Farmall H Distributor Cap

[jcronk]

Hello. Working on a 1945 tractor. Son in law bought a
distributor cap that fits but I dont think it is correct. Could
someone please post a picture of the bottom view of a
correct cap. Is there a tab that fits into the small cutout on
the distributor body? Thanks Jack

 

[redforlife]

If its not exactly like the old one you took off, it's not the right one. Don't question yourself if it's just a little bit not right (missing tab, whatever). It's not the right one.

There were different distributors and a mag option that went on an H. You got to get the right cap to match what's on it. Some distributors are horizontal, and some vertical. Not sure if difference on cap for that alone. But you can get the wrong cap. What book shows for a cap, might not be what you got. You might run into this if you just let a parts store look it up.

If your distributor has a tag on it, use info from off of that tag to aid in referrancing the right cap.

 

[DeltaRed]

Take the old cap with you to match up to the new one. Here in my town in western Colorado,NAPA;Carquest/Advance;O Rieleys can all get parts for those old tractors.

 

[rustred]

there can be two different distributors used., either the ihc or delco. find out which u have and go from there. plus if you have the caps in hand its plain to see the difference.

 

[Charlie M]

Its possible someone mixed a battery ignition cap with a magneto cap - they don't exchange. You have to make sure you tell the parts guy which you have or they may just assume its a magneto because of the year.

 

[gene bender]

just what dist do you have there would be an I-H or a DELCO REMY or even a PRESTOLITE

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

(quoted from post at 07:22:13 08/07/23) Hello. Working on a 1945 tractor. Son in law bought a
distributor cap that fits but I dont think it is correct. Could
someone please post a picture of the bottom view of a
correct cap. Is there a tab that fits into the small cutout on
the distributor body? Thanks Jack

Could you please post a picture of the distributor? As others have pointed out it could be a magneto, an IH distributor, a Delco distributor, or a Prestolite distributor.

Fortunately we can eliminate the Prestolite as a possibility because an IH cap will not "almost fit" a Prestolite distributor, and vice versa. They are very different diameters.

This is the underside of an IH cap.

Yes, there should be an alignment tab on an IH distributor cap.

This post was edited by BarnyardEngineering on 08/08/2023 at 04:26 am.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

This is the underside of the Delco cap. Also has an alignment tab.

 

[BarnyardEngineering]

Finally, a Prestolite. Much larger cap.

 

[jcronk]

Thanks all. The picture tells me definitely got the wrong cap. I was sure there had to be an alignment tab. The one bought has an alignment cutout. Unfortunately the old one got tossed. There is no tag on the distributor. There is a number moldedvinto the body. With that I should be able to get the correct cap from the parts store on this site. I am way north in the boonies of Saskatchewan Canada so no simple drive to some dealership. [/img:1915a4292f]
[img:1915a4292f]https://forums.yesterdaystractors.com/photos/mvphoto108355.jpg

 

[jcronk]

This has been a multi year project. I only get to the farm a few times in a year. This was supposed to be the "fire her up" trip. Now it might happen in October.

 

[55 50 Ron]

Beautiful tractor and people. I'm really intrigued and interested in your comments I
only get to the farm a few times a year. Would you explain that a little more for us?
Thanks.

 

[jcronk]

The farm is about 300 miles north of where I live. Wife and I visit three or four times in a year for about three days time. So in a year there might be about two weeks total times 10 years. So maybe about five months at the farm. Not every day devoted to the tractor. I would remove stuff and rebuild at home. If I m it at th farm, nothing happens with the tractor. It was meant to teach the young guy some basic mechanical skills.

 

[gene bender]

first which dist do you have the I-H or the DELCO REMEY or the PRESTOLITE People should take the old one when buying a new one same way when ordering parts