I got a LONG story on an IH H tractor. Grab your theater-sized popcorn and Coke...or bail now. This would have happened in the early 80s.
I grew up on a dairy farm and Holstein cows like to eat. During the winter, we had to have a heated building so the silage wagon wouldn't freeze, so we (dad and I) had to put up wood every weekend during the winter to heat our silage wagon shed. We were putting up wood in a new area one weekend and we saw an IH H sitting out in the field....with no can on the exhaust. Dad talked to the land owner about the tractor. He said he had got a flat on the tractor and just left it sit out in the field for several years. Again, with no covering on the exhaust. I was fresh out of automotive tech school, still living at home and dad knew where to get free mechanic services.
He didn't have to think long about making an offer on this tractor and he did. We pulled it home and I immediately tore the engine apart. This engine has a "dry" cylinder sleeve. Since the exhaust had been open so long, two pistons had to be pounded out of the block and the dry sleeves came with it. I talked dad into doing a complete overhaul on the H. I got a set of pop-up domed pistons from Tractor Supply. This was when Tractor Supply actually sold tractor parts. New sleeves came with the pistons and I did everything right overhauling this engine. The crankshaft and the rods came back from the machine shop and the clearances were just a little too tight according to spec, but I assembled it anyway. I got it together and the engine took right off and sounded sweet. The oil pressure pegged the gauge (thanks to it being tight), but the needle backed off when it got warm.
Dad was a John Deere 2-cylinder tractor man, but this became one of his favorite for one reason only: The International Harvester H has a fantastic road gear. You can't pull much at that speed, but it goes down the road much faster than a John Deere two-banger.
Dad has long passed, but mom still has it in one of her back sheds. It hasn't run for years, but I'm certain with new gas and a battery, it would take right off. My dad was too tight to ever have it painted, so it's still has the original patina. It has a buzz saw on it that saw many, many hours of dangerous use, but that's what you used back then. It also has a spin-on oil filter that I engineered myself. I'm not saying it's any better than a factory filter, just a lot cleaner to change. OP, you've got a good looking tractor. BTW, mom keeps telling me to get this out of her shed and take it home, but I collect Oliver tractors.
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