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LenNH
11-14-2007 17:08:44
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Re: F-20 Mag Levers in reply to Michael Hale, 11-14-2007 09:38:09
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IHC went to a variable governor in--I think--1937. The easiest way to find out, if it is important, is to go for the serial numbers. A parts book would say when the governor was changed. I may have this info and would look it up if you post a reply--assuming I can find the book, which is always a problem with a pack rat.
The original governor WAS indeed controlled by the lever nearest the steering wheel. When the lever was all the way down--"wide open" --you got full control of engine speed. Almost any position above "wide open" DID slow the engine down, but the governor didn't really do much. It is almost as primitive as the governor on James Watt's steam engines of the 18th century. I've spent hours going up hill and down dale on an F-20, pulling a very light load--a hay rake--and trying to use 3d or 4th gear just to keep the noise down. Up hill, the engine slowed way down (move the lever down enough to keep the speed up). Down hill, the engine speeded way up (move the lever up to keep the engine speed down). Most annoying.
The variable governor worked just like any of the more "modern" governors (first IHC variable on F-12, I believe). You have a range of speeds over which the governor actually works. In other words, you can use half throttle and still get the governor to control engine speed within a fairly narrow range.
The IHC variable governor had a linkage arrangement that went across the back of the engine to a notched rod to the left of the gas tank (as somebody said in one of the other letters here). Several aftermarket suppliers sold variable governor kits, but the ones I have seen, at least, don't have quite the same linkage arrangements as the IHC rig. Another obvious difference, again in the ones I have seen, is that the IHC governor had a nice bellows coming out the back of the governor, to seal the hole going into the governor housing.
The kits usually had something different--or maybe no seal at all. Been a while since I've seen this stuff up close. I'm sure somebody else can give info.
I actually have some catalogs of aftermarket parts suppliers, from the 1940s, and again, I'd look them up and send you a photo if you're interested. Haven't had much luck scanning and getting good copy, so I'd have to use snail mail.
It's no trouble, as they say. I like to talk about these old beasts, even if they did come close to ruining my kidneys and lower spine (the F-20 is a real rough rider in the field, especially on 36" tires--their outside diameter is much greater than the original steel wheels, so the tractor is quite a bit faster on rubber--I'd say nearly 4 mph in second gear, which is fairly fast in a rough field with only a little coil spring between your tail and the tractor frame. I used to love workin' 'em when I was growing up, but I wouldn't have much of a yen to do hard work hour after hour on one of these today. The H didn't really have quite as much power, and actually disappointed some farmers who had had F-20s, but it was sooooo ooooo ooo
civilized by comparison. Why, there was even a place to put your feet, the controls were pretty easy to reach, there was usually a muffler, and so on. A cousin bought a Super H after years and years of an F-20, and he described the SH as "just like a car." Well, not quite, but pretty nice by comparison.
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