Shawn,
The S/N plate should be on the bell housing / clutch, flywheel housing on the left (from the drivers' perspective) side. It was originally a black and silver affair, but even if it was painted over a lot - the numbers were stamped in, so you should be able to read them. The prefix is painted silver under black, so check that for the basics.My experience with Farmalls is that nothing is "collectable" on M's with the exception of super M's with Diesel changeover -- or unless you find the first 100 or last 100, and so on. -- this sound like the world of A/C? There were a lot of M's made from ~39 to ~54. It seems to me that something like an Allis WD or WD45 is the only worthy and workable tractor than commands less of a price than a Farmall M or H. If you want magic finds and instant bucks - go looking for a mid to late 50's small JD that can trade in the $20K range (the big ones are cheap, the little ones that didn't sell well then are rare and expensive now). Machines like a IH M or a H or AC WD or WD 45 were produced in large quantities back then -- supply and demand rules -- so more supply then equates to lower prices now. Less supply then makes more bucks now. Unless the M is a SMTD or something low volume then; you're out of luck now. Sorry, no magic elixor. If my Grandfather hadn't made the decision for me -- I might have a WD45 as they seem to go for the same or less than the Farmall H I grew up on. So go with what strikes your fancy -- few, if any, people make money on this stuff anyway.
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