The Haitch

    The first person who ever told me that there was a Model H in the John Deere line, pronounced the letter H as "haitch"! We've all met someone who did that, haven't we? Anyway, even though I don't pronounce it that way, that's what I decided to name my Model H when I got one. "The Haitch"
 
How do you tell a
Model H from a Model B?

    The Model H is smaller than the Model B (see the picture), but that isn't apparent when it's sitting all by itself. The H has no vertical intake stack. The intake is the small rectangular opening in the left side of the hood. But be careful! A derelict Model B could be sitting in a field with its intake stack missing! Early Model H's have cast iron front wheels with the distinctive holes, as shown. Model B's NEVER have those. Be careful again though; later Model H's had pressed steel wheels, just like the Model B.
    The serial number plate on the H says "Model H" and the major castings have numbers that start with H. On the B the plate says "Model B", and the casting numbers begin with B. But that's TOO EASY! You want to be able to tell from a distance as you are driving by, don't you? On the model B the rear section of the hood always extends back beyond the governor housing and the magneto. On the H, the governor and mag are sitting there on the platform, right in front of you, as you are seated on the tractor. This is something you can see from both sides of the tractor. The magneto is on the right, the governor on the left (if you were seated in the seat)
 
The governor side of the B The governor side of the H
 
The magneto side of the B The magneto side of the H
 
    This is a 1939 Model H, the first year they were out. There never was an "unstyled H". There were a few minor changes in parts and equipment by 1946 when the H was discontinued; but from a distance, they all look about the same.


    The Model H was never available with a "Standard" or "fixed width" front end, but it can sometimes be found with different front end configurations OTHER than the tricycle. Take a look HERE for some examples of similar treatments found on the Model B.

   Oh, and by the way, the sourcecode for this page was written in HaitchTML!



<-- Go back to the home page
or use your back button to return to where you were.


9/19/04
Home