A Continuein' Saga of a Farmall A Magneto

Thanks to Andy Motteborg and Gene Bender for answerin' My first questions (earlier post) Gene sent Me His phone number, My call caught Him in the corm patch, I could tell We wern't on the same page concernin' this magneto....My books all say the mag is a H4, I picked up a hint an a clue from Gene, walked down to My shop, sure enough the mag on my 1943 A is nothin' like the mag on the old Mans A....I started lookin' thru My manuals, Manual for My 240U shows a wico mag that was on some 204s and 340s...This A M I drove down to the old fellows place......Magneto is a Wico Model X, Spec X H D 265. Talked it over with Him, left, half way home another light went off. At first I thought the shade tree people that had sold Him the tractor had replaced the H4 with the Wico, I drove back down, copied the castin' numbers off the block...I'm wonderin' if They replaced the A engine with a 240 engine. Here is the number behind the oil filter...6342*OH.....same side down close to oil pan at the front...5*22*0, last number the asterisk represent the screw heads in the numbers. Some of You that know Farmalls, can You identify what engine this is from these numbers...The old man doesn't have any money to spend on this tractor, if I have to buy a Magneto I want it to be the right one, If the H4 is wrong it has sure ran a bunch of years. Thanks for Yaw'ls help

Wild Bill

This is a Wico X magneto......



And this is a IHC H-4 Magneto......



Which does yours have??

Ive got a WICO that sure looks to have the same mounting as an H-4.

That sounds like the A engine, casting code O can be 1945 or 1968 and the 240 was built from 1958-1962, so your engine sounds like a 1945 which would make it an A engine. Those magnetos were interchangeable and someone probably just put the Wico mag on the A. My Dad's 1944 H has a Wico X because a H-4 would not clear the oil filter when it has the live pump

By the way the patch was an 120A field and ran a good 200 pluss a little wet testing 21-22 now were are on the last field of 160A and need a couple more nice days.Go LSU Tigers

(quoted from post at 18:35:04 11/02/08) I drove back down, copied the castin' numbers off the block...I'm wonderin' if They replaced the A engine with a 240 engine. Here is the number behind the oil filter...6342*OH.....same side down close to oil pan at the front...5*22*0, last number the asterisk represent the screw heads in the numbers.

Click to expand...

6342*OH is probably 6342DH, which is an original block number for an A. That makes 5*22*O May 22, 1945.

Gene Bender, you in Louisiana? All the talk of the Tiger's...

Charles

No im in IOWA and enjoy College Football like watching LSU when they are on TV.

Thanks for all the replys...The Magneto on the old Mans A is a WICO,...SPEC # HD 265 Serial #2-228611...The plate on the mag says so....So what do Yaw'l advised now, Should I buy points, condenser, roter,cap, so on, for the wico or try to find a H 4? I've found a place up north that sells new and rebuilt H4s....I think around $150 rebuil, over $300 NOS....bye the time I buy the parts I'll have over $50 in this one and that is if it doesn't need a coil, Talkin to a friend at the tractor graveyard He said Throw a distributor and coil at it. I've got the book HOW TO RESTORE TRACTOR MAGNETOS, book covers H4s good, wico hardly at all and not the same wico...Growin' up with a Ford Model A, First Lincoln 200 Weldin' machine I bought didn't have an electric starter, I have worked on Mags, I'm not afraid to get into one, Just don't want to put a lot of labor in a hopeless case. I feel I've got to get this one runnin' by spring for the old Man, I can take My 504 down to His place plow disc Subsoil, row it up with My Super A, He can keep it cultivated with His A. Gene is from IOWA....I'm From North Louisiana

Wild Bill