1939 H differences from other model years?

GTOtiger

New User
I know that the 1939 H has many parts / features that are different than later models. I would like to know what they are. I had seen a post from 10 years ago
from Dan_41jdh who had listed a few things. The man who started the thread had some pics of his original H which I can not see anymore, probably because the
pics were actually hosted somewhere else. My H is #2016 and had been sold with a cousin's farm years ago, but has been tracked down and brought back into the
family again a few months ago!
cvphoto145774.jpg
 
2 that I can think of are smaller flywheel on early ones and camshaft bearing that was changed because it was not stout enough.
 
Find a parts book and look for serial number breaks. There are a lot of numbers that are different. Some will interchange and others won't.
 
Thanks Richard. Any specifics on the flywheel sizes? Other things I was wondering about: Mine has an hydraulic pump and fenders. Were they actually available for the early H's or did someone put them on? Mine does not have a PTO and the platform does not have the mounting holes for a guard. Was the PTO an available option for the early H's?
 
I do have a parts book although I have not looked in detail. Dan_41jdh made a comment in that old post that there are parts that were different on the early tractors but that some part numbers remained the same even when the parts were changed. For instance, he mentioned the muffler was shorter on the early tractors but when it was extended, the part number remained the same.
 
Well, there were a number of changes and improvements during the first Production Year (1939 models), most of which aren't visible and are noted in the parts catalogs, but a few of the visible changes were a drawbar and drawbar support change, the muffler extension tube, and the bigger flywheel (Early flywheels were 16-1/4 OD x 2.4 wide; all later flywheels were 17-1/4 OD x 2.75 wide but the casting number remained the same.)

Then, major changes happened with the beginning of the 1940 Production year (S/N 10000). The main case was changed along with the LH cam bearing housing, the shifter tower and transmission top cover, the camshaft, clutch/belt pulley and clutch disk all changed, there were some transmission part changes, and a few other less important changes.

It must be noted that as a rule, unlike yearly model changes by car manufacturers, part changes to H tractors happened whenever design and part deficiencies were found and improvements were available. Many significant changes happened during a Production or Model Year they didn't wait until the next Production Year rolled around to introduce those things. That's why the serial number of a tractor is much more meaningful and important than the year of the tractor.

The extra-cost optional Power Lift became available in the middle of the 1941 Production, in late 1940, but it was designed to be able to retrofit to any earlier H as a field installation. Similarly, the Power Shaft wasn't immediately available, but every tractor was designed to be able to accept one. A March 1939 Deere letter announced the availability of that, and those could be either factory or field installed.

Congratulations on getting your family tractor back. Your S/N 2016 was probably built in mid-to-late February 1939 based on monthly quantities shown in the Production Log.

Incidentally, do you know if your tractor was originally shipped to Michigan? If so, that would explain the fenders as apparently Michigan had a law in those days that required fenders (safety item) to be on tractors sold in that state.

This post was edited by dan_41jdh on 01/25/2023 at 08:15 am.
 
Out of curiosity, you wouldn't happen to be the Dan that presented on the H's at GoG are you? If so, your presentation was excellent and very informative. We have one with no serial tag we are trying to narrow down as well.
 
WOW, thanks dan_41jdh! According to my wife's cousin, her Dad bought it at an auction here in Michigan before she was born (she's 57), so the history of the tractor before that is unknown. It is likely that it was purchased new in Michigan because I don't think folks had the communication means (email, facebook, etc.) to advertise equipment like we do now. Another issue would have been transporting that equipment long distances. So while I don't know for sure, it is likely the tractor was bought new in Michigan's thumb and has lived here all its life. When was the first production H (#1000) built?
 
(quoted from post at 09:50:35 01/25/23)When was the first production H (#1000) built?

I did a google search of your question and found https://dalesoldtractors.com/Museum%20The%20John%20Deere%20Model%20H.htm with "The first Model "H" , number H 1000, was sent to Nebraska for testing in October of 1938". Presumably it was constructed shortly prior to then. "build" date is not necessarily the date a tractor was constructed as much as it is the date that the tractor was entered into inventory.
 
We do know (from the Serial Number Register) that S/N H-1000 was shipped to the Nebraska Testing Laboratory in Lincoln, NE on October 29, 1938. It then came back and was assigned to the Harvester Works in November 1938 and continued to bounce around Deere property until it was scrapped in August 1941. It was likely a pre-production model since full production started two months later in December 1938 (according to the Production Log). So the first production tractor was actually H-1001 with a warehouse date of January 3, 1939. Keep in mind that the Serial Number Register shows two dates; the Warehouse Date and Date of Shipment. Although the warehouse date is sometimes considered the build date, it actually is the date a tractor is deemed complete, tested, repaired (if required), and entered into inventory. It was sometimes days or even weeks later after a tractor rolled off the assembly line before it was ready to ship and recorded with a warehouse date in the Serial Number Register.
 
OK, thanks for the info. You stated that mine was probably built mid Feb of 1939. Since it is the 1016th production tractor built, I thought it was probably built within the 1st month of production. Sounds like it was built in the 2nd month according to the production log.
 
Guilty as charged, I'm afraid. Thanks for the kind words and I hope you found the workshop interesting.

There are three basic groups that H tractors fall into - S/N's 1000 through 9999 (1939 Production Year), then 10000 through 26999 (1940 and part of the 1941 Production Year), then 27000 to the end (last half of 1941 Production Year through the end). Those basic groups are unique and a tractor from one group cannot be converted to be a member of another group. So without a serial plate it's impossible to establish the build/manufacturing timeframe. Other than that, many parts that would identify tractor vintage are bolt-on and can be transferred from one tractor to another (cast vs. stamped-steel front wheels, for example). In fact, it's unusual to find a tractor today that's truly period correct because after 70-80 years after the tractors were built, parts tend to move and if they fit, they will be used.
 

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