Decal placement on 51 M

As recommended by several of you, I've gotten my decals from Maple-Hunter and am axious to put them on. Just not sure of the placement of a few. My original owners manual shows very few, just the Farmall and M. I have read a certain book would solve these problems, but I only have until Saturday to get these on so I can't wait on the library.<ul><li> One is "Be Careful, do not make sharp turns..."</li><li> Another is for the radiator, but where should I place it. It reads, "Be Careful, pressure cooling system..."</li><li>I have two light decals and I believe I would use "O - D - B" since that is what my lights do and if my memory is correct, these go above the light switch, not along side of it.</li><li>I remember our gearshift decal was on the left light arm/support. Is that correct?</li></li>One decal reads "Late H, M-V12118". I have no idea where that one goes.</li><li>Finally, one says "Hitch only to drawbar...."</ul> Any help will be very appreciated.

First two, I have never seen or heard of before. Might not be appropriate for your tractor.

O-D-B should line up with the pointer on the light switch, and the letters should be upright and readable. The ones I've seen generally start about 9-10 o'clock, and run clockwise from there.

Gear shift pattern on the gas tank, centered in a location where you can read it from the seat.

"Late H, M-V12118" is not a decal. It's the identification tag for the decal set. Just because it's there doesn't mean you have to use it.

"Hitch only to drawbar" goes on the back somewhere. I've seen it on the PTO shield, or stuck on the rear end casting above the PTO.

Just to add a bit... I dont have the guide in front of me. But sounds like the first one about the warning is a 'new modern' decal that is added in kits I personally dont install them. As for the radiator it goes on the grill, but I can recall if it goes on the top or the side, I want to say side but im not sure. As for the drawbar decal it goes on the cast the pto. If you pick up 'Guide to the Farmall Letter Series' it shows all proper placement.

The correct place for the gear shift decal is centered on the gas tank 18.5 inches from the front of the gas tank or rear of the hood, provided the hood fits right. This is official in Guy Fays Letter Series book, not on the light bar as many believe. My dad's 47 H came that way, that is where it belongs. The brake warning decal goes 1/2 inch in front of the gearshift decal. The drawbar warning is centered over the PTO cover 1/2 inch below the bottom of the trans/diff cover.

I have the Guy Fay book myself and it was a huge help to me on my late '51 M. Some of the original placement information from the factory no longer exists as Guy reports in his book. I placed mine based on my research from my orignal owners manual, Guy's book, and sales literature from the Wisconsin Historical Society...

Hope these help...

Hi DC. I would really like to see your pics because they will probably be very helpful. But they didn't show up for me. Could you try again or maybe just email them to me.

Thanks,
Rod

Pictures should be there...I don't understand, I can see 'em just fine. Be glad to email them to you if you'll get me an address, I didn't see it on your profile.

I also see them

Here's a link to another thread with some pictures of my tractor that may help you...

http://ytforums.ytmag.com/viewtopic.php?t=861246&amp;highlight=snider

Okay, the info here is pretty much correct. I've always seen radiator pressure cap warning decals right beside the cap, not to the rear of it...but that's pretty picky I guess. If you really want to be correct with your M's decals, there is one that goes on the left side (near the clutch pedal) of the battery box centered about two inches above the bottom of the box. This decal gives warning not to operate the tractor without a battery and very, very few decal kits provide it...but it was there when your tractor came from the factory. Look at any pictures of the left side of brand new H and M, Stage I Super H and M, and W series tractors, and you will see this decal.

The drawings in Guy's book show the radiator warning decal 1/2" in front of the hood seam and 1/2" below the tunnel, placing it to the right rear of the cap.

The battery box decal is one that I feel should've been included in my kit from Maple-Hunter and it wasn't. I've been saying for 3 years I was gonna order just that decal, but keep putting it off...part of me believes that the battery decal, just like the oil level and hydraulic decals often seen on older tractors were gradually eliminated over the production run, in an effort to clean the tractors up a tad...

I see them now that I am at home on my own computer. I was at work when I didn't see them and perhaps they have that blocked somehow. Thanks, they are very helpful and your tractor looks great!

Boy, the photos on the thread you shared are terrific. I thought it interesting that my '51 M has a different seat support system. Also, the ignition pull switch on mine is located down on the arm that supports the hyraulic lever.

Here is another question for you. I see you have the "Dealer" decal on yours. Maple-Hunter sent along some photos of these in case I wanted to order. What do guys have them print on these decals? Looks like yours has quite a bit of details on it.

Thank you for the compliments on my ol' "M"...

The "pipe" seat was the standard seat, with the "monroe" hydraulic seat being a very popular option. My opinion is that by that late in the production of the M's most dealers ordered their stock tractors with the upgraded seat. The iginition switch located in the box was a change made when the Super's came out in '52. It's just a guess on my part but I believe it to be original to my tractor since it has mid-late October of '51 casting dates. All the original cloth wiring and original ammeter and switch were intact, so I have no reason to believe it was ever changed. IH had a habit of changing some things "mid-stream" as production parts were used up and new parts came in.

I had the dealership decals for my tractor made locally by a sign shop here in Princeton, WV. My great-uncle owned the IH dealership here in town from the early 30's through the late 50's. The decals bear the name of his dealership J.M. Snider, along with the street address and telephone number. My maternal grandfather purchased his first tractor there new in '51. This tractor was always original to this area most likely came from there as well. It's a very unique connection to my family history...

I'm sure youve got an answer but I saved this a while ago for when I do my H.
Check here