I love to see people take an interest in antique tractor pulling. Started on an M myself. Your best bet would be to rebuild the engine, or better yet, find a C264 or C281 block and rebuild that and run it if rules allow. Heres some simple tricks that will make you a bit more power. First, get an IT manual and set the governor to carb linkage correctly. Second, take the governor spring to the hardware store and match it up to one with just a bit heavier spring tension. Make sure the governor spring mounting holes arent worn out, they shouldnt look like an egg. Fire the tractor up, you will probably have to mess with the idle RPM on the carb to reset the idle. Let the motor warm up, and take a compression test. If its not over 100psi per cylinder, you may as well stop now. If it is, it should be near 105-120psi with flat top pistons, and a bit more with firecraters or step heads. If they are flat tops, dont get discouraged, they will outlug step head pistons when the motor pulls down. On to the head. You want a head with a casting number of 8060 or 8574. Those are the gas heads for an M. If you want to spend your $1k in one shot, new recast 450lp heads can be had. Dont forget to adjust the valves! If your not ready for that, the 450 gas head will work. Give it a good 3 angle valve job, and port match your manifold to the head. The propane manifold will help a smidge, but expect icing problems on humid days. On to the carb. If you can run the tractor at high idle with a stationary load on the PTO that would be excellent(dyno). When doing this, if you can adjust the high idle load screw in the bowl of the carb and make it overfuel, you wont need to jet the carb. Set it so the black smoke just clears up. If you go into the carb, youll want a #25 venturi in it. Give the ignition a good tune up as well. Plugs, copper core wires, and electronic ignition with a 12v coil work great. Take the oil bath air cleaner off and clean it out well, or get rid of it if rules allow, and use a k&n style clamp on filter on a piece of pvc pipe about 12" off the carb.
Lose all unneccessary weight off the tractor. PTO,(top steering bolster cover fits the PTO opening perfectly), belt pulley drive, belly pump, fluid in tires, etc.
Im just going to assume your allowed to have adjustable hitches. Keep yours up to the max height.
Keep at it, watch other pullers, ask questions, and have fun!
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Choosin, Mounting and Using a Bush Hog Type Mower - by Francis Robinson. Looking around at my new neighbors, most of whom are city raised and have recently acquired their first mini-farms of five to fifteen acres and also from reading questions ask at various discussion sites on the web it is frighteningly apparent that a great many guys (and a few gals) are learning by trial and error and mostly error how to use a very dangerous piece of farm equipment. It is also very apparent that these folks are getting a lot of very poor and often very dangerous advice fro
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
Sell 1958 Hi-Altitude Massey Fergerson tractor, original condition. three point hitch pto engine, Runs well, photos available upon request
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
