New to me F12

I bought a 1937 F12 today. I pulled the plugs and 2 and 4 looked a bit dirtier than 1 and 3. I sandblasted them all and put back in.

The ol' girl tries to fire, but will not start. What am I doing wrong? also, those same plugs 2 and 4 are wet from gas, but I know 1 is dry?

any help is appreciated

Do you have compression in all cylinders? May have stuck valve in #1 and it is not sucking up the gas. oldiron29

(quoted from post at 18:56:19 11/23/13) I bought a 1937 F12 today. I pulled the plugs and 2 and 4 looked a bit dirtier than 1 and 3. I sandblasted them all and put back in.

The ol' girl tries to fire, but will not start. What am I doing wrong? also, those same plugs 2 and 4 are wet from gas, but I know 1 is dry?

any help is appreciated

Click to expand...

The very first thing I do to any of them that haven't run in a while is clean and dress the points in the mag. Also check that 2 and 4 wires are not reversed on the mag. Not easy to trace them in that tube but very easy to get them wrong.

thank you for responding. I now have it running - rough at first, but running.



I know I need to get a manual and I will very soon. a few more questions, Does the mag have a kill switch? can anyone explain to me the lever locations for the mag?


Thanks everyone

"Kill Switch" is built into the advance lever. Turning the lever all the way to the left grounds the mag.

As you rotate the lever to the right (clockwise) it advances the timing by moving the points plate in relation to the points cam.

My mag or lever seems to be the opposite. It runs better all the way left or counter-clockwise and switching it clockwise or right, it wants to kill it, but it won't.

What is or are my problems?

Thanks

This may be a little long winded but, here goes. From what I can gather you have it running. That's a plus! Now as others have said, you need to make sure the timing of the mag is correct, the point settings are correct. Getting a manual is a step in the right direction. So first things first. Pull the #1 spark plug. As you slowly crank the engine over, hold your thumb over the spark plug hole. When you feel pressure on your thumb that means that #1 is coming up on the compression stroke. At this point slow down on how fast you are cranking over the engine and look in the "window" on the left side of the bell housing. When you see the line for #1 and #4 TDC appear in the window (approximately centered in the window) stop cranking. Remove the distributor cap and look at the position of the pointer on the distributor plate. It should be pointing at the 2:00 o"clock position. If it is not, it means the mag is out of time. Remove the four mounting bolts and remove the mag. Lay it on its side and rotate the drive until the pointer is pointing at 2:00 o"clock. What this does is "unlock" the impulse coupling that is used when the engine is running. Without disturbing this setting set the mag back on its mount close to where its final resting place will be. Recheck the position of the pointer. If the mag coupling doesn"t line up with the main drive of the engine, remove the two small bolts and rotate that plate to MATCH the mag. Reinstall the bolts, they are exactly 180 degrees apart. Slide the mag into position. You may have to adjust this later, but it is a good starting point. Clean and set the points at .013" on the high point of the cam, you can do this really easy before you reinstall the mag. Assuming the plug wires have not been crossed the tractor should start and run. The mag control rod, as you are setting on the tractor, turned to the far left position is the grounding position. That is your "kill switch". When that rod is turned to the far right is the full "run" position. To start the tractor, the arm is turned to the full right position, then backed off until it is approximately vertical. That retards the advance to aid in starting. After two to three pulls of the crank, it should start. Immediately move the arm to the far right position or "run. You should notice a difference in the sound of the engine when you do this. Depending on the outside air temperature, you may have to use the choke for the first two pulls, then take it off. If you leave the choke on for more than this, you will flood it and that requires a lot more cranking. Also check the gap of the plugs. Hope this helps. Again sorry for the long post.

Dave A. -

First, thank you for the information. I will do exactly this. As it sits now, does this mean I may be 180 off since mine runs best when lever is far left and when I turn to the right, the motor runs worse and it tries to kill engine, but won't?

I'm sitting in a hotel room right now and trying to visualize your problem. The first thing I would do is check the mag timing. When you are sure that is correct (you've got it running right?) I would look next at your linkage. The mag rod has a fitting on the end that is held in place by a cotter pin. From this fitting there is another rod bent at a 90 degree angle that connects to the points cover. This rod angle should be pointing down then turn to connect to the points cap. This rod should be behind the plug wires. So to make a long story short, if this angle rod is out in the open IMO it is installed wrong. That's the only way I can see for you to operate the mag the way you are describing, unless somehow the main rod had got a 180 degree twist to it. I'll be home later today where I can get a better look at my tractors. If I come up with something different, I'll let you know.

Dave,

here is my email: [email protected].

email me and I will send you some pics of my set up. if you do not mind.