1939 John Deere H Restoration - before & after

[msteinblock]

My father picked this tractor up and drug home where it sat for a few years before he let me take it home and work on it. First it was "too hot" in the garage to work on, it was a "winter project". Then came winter and it became "too cold" to work on. So it sat for 9 months with really nothing done to it. Once progress was really started and a goal of the county parade was set, things really got going fast. This was my first restoration. When it was first finished, it was "never going to do that again". It has now been two months and I want to find another one to do!

1939 John Deere H, SN 5220.

Initially no mag or carb. No tires, missing front rim. Missing drawbar. Went thru entire motor, head done, new rings. Found and redid carb (should be a 26, instead of the 46) and mag (should be a c, currently an x). Drawbar should be an earlier one with the click and no top support, currently a later support and bar. Redid steering wheel, has the correct earlier F&H. New tires all around. Both the hood and grills were pretty rough, at least for my experience level, so those were ordered new. Still have the originals in case there comes a time to actually straighten them.

I appreciate any comments or conversation. I am interested in anything "H"!




 

[JDChris]

Here is my 39 ORIGINAL H Chris

 

[msteinblock]

Very nice! Look at them cool original tires! Cut that exhaust pipe off.... thats what makes the 39 look cool.

I think half the fun of restoring was learning the history and digging up all of the little things that set the 39 apart. I am by far not a mechanic, I learned alot. There were several times I wanted to just be done...but I look back and it was worth it!
 

[leon]

Nice job. Looks great! That flywheel looks different, smaller diameter, than on most H's. I think I read someplace that there were some H's made with wider but smaller diameter flywheels than the most have. Is this one of one of those? Did the smaller diameter flywheel get put on all '39's? On the early '39's?
 

[bjb in TX from Ne]

I have an H in my garage that needs a total restoration. How did you paint between the cylinder block and the frame? Did you paint them separately and assemble?
 

[Dandy Dave]

Nice Job!
 

[dan_41jdh]

Good looking '39. Very nice detail of an original short muffler.
 

[dan_41jdh]

leon, the flywheel furnished on the first model "H's" was 2.40" wide x 16-1/4" diameter. At S/N 9151 (late in the 1939 production year) the flywheel was changed to a wider and larger diameter version (2.75" wide x 17-1/4" diameter). The new flywheel shared the same casting number and assembly number and so was considered a replacement part for earlier flywheels. I haven't found documentation as to why the flywheel was changed, but because of the much greater moment of inertia of the larger diameter and wider rim of the later flywheel, one could assume the designers decided they needed a little more inertia to smooth out engine impulses...

Besides the obvious size differences, one can easily identify the earlier flywheel from the location of the tapped pulling holes - on the early flywheel, they are located close to the expansion slots of the flywheel, while on the late version, they are located 90 degrees from the expansion slots.
 

[msteinblock]

Yea, the 39 flywheel is different. Seems to me the holes are aligned different as well.

I did not do a 100% top to bottom restore so I did not have the block and frame off. I did have the head off, which allowed me access to most of the frame. Between the block and frame I cleaned and painted the best I could get down in there. This tractor was my first so it was a learning experience from the start. The next tractor will be different....

A couple other notes that I did not mention. This has the original 7" narrow rear rims. Unfortunately 7.5 tires that originally came on it are hard if not impossible to find, so I ended up with 9.5 tires. There was a lot of discussion about switching rims to wider but ultimately kept the original narrow. You really cant see much different unless you know what you are looking for.

Also present is the radiator canvas. These were not present on the tractor when it arrived. The rods and canvas were parts I added. I doubt anyone will even notice that and it will never get used. But it makes me fell better and fills two holes on that grill.

I really tried to get it back to original 39 if possible. At some point it turned from "searching for 39 only parts" to "get it done". Thats the reason for the wrong drawbar, mag, carb, etc. While I am sure these were direct upgrades/replacements by Deere and would still be commonly found on any year, I wanted to get it all the way back to 39. At this point I am just keeping my eyes open and will replace those "wrong" items if/when I can find them.

A funny story. I went to my father's to help pick corn and plow these past couple weeks and used his 39 A for some of the work. Wow, what a huge tractor! When I came back home and got on the H it felt like I was driving a toy!