Best Manuals for IH 300 Utility???

I have read (I think in the YT archives) that all manuals are not "created equal." I think someone said that some publishers are more comprehensive in what they cover or more helpful in other ways. Since these books are pretty expensive, I'd like to be sure I'm getting the best ones available.

Can you offer any advice on who publishes the BEST shop manual and parts book for this tractor and where to get them? Also, will a parts book be a big help (that is, worth the money) in making repairs by providing lots of diagrams of "exploded" assemblies, etc?

By the way, the number stamped on the tag under the fuel bowl on this tractor is "19359 SJ." What year does that make this guy? What's the "SJ" for?

As always, thanks very much for your help.

As far as the ordering of sources of manuals, this has been the subject of several lively debates on this forum, and Sammy's post indicates the current concensus of opinion pretty well. The Intertec (I&T) manual is also pretty good, and corresponds (and duplicates, pretty much) what's in the service manuals from other sources.

The SJ in your serial number indicates:

S - has torque amplifier with independent PTO,
J - has a clutch manufactured by Rockford (not IH)

and your serial number is in the range used in 1955. You can double check this by looking at the dates coded into the major castings, which should look something like 10-4-A, which would be October 4, 1955 - A being the code for 1955, B for 1956, etc. These details are covered in the parts manual TC-57A (available from Binder), which I've found extremely useful, and would recommend you get if you're planning on doing much maintenance on the tractor yourself.

Hope you enjoy your 300U.