Re: Fordson F Overhaul

Gotta say I agree about the flywheel. Those horseshoe magnets can be recharged in place without disturbing anything. Or, if you're going to install an external magneto, it doesn't matter anyway, as you won't be using the magnets.

If you're doing a lot of work inside a Fordson engine, a good person to know is Butch Howe in upstate New York. You'll often see his contributions on this board. He's forgotten more about Fordsons than a lot of folks will ever learn in the first place!

Are you doing rings/valves/bearings, or just looking for excessively worn parts? If you don't know what condition the tractor was in when it was last used regularly or if it sat for a long time, it's not a bad idea to do a complete overhaul -- i.e., pulling the head, hot-tanking the block and having it magnafluxed to check for cracks, checking the cylinders for slop and honing them, grinding the valves and checking their seats, etc. You'll thank yourself in the end, because you'll know every inch of that tractor and know exactly what condition every part is in. And the old beast will start a lot easier if everything's in order. Nothing worse than cranking and cranking on a tractor that doesn't want to start.

Hope your project is going along nicely. Be sure to post some pictures on this site when you have finished!

-- Maine Fordson.

P.S. -- Where did you find the 600-weight for the read end? Have been having trouble getting it here in the northeast...

The tractor has a conversion magneto system which has some problems. I will open another subject/thread for the mag. I hope you will be able to comment on this problem.

Question: I didn't understand your PS

Thanks for your help.

Bill T

That P.S. you didn't understand was not understandable. My clumsy fingers meant to type "rear end" instead of "read end" and my proofreader didn't catch the error before it went out on the wire.

What I meant about the 600W for the rear: That is the lubricant called for, for the Fordson F rear end. It's a very heavy oil and not easy to find. Many folks use 80 or 90-weight gear lube, which I don't believe is heavy enough. (I think 600W is also used in a lot of steam engines.)

Anyway, sorry for the confusion.

-- Maine Fordson

There's bound to be some local businesses in your area that stock the 600w. Myself, I haven't been able to find any locally. I asked Fordson guru Don Clough about it, and he suggested contacting a business that does rock drilling/blasting, as he thought it might be used in those applications as well.

The folks at Lang's Old Car Parts in Winchendon, Massachusetts, have it. They stock just about every part you'd ever need to rebuild a 1909-27 Model T Ford and also have a handful of Fordson parts. The downside is they charge $4.95/quart for the stuff (plus shipping), and the Fordson rear end takes around three and a half gallons if I remember correctly. Link to their web site is posted at the end of this message.

The reason I am so careful with rear-end lube is that sulfur in standard lube is hard on the bronze gears in the rear. Unfortunately, when you look in vintage 1920's magazines and publications for oils and lubricants, they hadn't developed a standardized system of identifying lubricants. You'll see references to MobilOil Gargoyle (or maybe it's Gargoil?) or Polarine Summer or Winter Weight, for example, but there's not a lot of info about specific weights.

Lang's also stocks 140W LubraPlate gear lube for rear ends, saying "This is a modern lubricant wiht superior lubricating qualities. It won't hurt brass thrust washers." It's $9.95/quart. I have never used it, am only providing the info, so "Caveat Emptor."

Hope your project is going well. Keep us posted!

-- Maine Fordson

• Lang's Old Car Parts, Inc.