1930 Farmall Regular red ????

Jeff Gerdes · Oct 13, 2009

I recently purchased a 1930 Farmall Regular that appears to have been an original red paint tractor. I thought all regulars were the gray color. Underneath all the grease it's red. It's red in places a person couldnt paint without completly diasembling every nut and bolt. The paint is in rough condition, so rough i took it as though someone painted it red 40 some years ago. Underneath the water neck, inside the fan shroud, underneath an inch of grease it'red! I know there is discussion about correct red's and gray's but i'm asking about red OR gray? Any help would be appreciated.

rustred · Oct 13, 2009

to my knowledge after nov. 1 1936 red became officially standard. but i guess there was some red ones before that or could have even had a repaint.

Darwindo · Oct 13, 2009

I asked this exact question about 8 months ago. I too was working on a 1930 Regular. I noticed that many unexposed surfaces were red. What I found out was that many parts were dipped in a red primer before being assembled. Then the tractors were painted grey, but some of the places where parts were put together did not get the grey paint. So now all these years later, you pull the cover off the differential(or some other part) and you see the red primer and think ,"Hey wait a minute....". There is a very knowledgeable fellow in this forum who goes by "Old F-20" and he says there were no original red regulars. There were some dealerships in the 1930's and 40's that had specials where they would paint your grey tractor red for very little money, but I doubt they painted under things. I would bet what you are seeing is the primer. Good luck with yours!

In the picture I have included you can see the red around the inside of the differential cover.

Darwindo · Oct 13, 2009

here is the picture

F-Dean · Oct 13, 2009

That may be the remants of a redish primer that IHC used.

Brian Love · Oct 13, 2009

battleship gray is the original the bolted together areas would still be in good shape if it were paint. the ( red paint)that is dull is primer

Jeff Gerdes · Oct 13, 2009

Thanks everyone for the information. I"ll tear into the tractor and continue to look for grey paint. (Although so far it"s all red!!) Thanks again...... Jeff

Old-F20 · Oct 14, 2009

What your seeing on the rearend there is IHC's re oxide primer. all parts were primered prior to assembly. Once assembled, then the entire machine was painted. No regulars were red

Keep in mind that we are talking about 20's technology and what they called 'paint' back then is not what we know it today. The grey they used to cover the trtactors was basically no more than colored varnish. Sometimes if a unit sat on the dealers lot, or at the plant for a long enough period of time, they would have to repaint it before it was sold since that varnish would wear off and discolor so quickly. Dad has told me stories about how his uncle (who owned a dealership) would have to do that to machines that didnt sell and sat out over the winter months.

In the mid to late 30's, they also had a program where you could 'freshen up' your tractor in the winter with a basic overhaul and a paint job. most everything that was repainted then, was red even if it was a pre '37 model. by the time they started painting things red in the late 30's, the paint technology was waaaaaay better and it actually held up fairly well.

Bob Kerr · Oct 15, 2009

I have seen many old machines and engines from the 20s and 30s painted with red lead paint inside of housings and crank cases. One reason that was done was because of cast iron porosity that would cause the outside paint to fail and bubble up and leave a huge greasy spot on the outside of even a fairly new engine which would give a bad perception to possible future customers looking for a new tractor. The paint on the inside kept the oil from seeping through porus castings and was cheap enough to do to be worth it for a better quality job. My 24 Olds has it, my 23 Olds truck has it and my 51 H has it in the trans and rear end. Not sure but I think my 28 chevy truck has it also.

1930 Farmall Regular red ????

Jeff Gerdes

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rustred

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Darwindo

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Darwindo

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F-Dean

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Brian Love

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Jeff Gerdes

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Old-F20

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Bob Kerr

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