Anonymous-0
Well-known Member
1936 Farmall F20 Cane
I Restoring this rare Farmall f20 Cane tractor has taken all of the 39 years I have owned her between raising 9 children. The Head was cracked and sleeves rusted through. Most of the front axle components were broken(front bolster tie rods wishbone wishbone-cradle frame spindle arms, steering gear box all phisicaly broken) and worn out. control rods and levers missing or broken. The rims oil pan differential cover fuel tank hood seat rusted through, seat bracket steering rod and rod support all broken. I rebuilt everthing; governor engine, overdive, steering, you name it. she got nos sleeves, rings, valves & valve guides, gauges radiator core, most of the bearings, i rebuilt the magneto myself using nos bearings coil, condensor points and i designed and built a magneto magnet recharger to re-magnetize the magneto magnet. She has many features not found on most F20 tractors; a high clearance wide front axle(makeing her a 'Cane' tractor) heisler overdrive and electric start, factory swinging drawbar, electric generator & lights, mud scrapers, French & hect rims & wheel weights, pto extension, fendes, radiator louvers(reduces air flow through radiator for distilate operation), engine temperature gauge, spark arestor, axle-shaft sprocket-drive for planter now used to drive an acreage counter, 5,000 foot altitude high compression pistons, extension on the pto lever. original equipment nos spark plugs and new firestones tires and tubes all around. she dynos at 29 pto hp and runs and drives as good as a new tractor. through the years beween births and deaths in the family, buying a home, I would always go back to her to keep at the restoration. before we had the internet I drove hundreds of miles on runs to find parts in Michigan Ohio Indiana Illinois kentucky Tennesee Pennsylvania. I looked at several hundred F20 tractors and gathered parts to complete the restoration. i talked to old farmers who farmed with F20s, visited IH dealers buying NOS parts, called international Harvester before her bankrupsy asking questions, i ordered steel rod and tube from home built aircraft catalogs, visited a plant making felt named 'Felters' to make the felt seals and lubrication worms under the valve cover and made my own contole rods. i paid thousands of dollars in machine work to repair or make parts. i designed and drew up machineing prints to make the universal joint between the engine and the overdrive using two custom splined sprockets and a double roller chain and make the generator casing and casing endplate(originaly made from 'white metal' that had disintigrated. the restoration took so long the first set of new tires i put on front and rear dry rotted and cracked beyond use before the restoration was complete. I bought the tractor in 1984 and finished the restoration in 2023, 39 years later.
I Restoring this rare Farmall f20 Cane tractor has taken all of the 39 years I have owned her between raising 9 children. The Head was cracked and sleeves rusted through. Most of the front axle components were broken(front bolster tie rods wishbone wishbone-cradle frame spindle arms, steering gear box all phisicaly broken) and worn out. control rods and levers missing or broken. The rims oil pan differential cover fuel tank hood seat rusted through, seat bracket steering rod and rod support all broken. I rebuilt everthing; governor engine, overdive, steering, you name it. she got nos sleeves, rings, valves & valve guides, gauges radiator core, most of the bearings, i rebuilt the magneto myself using nos bearings coil, condensor points and i designed and built a magneto magnet recharger to re-magnetize the magneto magnet. She has many features not found on most F20 tractors; a high clearance wide front axle(makeing her a 'Cane' tractor) heisler overdrive and electric start, factory swinging drawbar, electric generator & lights, mud scrapers, French & hect rims & wheel weights, pto extension, fendes, radiator louvers(reduces air flow through radiator for distilate operation), engine temperature gauge, spark arestor, axle-shaft sprocket-drive for planter now used to drive an acreage counter, 5,000 foot altitude high compression pistons, extension on the pto lever. original equipment nos spark plugs and new firestones tires and tubes all around. she dynos at 29 pto hp and runs and drives as good as a new tractor. through the years beween births and deaths in the family, buying a home, I would always go back to her to keep at the restoration. before we had the internet I drove hundreds of miles on runs to find parts in Michigan Ohio Indiana Illinois kentucky Tennesee Pennsylvania. I looked at several hundred F20 tractors and gathered parts to complete the restoration. i talked to old farmers who farmed with F20s, visited IH dealers buying NOS parts, called international Harvester before her bankrupsy asking questions, i ordered steel rod and tube from home built aircraft catalogs, visited a plant making felt named 'Felters' to make the felt seals and lubrication worms under the valve cover and made my own contole rods. i paid thousands of dollars in machine work to repair or make parts. i designed and drew up machineing prints to make the universal joint between the engine and the overdrive using two custom splined sprockets and a double roller chain and make the generator casing and casing endplate(originaly made from 'white metal' that had disintigrated. the restoration took so long the first set of new tires i put on front and rear dry rotted and cracked beyond use before the restoration was complete. I bought the tractor in 1984 and finished the restoration in 2023, 39 years later.
