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LenNH
12-05-2007 17:03:12
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Re: Yet another question about the new H in reply to RockyMO, 12-03-2007 19:06:20
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I was a pipsqueak when the H and M came out in 1939. I used to find a way to get my father to take us to town just so's I could go in to the dealer's and look at 'em. We had a 10-20 and an F-12, so sometimes he had to buy a part and that made the 5 mile "trip" worthwhile. Back on the gravel roads of the 30s, 5 miles was sometimes a bit of a trip when you were busy. Most everybody knows these tractors were designed by Raymond Loewy and/or his design firm. I think the design itself is one of the most beautiful of anything ever made, and I am not just talking about tractors. These tractors had some shortcomings (like the H not having quite as much power as a rubber-tired F-20, and a LOT less torque for sure), but they were light years ahead of the F-20 and F-30 for comfort and ease of driving. The H, especially, is physically not much bigger than an F-14, and has similar characteristics--fairly small engine, running much faster than the tractors of the 20s and 30s, lighter gears, maybe somewhat smaller axles, etc., etc., compared to the F-20s and F-30s. An H is a delightful chore tractor, because it is easy to steer, has excellent visibility from the seat, has a responsive engine and governor, and a pretty good selection of gears. IHC was probably trying to save a little money at the end of the Depression by not putting in an intermediate road gear (say, 8 mph), and that is a real shortcoming. Pulling a loaded farm wagon over a gravel road at 5-6 mph requires the H to be in 4th gear with the throttle wide open. Fifth gear is much too fast to pull a heavy load throttled back to 5 mph. John Deere and Oliver got it right by making a six-speed, with both a fairly-fast high road speed and an intermediate road speed that would allow pulling at 5 or 6 mph with the engine running fast enough to give needed torque. Just for the record, fifth "gear" is not really a gear at all--it is just a dog clutch which moves forward to engage teeth on the input shaft--just like third gear in a traditional 3-speed auto or pickup transmission. This is probably why the tractor is so fast in fifth. Too fast, in my opinion. I still think this choice was an engineering decision to make for a simpler and maybe cheaper gearbox. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this tractor when you get everything working right. When it is painted shiny red, you will feel like a king sitting up there, peering down that beautifully-tapered hood and listening to the crackle of the exhaust.
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