'53 Super C Advice

[markcm28]

Hello Farmall world! I am a complete newbie to Farmall tractors, and mostly tractors and engines and anything mechanical whatsoever. My wife inhereted two Farmall tractors a few years back, both of which have sat for atleast 8 years. Here's the back story...

The thought is one of them was put up running in 2004, and I do not know which one it was. I would like to focus my attention on that one, if I could figure out which one it was. Word on the street is that it was "the one on the right." This one, which appears to be a Super C (only positive identification so far is the hood emblem) will not turn over when hand cranked, and the gas tank was bone dry. It also seems to be missing a cover on a transmission(?) access hole below the gas tank area which has allowed rats to make a nest out of the seat cushion in there. This one is also missing the serial number plate. I learned of the casting dates after my last visit to that tractor (50 miles away). I moved on to the other tractor.

This one is a C according to the hood emblem. (These hoods are so easily interchangable, I hate to go strictly off of that.) This one does have a serial number.



According to http://www.tmtractor.com/id/id_002.htm, it would be a '48. I haven't seen that model 'FC-' anywhere else on the WWWinterwebnet, so one question would be is does that mean its a model C like the hood says?

The casting dates I've found on this tractor all have an S at the end of them.



According to http://www.tmtractor.com/id/id_004.htm, it says they would have been made in December of '49. So there's my next question. '48 or '49?

This one will turn over when hand cranked, and there was still gas in the tank. This leads me to think that contrary to popular belief, "the one on the left" was working last.

I plan on ordering a manual after positive identification, which hopefully will answer alot of my questions, but any advice you guys would have on an order of diagnostics (i.e.: What would you do first? And then? And then? And THEN?) would be greatly appreciated.
So far I've drained the gas, cleaned the sediment bowl (filthy), cleaned the air cleaner (filthier), and pressure washed it (filthiest). Also, when I first hooked up a new battery (positive ground), the starter made a spinning noise (<---technical term), now it won't.

Thanks in advance! Y'all have a great forum going here!

[markcm28]

I just realized I posted this in the wrong forum. Any way the moderators could move it to the letter series forum?

[Rudi]

G'day and congrats on becoming the keeper of the family Farmalls I have already moved this to the correct forum...

Well one is definitely a C as the Serial # Tag indicates and it is an FC # 47129J which corresponds with a 1950 production year. You can confirm this here : Farmall C. 1950 was the Mid Century Campaign so check that C for white under the hood and other places. One never knows.

Unfortunately I do not have a lot of information on the Letter Series outside of the Cub, but I do have some information on the Manual Server. I do happen to have a scanned copy of the Farmall C Owner's Manual and the TC-38B Parts Catalog. Send me a pm with your email address.

Suggest though that you do follow the links below and read the info therein. There is a lot of information for our members and a lot will still apply even if you do not have any Cubs.

to Farmallcub.com Forum Family. And you have come to the right place for all things Cub related. If you click on the Site Rules, Regulations, & Important Information, it will point you to the Welcome Wagon wherein you will find links to many useful sites and topics. One of which is the Cub Manual Server. Enjoy!.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

The serial plate you posted is for a 1950 Farmall C, probably in early January, since the numbers started with 47,010 on Jan 1 of 1950. C and Super C are kind of rare in this area, but if I remember correctly (happens occasionally, but not often) there should be a little more space between the top of the touch control unit and the gas tank on the SC than the C due to the engine being slightly taller.

[Jim Becker]

OK, you have several questions there. Lets see if I can hit some of them.
I'll start with the tractor that has a serial plate. That plate (and presumably the tractor it is attached to) is a 1950 Farmall C. The "FC" serial prefix was used on both the C and Super C. The first number for 1950 was 47010. Your date code of 12.21.S is December 21, 1949. That is the date that raw casting was produced in the foundry. It would have been machined at a later date then used to build the tractor. If you look around some more on the tractor, you will find more parts with date codes. Some may be considerably different.

The next thing about this tractor is the paint. I can see quite a bit of white paint showing through from an earlier paint job. In 1950, International Harvester did a big demonstrator program. They painted a bunch of tractors white for use as demonstrators. They were to be repainted the standard red when they were sold. It looks like your is one of those tractors. People have different opinions as to whether a demo tractor is a big deal or not. Some guys get all hot over them strip the paint all off and repaint them white. Others could care less. My own opinion is that a demo with some or all of the ORIGINAL white paint showing is mildly interesting. Once the old white is stripped off, it is just another tractor and you can paint it any color you want. There are a LOT of bogus white demos out there.

As to what to do first/next with the tactor, you should get the Owners Manual and study it. Binder Books will have a quality reprint of the original. In the How Tos on this site is a thred on first things to do to a new Cub. The same suggestions apply and will get you a good start in things.
http://www.farmallcub.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?f=145&t=16305

On the other tractor with no serial plate, does it look almost identical to the other tractor? If so it is probably either a C or Super C. Although your description made me think of some Allis Chalmers models. Post some pictures when you get a chance and we can probably ID it for sure.

[markcm28]

Thanks for the quick responses. I feel like Harry in Dumb and Dumber. "Samsonite! I was WAY off!"

As for the paint, there is a white undercoat. I thought it was primer. That's interesting to find that out though.



For now, I do not intend to repaint it. I'd settle for getting it operable. It's got 3 flats, so if I can get it running, the first big expense (I'm assuming, I haven't priced them.) will be new tires. Plus, I'd agree with you, Jim, that seeing the original paint showing through would be the most interesting way of it representing a demo tractor.

The other tractor (Super C emblem on hood, no serial number) at casual glance does look identical. It has a 3pt conversion on it. The one y'all identified as the 1950 C does not. I'm not sure if those came factory on certain models or if they were all aftermarket add ons.

Again, thanks for the links and info! I'm both excited and a little overwhelmed by how much I don't know. Gotta start somewhere though. It'd mean alot to me to get these running again!

[markcm28]

Well one is definitely a C as the Serial # Tag indicates and it is an FC # 47129J which corresponds with a 1950 production year.

What does the J represent that you mention after the serial number?

[Jim Becker]

The 3-point hitch is an aftermarket add-on. A Super C has a few characteristics that distinguish it from a C, but you need to look closely. The C has band brakes while the Super C has disk brakes. They look different on the outside. The C brake pedals are close to straight while the Super C ones have a curve. The Super C radiator is taller, requiring a taller grill. The gas tank is raised up to correspond. Thus there is some space between the bottom of the tank and the hydraulic system. On the C, the tank is very close to the hydraulics.

There is no way to find the serial number if the plate is missing. Casting date codes and the engine number can be used to get the approximate age and possibly narrow down the range of the serial number. The engine number is stamped into a flat boss on the right side, upper front of the engine block. It is about below the number 1 spark plug. The view is partly obscured by the governor control rod.

[markcm28]

Thanks again for the info. I'll be headed back out to the farm tomorrow sometime. I'll look for those characteristics as well as take a few more pics.

[Bigdog]

Well one is definitely a C as the Serial # Tag indicates and it is an FC # 47129J which corresponds with a 1950 production year.

What does the J represent that you mention after the serial number?

The J indicates it has a clutch manufactured by Rockford. No big deal but it was a way to tell the mechanics who might work on the tractor what components they would need before splitting the tractor for clutch work.

[Bill Hudson]

Welcome to the forum. Looks like the folks have you pointed in the right direction.

GIG 'EM AGGIES!!! Class of '78

Bill

[markcm28]

HA! Gig 'em! Class of '07.

I may or may not have graduated in '08 though.

[Matt Kirsch]

The main source of your date confusion is that you were using the CUB serial number reference to look up the C's serial number. TM Tractor specializes in CUB tractors only, nothing else.

Here's my favorite reference for looking up serial numbers when dealing with non-CUB tractors:

http://www.ytmag.com/cgi-bin/snlookup.cgi

[Jim Becker]

Well one is definitely a C as the Serial # Tag indicates and it is an FC # 47129J which corresponds with a 1950 production year.

What does the J represent that you mention after the serial number?

If there is a J on that serial number, I sure can't see it. Without a J, it started out with an Auburn clutch.

[Rudi]

Jim:

You are right. No J....

-- what can I say.. still getting used to one working eyeball... and it waters a lot