Thinking about a Farmall

Dad is thinking about trying out a different brand of tractor and he is leaning toward a farmall Super M, but we have some questions.

1. Are the front ends like john deere. With a split pedstale front end you can swap a wide front with narrow front end farely easily.

2. What is the Difference between a Super M and a M. Also what is the Horse power difference. How can you easily tell the difference?

3. Was power steering an option or an aftermarket add on.

4.Are there any major/common problems with an the Super M or M

5. Do they all have Hydrulic pumps or was it an option.

6. What are the gear speeds.

Thanks for any help!

1. SF, NF, and WF are interchangeable.
2. SM had more HP and faster 3rd and 4th gears, Factory drawbar HP for the M was 34.44, for the SM, 42. Other differences, except the hydraulics (below) were minor. Serial plate is on left side of clutch housing, The serial prefix FBK means M, prefix SM means Super M. Don't let the decals fool you.
3. add on.
4. No more than any 50-60 year old tractor.
5. Hydraulics were always an option, but 95% probably had them. M and early SM had a belly pump, not live. Later SM's, Stage 2, had live hydraulics. Live PTO did not appear until the SMTA in 1954.
6. 2.625, 3.75, 5, 6.75, 16.75. 3rd in a SM is as fast as 4th in the M, except that a few of the M's had a 7mph 4th gear -- that is rare.

SM also has standard disk brakes, although the last M's had them also. 5 bolts hold the cast iron cover on. Lambert brakes were an option on the H and M, cover is held on by 3 bolts. Band brakes had a stamped steel cover.

In addition to what CNKS said, I would say watch out for popping out of 5th gear. Not tractor's fault, but the result of shifting on the fly from 4th to 5th over the years and banging the gears. SM's are great, solid tractors.
mike

Most M's you'll find have been rebuilt a time or two or three and will more or less be Super M or Super M + in power... Super M's being rebuilt were generally brought up to 450 power numbers, or more, though there are a few differences in a C-281 that an overbore C-264 won't have...

Aftermarket engine components from the likes of M&W, including stroker cranks were available... IH Firecrater pistons were quite popular... Both added significant power...

When I was a "lad" back in the 40s, farmers sometimes complained that the H and M were not the equals of the F-20 and F-30 they were supposed to replace. I don't think it was so much a matter of actual horsepower, but of torque. The F-series had big engines, designed to run pretty slow. They had great torque, and would pull through even when overloaded. I remember trying to plow with an F-20 in FOURTH gear, and even though it would only get up to about 1/2 speed, it kept right on going. Don't fret, guys. I just did it for a coupla minutes--adolescent stuff. The H, especially, has a much smaller engine, designed to run faster. I used the same plow with two Hs, and they just didn't have the torque the old F-20 had. H of a lot nicer to drive (I guess that could be a joke, but it's probably not very funny). I never tried a 3-bottom with an M, but I think the complaint was around among farmers back then. An uncle of mine used an M in clayey soil and pulled only a 2-14 plow. I've spent some "quality time" with a Super M in the last few years, and I found it a really gutsy tractor for its size. I liked the higher speed in 4th gear, for travel on farm trails or pulling wagons on gravel roads, and I certainly liked the extra torque (partly from a larger engine than the regular M, and partly, I'd think, from a higher compression ratio).
The original IHC hydraulic system on the M is pretty primitive. If the clutch is disengaged, you have no hydraulics. Independent hydraulics are really nice.
I used to do a lot of "chore work" with the Hs (mowing around fences, bushhogging in tight places) and found them almost as easy to use as an F-12 that I had used before the Hs came along.
The Super M is definitely NOT for one-finger maneuvering in tight places. Power steering would probably help a lot, but it is still a big, tall tractor. Delightful in an open field. Great sound, makes a little guy feel like he's
flying a 747.