left side frame rail its a Heisler setup. if it bolts on the fornt of the motor and has a gear on the crank pulley, i beleive those were sold by sear and roebuck. this style is very rare. IHC NEVER made a starter setup for the F-20 OR the F-30 period. Only F series with a factory supplied starter is the F-12/14

Alternators were not introduced until the '06 series in 1963

Lighting.......factory lighting kits were available from IHC at the factory for ALL F series tractors. If you ordered this kit it would have an 'inline' generator between the gov housing and the magneto. the magneto was moved farther back on the engine and had a special mount. Most after market companies used a generator that looks exactly like an H or an M. Hesiler made a bracket that bolted the generatoron the side of the head above #1 spark plug. there is another company that made brackets that bolt on the framerail and the generator mounted there, but i cant recall the name of the company.

No field 'changeover' or 'update' was offered for lighting. many time people would round up parts f H's or M's and use them just like whats on your tractor. its not correct, but it works and thats what matters i fyou want to use it and play with it.

hope this hseds a little light on your question
 
There's absolutely nothing stopping a person from adding all those features. All it takes is enough money and time.
 
(quoted from post at 11:52:45 12/30/12)...
No field 'changeover' or 'update' was offered for lighting. many time people would round up parts f H's or M's and use them just like whats on your tractor. its not correct, but it works and thats what matters i fyou want to use it and play with it.

hope this hseds a little light on your question

Wouldn't H/M style parts be offered if the light kit was sold after 1940ish? I certainly don't think you are wrong, but that was their pattern.
 
As far as I know the first alternators available to the general public were on the 1960 Chrysler products--they were highly advertised as no one else had them. Not sure when IH began using them.
 
(quoted from post at 14:28:33 12/30/12)
(quoted from post at 11:52:45 12/30/12)...
No field 'changeover' or 'update' was offered for lighting. many time people would round up parts f H's or M's and use them just like whats on your tractor. its not correct, but it works and thats what matters i fyou want to use it and play with it.

hope this hseds a little light on your question

Wouldn't H/M style parts be offered if the light kit was sold after 1940ish? I certainly don't think you are wrong, but that was their pattern.


ive never seen any documentation anywhere for field kit for lights, or have ever heard of anyone with such. one thing they have in common was the steering post diameter is the same and the light bars go on with zero modifications. once someone does it and somebody else sees it its not hard to duplicate. also, those parts would have been very easily obtainable from a local dealer. combine no fab work and easy to get parts and i think you'll come up with somehthing thats lots of people ended up doing
 
I have found 2 references that say Chrysler was the first auto maker to go to all alternators in 1960. There had been industrial/fleet etc. usage before that.

Not surprisingly, a picture of a restored car with an alternator proves no more than a picture of a restored tractor with an alternator.
 
Could be, but at the time I was a die hard Plymouth fan, and with all the reading I did I think I would have known that. At the time I had a 54 Plymouth, got a new 1963 Plymouth Valiant with the alternator. It might be that the Plymouth in the link was like some of the tractors in that the alternator was added. I will still vote for 1960, but I have no proof.
 
Since your tractor was made in 1937 and the letter series came out in 1939 it is not much of a stretch for a previous owner to have the letter series lights installed. As mentioned before the Heisler set up for the starter & generator were still prevalent and easy to obtain, and I am sure by 1939 the older style IHC style in-line generator & lighting attachment were getting scarce due to dealers re-stocking for the new letter series parts. I doubt they even stocked lighting attachments for the F20, outside of a factory option, they were special order only, and expensive.
If you like it, then definitely keep it. There are no set rules that apply to attachments, dealer or owner installed.
 
I did some looking on Google. Buried in the link it says that Chrysler sold the first alternators to the public in 1960. It also said that some police cars had them earlier -- so maybe we are both right.
alternators
 
My 300, yes the one in the shop re: earlier posts, has a motor without a dipstick, exhaust manifold doesn't match parts diagrams on line, so does it belong in a 300 or is it a Super H motor. Doesn't make much difference to me other than needing parts. As long as it does what I need it to do that's all that concerns me. Your opinion may differ.
 
Everybody is getting so hot and bothered over this "alternator."

Could it be that the OP meant *GENERATOR* and simply mistyped? Not everyone knows the difference.
 
Thanks F-20! You have done more research than most on the F series. It is always good to read what you know.

Matt, I thought the same thing on gen vs alt...
 
(quoted from post at 10:40:26 12/31/12) Everybody is getting so hot and bothered over this "alternator."

Could it be that the OP meant *GENERATOR* and simply mistyped? Not everyone knows the difference.

Add to that the fact that DelcoRemy didn't use the term alternator. They referred to them as A C Generators.
 
(quoted from post at 06:30:11 12/31/12) My 300, yes the one in the shop re: earlier posts, has a motor without a dipstick, exhaust manifold doesn't match parts diagrams on line, so does it belong in a 300 or is it a Super H motor. Doesn't make much difference to me other than needing parts. As long as it does what I need it to do that's all that concerns me. Your opinion may differ.

Early F300 tractors didn't come with a dipstick. See if the block casting # above the oil filter end with R1. Parts diagrams on line may show the last manifold casting IH made that would replace a F300 manifold. If so its not the one that came on the tractor.
Looked at the online picture. Gas manifold pictured was used on F350 tractors starting at serial # 705 on up. It become the replacement for a F300 manifold. F300 started dipsticks at tractor serial # 9338 or engine serial # 9341.
 
(quoted from post at 07:58:47 12/31/12) Thanks F-20! You have done more research than most on the F series. It is always good to read what you know.


thanks!

i mostly collect pre 39 but i do have a number of tractors from 400/450 era up through the 06's


ive got tons of literature, books and service bulletins for pre 39 stuff and thats where i retrieve info from
 

We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today.

Back
Top