John Deere H wide front end common?

ryanwheelock · Aug 1, 2014

I'm an IH and Farmall guy but just got a running JD H for cheap from a buddy. 1st green tractor ever on my farm. Kinda thinking of using it to rake a bit of hay and move wagons around and was thinking of putting a wide front end under it. Question is, are those wide front ends easy to find? I've changed out a few farmall's front ends and they were pretty easy to find. What about this JD H? I've seen tons of farmalls with wide fronts but I've only seen 1 or 2 my whole life on a JD H.
I know I should post this in the JD section but never go there and might forget.

Mike M · Aug 1, 2014

I will surly be corrected if wrong, but something like 100 ever built comes to mind and all of those were considered the HWH. Model H wide and high and all went to California.

Meangreen · Aug 1, 2014

Like Mike M said they are pretty rare. You don't really see a whole lot of wide fronts on G, A, B or Hs' in my part of the country.

Dodgeit · Aug 1, 2014

(quoted from post at 10:50:49 08/01/14) I'm an IH and Farmall guy but just got a running JD H for cheap from a buddy. 1st green tractor ever on my farm. Kinda thinking of using it to rake a bit of hay and move wagons around and was thinking of putting a wide front end under it. Question is, are those wide front ends easy to find? I've changed out a few farmall's front ends and they were pretty easy to find. What about this JD H? I've seen tons of farmalls with wide fronts but I've only seen 1 or 2 my whole life on a JD H.
I know I should post this in the JD section but never go there and might forget.

I'll add my two cents. An H will be pretty hard pressed to pull the rake let alone make it work properly. The one we had wouldn't pull a flatbed wagon out of the field if it had a load on it.

David G · Aug 1, 2014

You will like the narrow front better for moving wagons around, it turns much shorter.

showcrop · Aug 1, 2014

(quoted from post at 09:12:45 08/01/14) You will like the narrow front better for moving wagons around, it turns much shorter.

Narrow fronts are much better for raking too.

MT RON · Aug 1, 2014

I agree with Mike on the approximate numbers of wide front H John Deeres.You'll find a set of chickens teeth first.Ron

rustyfarmall · Aug 1, 2014

(quoted from post at 09:07:06 08/01/14) Like Mike M said they are pretty rare. You don't really see a whole lot of wide fronts on G, A, B or Hs' in my part of the country.

Money was tight back when those tractors were new. A wide front was an extra cost option. That is why you see very few of them. A wide front was pretty rare on all the other brands also. For the same reason.

pat sublett · Aug 1, 2014

H was a unique little tractor only about 12 HP as I remember. It is what we called a "row and a half" tractor, 2 row cultivator and planter but it would struggle to pull 2 full listers or moleboards even in sand. It was JD's first styled tractor. Another interesting thing, the belt pulley ran off of the camshaft rather than the crankshaft. I don't think cost was the issue on wide fronts but the fact nearly all those old tractors were used strictly for row crops and they handled much better with a narrow front.

JOCCO · Aug 1, 2014

Was told 125 wide fronts built very rare. You would have to put one from a B or something on it. I have change a couple A and G"g over seems like you need the whold front pedestal etc. H was a unique little tractor but not to usefull as others said.

Mike M · Aug 1, 2014

IIRC mine dynos at 16 hp. on the PTO

ryanwheelock · Aug 1, 2014

thanks for the input guys. kinda thought it wasn't common on that tractor.

DeltaRed · Aug 1, 2014

Ryan,as was said,wides are pretty rare.But if you have the skills you can adapt a different brand frontend...If its a 2piece pedestal,pretty easy.One piece,a bit harder and would 'forever alter' the tractor.Not good to a collector.OK if you want a neat little tractor to be a user.I have my JD'A' with the IH 'M' wide front(Iknow of atleast one more like that);my F12 with SuperC wide.I have couple friends with a Farmall'H' with a VAC Case front And a JD430 with a AC 'B' front.Over the yearsI seen several adaptations.Some were 'hatchet' jobs,Some were neat 'professional' jobs that looked like they came from the factory.So,Imho,go for it if you want to! fun project,only one out there.A definite 'showstopper'.

Paul from MI · Aug 1, 2014

Don't know where you guys are coming from about the power of an H. I wish I had a dollar for every acre of hay I've raked with my H, and the one my Dad owned. Pulled lots of hay wagons with them too, and they were 125-150 bale loads. Of course any tractor has it's limits, but a lot of work got done with John Deere H's and other tractors of that size(Allis c's, Case VAC's, Farmall BN's, etc.)

DeltaRed · Aug 1, 2014

One more...'Back in the day',farmers did similar adaptations regularly.They needed some to do a job with.It wasnt available,or (most commonly)they couldnt afford it.Those guys made do.That stuff that survives today is a tribute to the ingenuity of the American farmer.I do things like that for the same reasons-mostly 'cause I'm broke!And to honor the old ways/old timers......Not to mention,that stuff is fun!

DeltaRed · Aug 1, 2014

Here,we must use a wide for rakeing.We do not lay
our hay flat,rather we put it into a windrow
(12/14/16 ft).A narrow just smashes it down and
causes major shattering(kinda turns it to
sawdust).Different areas do it differently I guess.

Leroy · Aug 2, 2014

The H never was made as a wide front tractor. All H models with a wide front are HWH and are more of a high crop tractor and I think that the figure of about 125 tractors is correct. And it is a solid one piece pedistal so harder to convert but some after market for the larger tractors were made with a clamp that went around the pedistal to fasten it on and the tie rods hooked to where the wheels were. Now on the larger tractors with the larger wheels, 6:00x16, you would only have 10" clearance under the center of the front of the tractor so did not work very well. I know of a H that has had a M front axle put under and he has made it to look like if Deere had built a standard tread H as he has 24" tires on the rear on cast wheels he made himself. I do not know how he worked the front end over but it looks factory. But the owner owns a factory that makes presision parts. But it was a hobby for him. He is a JD tractor man but his name is the other green.

RGMartin · Aug 2, 2014

(quoted from post at 21:05:17 08/01/14) Of course any tractor has it's limits, but a lot of work got done with John Deere H's and other tractors of that size(Allis c's, Case VAC's, Farmall BN's, etc.)

A VAC is twice the tractor of an H.

Neighbor had an H It wouldn't run a small manure spreader on the flat ground, but he could pull a load to the top of a small hill, then spread his way down hill.

It would be fine for raking, or moving small wagon loads slowly.

John Deere H wide front end common?

ryanwheelock

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Mike M

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Meangreen

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Dodgeit

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David G

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showcrop

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MT RON

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rustyfarmall

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pat sublett

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JOCCO

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Mike M

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ryanwheelock

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