Restoring an H vs M

Any other feedback on running or restoring a letter series Farmall would be welcome before I begin my next journey further into debt.

Brian.

If you need the power and have room for the bigger tractor go with the M. If you don't need the power or don't have the room for it go with the H. They are both the same basic design and will give equal enjoyment, the choice is yours.

Harold H

I don't think it's necessarily accurate to say that one model is more apt to have survived to old age in better shape than the other. The keys to condition are more apt to be abuse, neglect, and lack of maintenance, rather than how hard the tractor has worked. I've got a '49 M that was worked HARD until I got it about 10 years ago. In spite of being used about as hard as any I've ever seen, it was always shedded, given proper maintenance, and never abused by a careless operator. HOW a tractor was used (or mis-used) is often more important to condition than how hard it was pulled, how many hours it has, or how old it is.

You won't find a tractor more satisfying to work on or own than a Farmall H or M. Whichever one you get, it will very possibly cause you to want the other model as well!

I restored a Super M a couple years ago, and finished a Super H this summer. Though they look identical, the H and the M share only about a half dozen parts: the steering wheel, seat, generator, voltage regulator, the electric box and the lights. Virtually EVERYTHING else is unique to the individual models. The tractors however are put together exactly alike - just the M parts are always bigger.

The drivetrain on an M is no less durable than on an H - it's been sized to accomodate the higher horsepower is gotta handle. The statement that an M is more likely to be worked hard and worn out is not necessarily true - some of the most worn-out tractors I looked at before I got mine were H's

For a restorer, each tractor has it's advantages: Everything on an H can be reached from floor level (you sometimes need a stool or stepladder to work on the top of an M) An H with the wheels set in takes up less space in the shop or garage. The H weighs about a ton less than an M - can be pulled on a trailer by most any size pickup.

On the other hand, if you're gonna use it to do real drawbar work, the M has half again the usable power of an H. The M has a delightfully booming exhaust note, and when parked in the middle of a row of H's at a tractor show, M's often elicit comments like: "Geez that's BIG..."

So the choice is yours - but either way you won't go wrong... Good luck!

I read somewhere that the two were dimensionally similar. I guesse I read too much into that. I didn't realize that the M sat taller.

I used to have a JD 40 that I could sneak into my garage to work on with the muffler removed. My garage door is 78 inches tall. Does that limit me to an H? Will an H fit under the door?