IH 404 restoring to ...

[VacDaddyt]

Here is my  project of late. I had Heart surgery last thanksgiving and it has slowed me down. Got laid off. The 560 was too large and the 300 utility was awkward, so I sold them both to good homes. And then I purchased  this IH 404 which fits me better. Some of the picture are when I got it home non-running. The carb was junk ,filled with varnish and rotten. The fuel assembly was corroded shut and the fuel line was rotten. The wiring was a mess. Three different plug wires and the points were burned. No coil. Pulled the starter and the middle section was a mouse house on steroids. Turned it over through the starter hole with a pry bar.  While I was waiting on the carb I went after the wheel seals. The hub has a snap ring in the end the wouldn't budge. So I had to use the blue wrench. Even though I had heat on the hubs and used to 10 ton puller it still took  a couple of days. I'm working on the paint right now. It had been painted three or four times with red, yellow and silver. Along with the dash panting was four colors the I have gotten through. I first pressure washed it in the rain so the junk wouldn't stick to my driveway. It had a lot of grease and dirt buildup. It has a couple of small leaks. It runs OK with the starter giving a bit of problems. More to come as I have not addressed the sheet steel yet which is mostly there.

[TN Hillbilly]

Nice project. I passed on a nice original NF 404 once, and Ive ALWAYS regretted that one!

Good luck!

[Chester5732]

It’s a shame people let a tractor get into such disrepair but good job on bringing her back to life.  

[9 Cubs]

So it was originally yellow, and somebody painted it red?

[VacDaddyt]

I think it was yellow, then red, then yellow with other colors . They covered the white up too. It is going red now with the white panels. The rims are going to be silver. The muffler, gas cap, air cleaner , dash and the grille are going to be black. The hubs and bolts are going to be red. It seems there are a lot of variations.