'37 A Timing Marks

This is my cousins tractor. Was bought new by our great grandfather in '37. Terry passed away in May of this year, 57 years old. This tractor has always been a bear to start. I have always thought the timing was off a bit. Long story short, where is the timing mark? Left hand impulse lines up where?

The first pic is where the mag is firing on the LH cylinder. Second pic is where I think the LH impulse mark should line up when LH fires. Third pic is a casting mark on the transmission. This mark is where the LH side is firing now, first pic. Fourth pic is of Terry on the A.

You are correct in your thinking. Second pic is where the left cylinder is top dead center and should fire. Can be verified by taking left plug out and can feel top of piston.

When the LH cyl is at TDC the slot in the magneto drive coupling on the mag shaft should be horizontal.

The bent flange on the top of tin side cover should be where your TDC mark aligns up.

Frist thing I would do is to make sure its on tdc and see then if the flywheel is maybe off that much. Lot of times if it is the tractor will shake bad. If its on tdc with the flywheel at the mark then at one time the gear for the governor is off and with the mag off you need to move the mag drive so the slot is straight across. If its not you will need to remove the mag then the out side governor cover and there is some dots on the gears you need to line up. Let us know what you find out and the guys on here will help out.

Left hand impulse should be at 3 o'clock when it fires. Piston at the tdc. Ron MN

Yes, it is quite a ways off. As has been said, the mag should click when the left hand impulse mark is on the lip of the bent cover. If you can't adjust the mag to make it fire at the correct time, sometime in the past the governor has been removed and replaced incorrectly, with the mag drive off a cog or two. That would have to be corrected.

To time the mag, loosen the mag and swing in as far to the front as you can. Set the flywheel mark on the timing mark(as shown in picture 2). Slowly rotate the mag to the rear. Tighten it when you hear the mag click. If you can't get it adjusted this way, then the governor must be loosened and the mag drive gear must be turned cog or two. Look at the mag drive to determine which way to turn. The groove in the mag drive should be level horizontally.

BTW, the A was built in late '37, because of the cast-in implement mounting rings in the front pedestal, the 12 spline rear axles, the deep "bucket" seat, and not shown but probably there, a guide on the other side of the hood to keep the shutter rod from vibrating. The serial # should be between 460000 and 466787. My A, 458xxx was built in August of '37.

It would be interesting to know if you can find a 2 on the other side somewhere denoting the cylinder numbering. Which is my input to why there is a 1 clearly shown where it is. It's not a timing mark, just a cylinder number.

Too many people timing to it might be the reason they are not found on later tractors?

Thanks guys for all your help. We turned the mag to fire when the LH impulse lined up with the flange. Tractor was still hard to start and I don't believe it was running as smooth as it should have. We put it back like it was and going to leave it there till after the parade tomorrow. I'm thinking you guys hit the nail on the head when you think the governor/mag may have been apart at some time and not timed back correctly. Will keep you informed on what we do.

Don't know about green tractors, but maybe I can encourage you. My red tractor was a bear to start, for many years. My brother was visiting one time, and asked what the problem was. I told him how I'd set the points and timing and carb and etc. He asked if I had done all the work myself? {I was a carpenter at the time.} I said of course. He said give me a screwdriver. He got to work. It starts so fast now I can't get my finger off the start button before it roars to life. I'm serious, it really does, in a fraction of a second. Point being, there IS a solution to your problem, have faith, you WILL find it. Keep at it.