Farmall H Serial Number Help

Barbaralynn

New User
I am trying to figure out the year of our two Farmall H tractors. Either I do not understand how to use the tables in another section of this site or I am not reading something correctly on the ID plate.
One serial number is FBH 47523
The other is FBH 358814 X
 
The numbers listed are the first of that year. Your number should fall between two "set" numbers(unless really lucky), making the tractor the lower year.
 
(quoted from post at 10:27:10 04/05/15) The numbers listed are the first of that year. Your number should fall between two "set" numbers(unless really lucky), making the tractor the lower year.

It's kind of a "greater than" but "less than" thing.
 
47523 is late 1940.
358814 is 1951. The X is likely X1, meaning a gasoline only engine, the X can have several numbers following it. If it is not X1, post it and we can tell you. 47523 was probably made to run on kerosene or distillate. It also runs ok on gasoline
 
(quoted from post at 13:50:08 04/05/15) 47523 is late 1940.
358814 is 1951. The X is likely X1, meaning a gasoline only engine, the X can have several numbers following it. If it is not X1, post it and we can tell you. 47523 was probably made to run on kerosene or distillate. It also runs ok on gasoline

I think I can see a 1 after the X. The tractor did run on gas.
 
Youmight be interested, you can tell the exact date the various heavy cast iron parts were cast in the foundry; look, you will find various 1/2" x 3" labels that were cast into the iron, the labels held in place with flat-end screws; such as *4*12*H*. That stands for April 12, 1938. The H designates 1938. IH began the system with A in 1931, I believe. For 1951, you ought to find *xx*xx*U* or possibly *xx*xx*W*. For some reason IH used two letters U and W for 1951. I think.
 
Uhmm, i got a 51 M,the left axle housing is a U, and the right is a W, and everything else is a W. Or else the guy putting the date code in there, didn't have 20-20 vision.
 
I have an early 1951 Farmall M with T, U, and W cast codes and since it is a family tractor we know it is correct. The engine has a late T coded block, a couple items with January U codes but mostly are W codes in late January, February and early March as it was a factory complete tractor the first week of April 1951 from data I was provided from the IHC original factory records. I think they stopped the U codes and didn't use a V code as they looked to similar when the letters was cast with the part and just jumped to the W code in early 1951 for clarity, Hal.
 
My Farmall M is somewhat earlier in 1951 as it's s/n is 253850X1 so it's major build was in the first quarter of the year, hence the mixture of three different cast codes. I would guess all of yours are for the most part "W" codes, Hal.
 
Found U codes on 51 castings on M tractors up to the 4th or 5th month. Cant remember seeing any after April or early may but could be. Example, tractor serial 274009X1, engine 7-20-W, engine head 7-26-W, Upper bolster 7-26-W, lower bolster 6-20-51, RT. front wheel 6-7-W, LT. front wheel 6-5-W, transmission housing 4-30-U, Rt. axle housing 7-6-W, LT. axle housing ?-?-W. Rt. rear wheel 2-28-U, Lt. rear wheel 3-7-U, Pulley gear box 7-11-W. Center housing 3-7-U.
 

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