Farmall H in Australia & New Zealand: Lucas or Delco-Rem

SadFarmall · Jun 21, 2012

A question for those who know about Farmalls in Australia and New Zealand. My 1939 Farmall M was fitted with electric starting and lighting in the 1950s. IHC supplied all equipment from Lucas, with the exception of the fuse holder, which is of unknown make and now totally unavailable so far as I know

. The 1947 Farmall M I bought last year has all Delco equipment fitted. My Farmall H never had any electric starting or lighting fitted. I want to fit electric starting and lighting to it. Does anyone know if Australian and New Zealand Farmall H tractors were fitted with Lucas or Delco starters, generators, regulators and switches etc. As most people probably know it will have to be set up as a 6 volt system due to my love of old technology. Thanks.
SadFarmall

Athol Carr · Jun 21, 2012

The only Lucas gear I have seen has been on the British built tractors, BM, Super BM, Super W6 etc.
As far as I know all US built tractors had Delco gear. My 1941 W-4 has a Delco starter, has had a generator, not here any more, never had the IH ammeter box or starter switch and the corks were still in the bolt holes under the paint where the battery box platform would be. I suspect, looking at the bits or corrosion there that does not appear anywhere else, the battery sat on the rear platform. The tractor never had lights. The generator bracket is in position and there was a strange plate attached to the steering column holding the magneto shorting switch ( toggle switch) and an odd-ball ammeter (broken). There is the remains of an electric hour meter screwed into the side of the engine block.
Most tractors coming to NZ during the war years were literally basic so I suspect the starter was added later. I suppose that the dealers would use whatever did the job and was cheapest

SadFarmall · Jun 21, 2012

I know the Farmall AM was fitted with Lucas equipment as was the AW-7 Diesel. The parts books do not even list Delco-Remy gear for those tractors. My Farmall M is basically a Farmall Super AM. By the time my grandfather had finished with it he had fitted electric starting and lighting, belt pulley, hydraulic remote control, three point linkage (with the hydraulic cylinder inside the gearbox), a 6 volt hour meter and Armstrong Holland Dozer Blade (AH84). The Farmall M Owner's Manual has his writing on the front stating: Tractor now resembles Farmall Super AM except bore is 3⅞" not 4" and magneto ignition retained. The correct Lucas regulator is now difficult to find and ludicrously expensive.
SadFarmall

Cedric · Jun 21, 2012

I have never seen any American built International tractors with anything other than Delco electrical equipment.
My Father bought a second hand H in 1949 with the only attachment being a PTO. The following year he had the full starting and lighting package, which was new Delco, installed by the local dealer.
Was great to just climb up onto the tractor and push a button. Sid.

Leroy · Jun 21, 2012

Henry, was the 39 built in the area that required austrailian parts and the later built after that time. That would make the difference as Austraila has a connection to England where Lucas is from so it could be that it passed as part of the Austrailian componant. Delco being USA would not have passed. The model you give I think tells the story being an AM or just an M. Is the H an AH or just a H?

Jim Becker · Jun 21, 2012

As others have already said, a US built H would have been built with a Delco starter etc, if any. That said, a lot of the export tractors were built as fairly stripped down units. It is possible that the Australian subsidiary of IH could have been routinely fitting electrical equipment as the machines entered the country. I don't know if they were doing that or not, but if so they were likely to use Lucas parts at that time.

An Australian version of the parts catalog and/or the owner's manual is probably the best guide. I have neither of those publications.

Farmall H in Australia & New Zealand: Lucas or Delco-Rem

SadFarmall

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Athol Carr

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SadFarmall

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Cedric

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Leroy

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Jim Becker

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