1951 Farmall M

[beaconlight]

That ain't slick. Man wants too much. Got to help him realize it best way you can. Besides times are getting worse and there will be less money around for play toys. You might be doing him a favor. Offer to throw in that set of magnets you bought to clamp on your fuel line to improve mileage.
Really might pay to look for another M. It's $800.00 and 500 miles away going to cost you $200.00 to get it. Go back to your guy with the ad. Offer $1000 because of the other one you found. Three weeks later have a friend go by and offer $1200 and counter with $1300 when the $1200 is refused. After all you are just trying to help the man. Besides if Barnum is right some fool will come along with the $2000 and you get the other tractor.

[DanR]

Maybe I should have said 'good salesmanship'. Always glad to hear about helping another person. You are right, it's tight for any toys right now. I promised myself that I would not buy any tractor stuff until things get better. Hope I make it through the winter with nothing to do.

[Dusti Snider]

Just thought I'd update everyone on our "M". What a difference three weeks can make. The old carb was giving me fits, leaking like a sieve. The starter was dragging, due to worn out brushes and corrosion in the cables. A good friend of mine from NC brought me a rebuilt carb and starter last weekend to a show we went to in NC. Put the new carb on, the new starter, and a new set of cables and I was in business. I believe my biggest problem with hard starting was the condition of the cables, and the flooding of the old carb.

Sunday afternoon I finally drove the ol' girl up from the shed and took her on short spin down the road a piece. Afterward I pulled her up in the edge of the yard a gave her a qucik bath, got rid of a lot of grease and green stuff that was growin' on her. Rubbed it down with a pice of wet/dry sandpaper and some of the original paint began to peek through. When I get more time, I'm gonna give her some more wet sanding.

It's "popping" a little bit now at idle, not bad, not real loud. I've got the carb set to initial settings and static timed. I think I've still got some tweekin' to do, but I'm gonna wait till my books come in from binder books. It doesn't smoke and so far no objectionable leaks. Oil pressure on the newer IH gauge is just shy of 75#. So far I'm tickled to death.

[grunt]

I will be a new M owner next week when I can pick it up!! It is nice to know that you are never alone on this board.
congrats and good luck

[Boss Hog]

That ain't slick. Man wants too much. Got to help him realize it best way you can. Besides times are getting worse and there will be less money around for play toys. You might be doing him a favor. Offer to throw in that set of magnets you bought to clamp on your fuel line to improve mileage.
Really might pay to look for another M. It's $800.00 and 500 miles away going to cost you $200.00 to get it. Go back to your guy with the ad. Offer $1000 because of the other one you found. Three weeks later have a friend go by and offer $1200 and counter with $1300 when the $1200 is refused. After all you are just trying to help the man. Besides if Barnum is right some fool will come along with the $2000 and you get the other tractor.

You are kidding right.


David

[Dusti Snider]

Looking for some ideas on a few things that intrigue me about our "M". Hoping some of ya'll can help...I've looked and looked and read and read and really can't figure it out. Look at the picture below of the gear shift...it has a knob formed on it as part of the lever. is that a "wartime" lever? I thought that IH just used a cast knob rather than rubber/plastic during the war. All the casting numbers on the ol' girl are mid-late 51, and I know the tractor was produced late in October of '51, as I found in the University of Wisconsin IHC production record.

Note the steering wheel has no rubber...maybe it all cracked a fell off? Although I've never seen that...It also has a spinner with a wooden handle...which is kinda neat...

Also the location of the ignition switch. The ol' girl had a hack job 12V conversion done on, which I've since rewired, but I thought the ignition switch was supposed to be in one of the holes in the cast arm for the lift-all. What was the other hole for in the arm. I know the reg should've been mounted on the fuel tank support, which of course was gone.

Here's a cropped and enlarged picture of the area in question, from a photo taken before we brought her home. I'd appreciate your thoughts...
[/img]

[SONNY]

Usually the push-pull switch was for ignition, large knob for lights/charge rate control.----starter button originaly was mounted on a tab under the headlight brackets, it was a large button type heavy duty switch. choke was a long rod on lower left of dash by the clutch peddle. thanks; sonny

[Dusti Snider]

My push/pull ignition switch still works, but I was unsure of it's location mounted in the electrical box. My starter switch is the original foot operated rod at the bottom of the post.

[cubguy]

Nice M and it a very good start. I wish I had a M.
Kyle