'44 H (yes, that's me in the photo too)
With thanks to those here who offered advice in what to look for as well as what to look out for, and for even providing a few leads, I finally found an H that came close to fitting the budget that "will do". No, it isn't pretty, but after getting the old gas out of it and getting the points set from the roughly .100 some prior mekanik thot rite, to a more reasonable .020, cleaning plugs, setting plug gaps a bit larger (and getting the rain water out of #2 cyl), it started, put itself on a good neighbor's trailer, and followed us the 50 miles home.
The good: engine serial is 1 lower than the tag and all major castings look to be within +/- 1 month; it has lots of new bolts indicating that someone was in the process of making improvements; the clutch is smooth, the trany is quiet, the governor is responsive, brakes are smooth, even and have new return springs; the fronts are new, the 13.6 rears though old and checked are matched and ~70% tread, weighted and not loaded; the rims are in really good shape, the seat support has been rebuilt, gas tank is nearly rust free inside, it has the replacement gas cap, and the seller put on a good battery.
The indifferent: changed to 12V and key start; needs all fluids changed; has the OEM 2way hydraulic valve add-on, but it's disconnected (w/ports plugged), stuck and rod missing; home made snow blade is pretty rough.
The bad: the ignition key is missing (required 'pick' to get going); one bolt is broken out of a wheel clamp (others are all new bolts); someone cobbled a Delcotron on it (complete with a butchered hood clearance notch); choke rod is missing; it will need a replacement manifold (riser pipe rusted off & rust hole on engine side of #4 exh), PTO shaft needs replaced, PTO actuator lever welded on backwards and missing rod; pan seat has stress cracks; needs some wiring tweaks and a replacement headlight.
Can you believe that with all those flaws, the seller wouldn't budge from $800?? Me neither. *shrug* "It'll do".
With thanks to those here who offered advice in what to look for as well as what to look out for, and for even providing a few leads, I finally found an H that came close to fitting the budget that "will do". No, it isn't pretty, but after getting the old gas out of it and getting the points set from the roughly .100 some prior mekanik thot rite, to a more reasonable .020, cleaning plugs, setting plug gaps a bit larger (and getting the rain water out of #2 cyl), it started, put itself on a good neighbor's trailer, and followed us the 50 miles home.
The good: engine serial is 1 lower than the tag and all major castings look to be within +/- 1 month; it has lots of new bolts indicating that someone was in the process of making improvements; the clutch is smooth, the trany is quiet, the governor is responsive, brakes are smooth, even and have new return springs; the fronts are new, the 13.6 rears though old and checked are matched and ~70% tread, weighted and not loaded; the rims are in really good shape, the seat support has been rebuilt, gas tank is nearly rust free inside, it has the replacement gas cap, and the seller put on a good battery.
The indifferent: changed to 12V and key start; needs all fluids changed; has the OEM 2way hydraulic valve add-on, but it's disconnected (w/ports plugged), stuck and rod missing; home made snow blade is pretty rough.
The bad: the ignition key is missing (required 'pick' to get going); one bolt is broken out of a wheel clamp (others are all new bolts); someone cobbled a Delcotron on it (complete with a butchered hood clearance notch); choke rod is missing; it will need a replacement manifold (riser pipe rusted off & rust hole on engine side of #4 exh), PTO shaft needs replaced, PTO actuator lever welded on backwards and missing rod; pan seat has stress cracks; needs some wiring tweaks and a replacement headlight.
Can you believe that with all those flaws, the seller wouldn't budge from $800?? Me neither. *shrug* "It'll do".