This Farmall H Is Fully Powered

This Farmall H Is Fully Powered TRACTORS Modifications 30-3-43 From the power steering on the front end to the live hydraulics that power the 3-pt. hitch, Mike Olson's Farmall H is all power. The live hydraulics come from a "jobbers pump" installed between the engine and the distributor. He fabricated the power steering and 3-pt. hitch himself. "The front end is a steering axle from an 895 New Holland combine," explains Olson. "I narrowed it up by 16 in. The power steering gearbox came out of a 510 Massey Ferguson combine. It's driven by a Chevy power steering pump that's belt driven off the engine." To mount the New Holland axle, Olson bolted a 1/2-in. steel plate under the front casting and welded an oscillating pin to it. The 3-pt. hitch was not quite as simple. He made it from scratch with the exception of lift arms from an old Case tractor. The rockshaft was built from 3/8-in. flat iron and oil well rod. The arms pivot at the rear of a heavy-duty hitch framework that Olson made. While 3-pts. are mounted to the axle housing, Olson's is mounted there and braced back to the center of the tractor frame for extra support. The drawbar itself is 3 by 1-in. flat iron from an old Deere toolbar. The hydraulic cylinder is anchored to the drawbar frame with the arm extending up to the rockshaft. Olson threaded the well rod used for one lift rod so he could level the arms. It threads into a nut encased in a pipe attached to the rockshaft mechanism. With the addition of the 3-pt. hitch and heavy-duty drawbar, getting on the tractor from the rear was no longer as easy. Olson built steps to mount ahead of the rear wheel. They were made from 2 by 1/4-in. steel fitted with extruded metal mesh. "I added 9 in. to each side of the driver's platform and also added fenders to the H," explains Olson. To top the old tractor off and make it safer, he added a ROPS with vertical posts of 2 by 3-in. steel tubing and a 32 by 38-in. top frame made from 2-in. square tubing. "The top was made from 1/8-in. flat iron bent on the edges for a finished look and pop riveted to the top frame," explains Olson. Painted with a fresh coat of Farmall Red, the old H looks mighty good. In fact, it looked good enough that Olson recently accepted an offer of $6,000 for it. It and a second H used for parts only cost him $250. Olson estimates he has spent about $3,600 out of pocket and many hours fixing it up. Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Mike Olson, 112 St. Patrick Ave., Medicine Lake, Mont. 59247 (ph 406 789-2358).

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