early B starting woes

Working on a 1938 BO and a 1938 BN for a friend in Australia this past Saturday
Neither tractor has petcocks
Have rebuilt the carb and adjusted the WICO X mag on the BO - had trouble starting it until we found a throttle setting just above idle - marked in with a scribe line - now it starts 2nd spin of flywheel -sometimes, but the throttle setting is critical- I am getting a new throttle plate, the old one is worn at top and bottom from former bushing replacements that were not installed correctly - I install the bushing down into the carburetor bore, then use a half round file to remove material so the bushing fills the entire area-
The BN is another story
I adjusted the wico c mag to throw the spark at #1 impulse
Put gas in and it started after 15 pulls of the flywheel - ran terrible - no idle circuit
Dismantled the carb and it was full of rust and crud- don't know how it started
Replaced carb with one for a BR that was recently returned from the USA rebuilt
Checked fuel level in bowl -3/4 inch from top of bowl - 2nd spin it popped and then nothing for at least 40 spins- not even a pop - removed the plug - not wet after having full choke on for at least 20 spins -
Pulled rebuilt carb back off - will dismantle yo check everything
I have filed and set points in mag - seems like a decent spark
What are we doing wrong?
I seem to have trouble starting these early B's- had the same problem on one in Canada -
What are other guys methods to start these tractors without petcocks?
tried the BN again on Sunday-- unfortunately it appears it had a "CIL overhaul" - tried to start again today -switched mags since the Wico C spark was irratic - to a new X mag -timed perfectly - reinstalled the rebuilt in USA carb after inspecting and finding nothing wrong - good fuel flow - correct level of fuel in bowl - correct idle and load settings - second spin got one pop and that was it -adjusted the throttle setting to different positions -nothing -noticed that the flywheel was easier to get over TDC than the BO beside it -also without petcocks - THEN - while turning the flywheel down on my knees, I could hear a "swoosh" sound when turning it over - took the valve cover off, sounded like the compression was leaking out the intake, took off the crankcase cover, and a LOT of compression was moving past the rings!!! Next step will be a compression test and then head removal, and then hone and ring replacement. OH, and the clutch driver is loose on the crankshaft as well - the poor owner purchased the tractor along with others from a man in MI - looks like this one looked good, but mechanically bad!!
I found the compression PSI on a early B -according to the "MR Thinker's" Green Magazine Almanac to be 60 psi - correct?

Just open the throttle until the arm on the carb touches the spring, chokeit while you turn a couple of times, take choke off, usually start within a couple of turns.

Didn't know they made a hand start without petcocks.

I have bought, sold and traded many old JD's in the past and one thing for sure is that hardly any 2 start alike. I have had a few that started instantly by barely moving the flywheel. One of those the engine was so shot it sprayed little oil droplets all over everything near. Next owner told me it had a scored cylinder wall from a loose piston pin. After hearing that I could not believe it even ran at all.
So you never know. Getting the compression up and carb. and mag. in good shape should help it out.

thdrduck, you haven't been around many early B John Deere tractors, they didn't have petcocks.
The H tractor also didn't have them

The B's didn't get petcocks until they styled them in 1939. BR and BO got them starting with SN 32900. My 35 B starts good if I bring it to the compression stroke and wait a little. Then just roll it and it will fire and start. They don't need to be spun fast. Of course everything else must be set right. Frank

I found early in that the governor was not responsive to easy starting on any of the 2 cylinders. There should have been some sort of throttle lock for starting. A fully opened butterfly would require such an enormous amount of liquid that you'd never get to start short of pulling. As you can see a lot of people rolled the tractor or pulled to start. As soon as the tractor hits the governor will tend to pull the butterfly fully open, problem especially cold. Most people don't get it and wonder why.

Boy ain't that the truth...
I have 2 model 60's, one won't start unless
it is choked, & the other won't fire at all
if it's choked. Once it starts you better have
your hand on the choke or it will stall. Either
one will start on the coldest day of the year
& that's if you know which tractor your on...

I do the same on the throttle bushing...drive it in "too far" and then I use a die grinder to shape it perfectly to the carb body. I also lightly sand the edges of a new throttle disc because I have yet to find one that is perfect fit and no burrs from production cutting. If good spark it should start and also run fast idle on the idle circuit ports alone but only if it can't suck air somewhere else easier. Make yourself a fitting by hollowing out an old spark plug and weld in your air fitting and use it to pressure up ea cylinder ( on TDC comp. stroke) with abt. 60 psi. You will have to lock flywheel or wedge it with a block of wood at TDC to do this. It's called a leak down test. Once you have pressure there then listen at exhaust stack , crank case breather and air stack. There will always be a little hissing sound at breather because rings don't seal perfectly but should me minimal. Any loud air at exhaust means burned or stuck valve and same at intake stack. Also check radiator for bubbles. you know what that means. Side to side equality means more than a little air sound. There will always be a "little" air sound. Start at 30psi first and then go to 50-60. If all is good the sound you hear will NOT be any louder at 60 than 30. WARNING!! If you do not wedge the flywheel it WILL turn the engine real quickly. Even in gear with brakes locked doesn't work because there is so much accumulative slack in gears etc it will still turn engine close to 90°.Plug insulators must be clean..clean!