I've got a 1950 8N that I picked up at an auction, someone else's partially finished project (I know I know...) Came with a bunch of extra parts, price was right, and engine wasn't locked up..

The engine was swapped at some point with a Ford stationary industrial engine that has magneto ignition, and I am having a heck of a time getting the timing right. I was able to locate TDC of compression on #1 by using the valve overlap on #4, and discovered TDC marks on the flywheel, but they appear to just be punch marks and there are not any other timing marks on the flywheel. If I hold the light just right I can almost make out something, not sure if someone attempted to clean the flywheel in an effort to locate the marks and scrubbed them off or what. I have the original flywheel that has timing marks but don't really want to have to swap it out if I don't have to. The guy I got it from said something about the stationary engines being timed off the front and not the flywheel, but knowing Henry Ford he would not have put that timing hole at the back of the block otherwise :-P

It is CLOSE, if I pull the choke and crank it over it will spit and sputter and attempt to fire but won't stay running. I've loosened the magneto and rotated it while cranking to see if it improves but not much success.

It has good spark, however I suspect that the point gap may be wrong and I am not super familiar with the magnetos. It's a Fairbanks-Morse mag (This engine has a different front cover with the magneto drive, it is not like the 2Ns that had the mag drive that bolted in place of the distributor) Somewhere I read to set the engine at TDC and then rotate the magneto until you hear it clack and then tighten the bolt but so far have not been able to get it to do that, not sure if I'm one tooth off or not (I set the engine at TDC and then installed the mag with the rotor pointing at #1)

As for the carb issues, I have three carburetors for it. An original Marvell/Shebler that I discovered has an internal crack where the main jet threads in, a no-name knock off polished aluminum one that came with the tractor, in pieces (appeared to be complete and I assembled it following a guide I found, including using a 1/4" drill bit to check the float level), and a complete no-name one I picked up off Amazon for $35. They all do the same thing - puke fuel out the intake port. I initially thought my issue was that I had the hood off, and was attempting to get it running with a lawnmower gas tank ratchet strapped above the battery and maybe it was too high and was too much pressure for the float valve, but earlier today I put the hood on and hooked up the fuel with the metal line (which was a fun adventure!) but in addition to the sediment bowl leaking (I had soaked the cork gasket in fuel to moisten it but suspect I may just need to replace it) the carburetor still leaks fuel out the mouth. This one I have not taken off to check the float, valve etc.. but just find it nuts that all three carbs have the same issue. I know these engines flood easily and suspect most of my not-running issue is due to it flooding but any help would be greatly appreciated!

There is a neat tutorial in our How-To's/Fuel System library that shows a way to measure the level in your fuel bowl while the tractor is running. That may help here.

Also, are you holding the choke out when you start it? It is often not needed - turn the engine over first and then do a quick pull and release on the choke knob.

• Click here for the tutorial

Not familiar with the mag so can't help there.

Sounds like you could be having float issues with the carbs. Hold the float close to your ear and shake it and if you hear any liquid sloshing around inside, get a new one.

You can also try lowering the float a 32nd at a time to see if that helps.

Instead of using 1/4 inch bit, try a 9/32.