How are IHC B 414 tractors

im looking at a IHC B 414 tractor, i don't know alot about these guys The B series of IHC, are there any design flaws, common failures to watch out for ?

this tractor is a gas, bare tractor no loader. I see it has an external hydro pump for Three point hitch which i like, no need to split tractor if needs repair,

what is the history on these, how many produced?

how available are parts ??

thanks for any advice .

I've a 1962 model bought new by my father. used it to mower rake and bale for 10 years then just to rake and bale for another 10 and the last 26 years has just been a rake tractor. had 4600 hours on it in 1980 when the tach quit. parts replaced one clutch, one steering gear, one hydraulic pump two set of points and plugs(they been in for 20 years or so) and no more than four batteries. Live power with two stage clutch, good gear selection ,draft control and pos traction. in all a great little tractor wished it had power steering.

Kootenay Farmer: There is one problem developing, B stands for British as they were built in Great Britain. The problem lies with the gassers, world wide probably the gassers all came to North America. Even at that, 95% of the British tractors coming here were diesel. The net result probably less than 3% of these are gassers, and no one is manufacturing parts for that gas engine.

I too was looking at one of these about 3 months ago, and I got that same warning from several sources. I was told the diesel version is an excellent choice. If I think back to my farming days, most of the ones I saw new at dealers were diesel. I was buying Farmalls at the time, but I remember a B-275 or B-414 diesel were less money to buy new than a Farmall 140 or 240. They had live PTO and 35hp.

I'm told that Ontario was the only place world wide that these British IH 35 hp tractors actually out sold MF 35-135. Just from what I have seen since I moved here, I can believe that, but again the gassers are damn rare.

They are very rugged tractors and parts certainly ARE available. Gas engine parts not as common as diesel, but still can be found. Many parts that Case-IH sells over the counter are made by Mahindra Company. B-414 was built 1961 to 1966 and is an upgraded B-275. The B-414 was also still built new up to a few years ago with a few upgrades and sold under the Mahindra name. Same basic tractor with modern sheetmetal and a few refinements. One model was the Mahindra E40-DI which is basically a B-414 with a direct-injection engine stuck into it and most else the same.

B-414 gas engine is the BC-144. Also used in the B-275, 354, 364, 434,,3414, and 3444.

B-414 diesel is the BD154 and was used in even more IH tractor models.

In regard to the BC-144 gas engine, it takes the same sleeves as the BD-144 diesels and they sell them on this website. Engine gaskets are availablew aftermarket of direct from Case-IH.
Only oddities on the engine are two things. #1 the distributor. It's a British Lucas and same as used on some MG and Mini-Cooper cars. Parts are not a problem, you just have to know where to look.
#2 is the carburetor. It is a British Zenith and has nothing to do with the USA Zenith carb company. Same carb is used on many small British cars. I just bought one brand new for $150. Original is a British Zenith 30 mm model VN or VNN. One has an accelerator pump for easier cold-weather starting, and one does not. I'll add that there are many other 30 mm downdraft one-barrel carbs that fit; no big deal. Also, they sell repair kits for the VN or VNN carbs right here on this Website.
From what I've experienced, these tractors are usually great bargains. Live PTO, live hydraulics, differential lock, hi-low range transmission, etc. I've got several and love them.
About the claim of no parts? I just rebuilt my neighbor's IH 354 with the same BC-144 engine as the B414. Bought a complete engine kit with all main and rod bearings, gaskets, pistons, rings, sleeves, etc. for $550.

thanks for the tips, i guess with all these older tractors, depedning on your location parts can be a problem.

how do these tractors compare to a ford 8n of massey 35 type of tractor

I have a friend that has a B414 that he is haveing power sterring problems with. He was wondering if there is a way to convert it to manual sterring or if there is some way to fix the power sterring? It is almost imposiable to steer the way it is. Thanks for any information. Sam

Much more rugged and useful than an 8N and comparible to a MF35.

MF35, IH B-275 and B-414, Allis Chalmers ED-40, and others of the time are similar in regard to transmission setup and PTO. Also all based on British designs to one degree or another.

8N is too fast and lacks live PTO for uses like using a rear rototiller or snowblower. In fact, I have a later Ford 601 that is just as useless.
601 could of been ordered several ways, but mine does not have live power and is also way too fast in 1st or reverse for many things.

Yes either way. Anthing can be fixed. Also, there are a bunch of brand new complete factory manual steering columns for sale right now in many places. I just bought one just to have as a spare. For $150, it's cheaper than trying to fix an old one.

hi, my friend has a b414. He took the power steering cylinder in to have a leak fixed. $600 later, its still leaking. the local IH dealer said they wouldn't guarantee it. Its not a slow leak, oil runs out in about 2 hours.

I question why anybody would pay $600 to fix a leak on an old tractor, especially when the leak is NOT fixed. Seems to me an old tractor is going to be financially tough to own if money gets thrown away like that.

I've bought several complete and running B-275s and B-414s for not much more money than that.

Where did you get the carb from, and can I get the carb model number. The carb on my B414 is pretty worn out. Thanks in advance.