I just traded some chickens for an old 9n. I know absolutely nothing about these, but I’m an old school mechanic. It’s been sitting in a shed for years. The previous owner has messed with it. He isn’t very sharp with this stuff. He replaced the battery with a new 6v from Tractor Supply. He didn’t know that it is Pos ground, so battery was hooked up backwards with positive to starter and negative to ground. I pulled the battery out and charged it. He also replaced the spark plugs, but I don’t know if they are correct, or gapped properly. Plug wires are all disconnected. He hasn’t messed with the distributor or points.
I haven’t tried to start it yet. But engine is free. I’m planning on putting the battery back in, gapping the plugs, adding fresh gas and hitting the button. See what it has to say. Any suggestions before I give it a go? How difficult is it to access the distributor points? I’m sure they need serviced or replaced. What else do I need to do before cranking her over? Thanks for the advice!

Update! So I did all the things. New battery. Pulled distributor, cleaned & gapped points (which are recently replaced). Gapped plugs at .030. Pulled the carb. It was drained and in good condition. I disassembled it , cleaned, and replaced gaskets. Put a little oil down all cylinders. Compression is at 100, 90, 80, 85. Engine oil was full and clean. I put it all back together and put fresh gas in the tank. I hit the starter, and she cranked fine. It took a couple shots of ether, and quite a bit of cranking, but she came to life! Ran great, but water pump was bad. Shut it down. I replaced the water pump yesterday, and fired it back up. Runs amazing!
BUT, it is very difficult to start! Takes a lot of cranking and messing with choke & throttle position, warm or cold. Is that typical of these, or is there something I can do to get it to fire up easier?

A lot of new N-owners over-choke the engine when trying to start. Some engines will require it, but yours may not. Are you using the choke from the get-go and leaving it out while attempting to start? Many well-tuned Ns will start with only a little choke applied. If you haven't tried this, turn it over with no choke applied, and while cranking, pull the choke knob out for a second or two and release it.

Let us know if this gets it, and if not, we can talk about carb adjustments.

Thanks, Ed! I was definitely over-choking. I followed your advice, and it starts much easier with minimal choke. I was choking from the get go, and apparently flooding it out, or at least making it unhappy. That said, please tell me about carb adjustments. It seems a bit sluggish. I started with the fuel/air needle at one turn out. Same with idle. In order to idle smooth and stay running I had to turn idle screw in one turn.
Also I’m concerned about timing. When I set the points, the plate was loose. I set it to mid-point and tightened the retaining screw, but I didn’t set to factory specifications. Just read the timing adjustment in the service manual today. I should’ve done that!

A former member (RIP) shared his method here:

• Click here to view Bruce's post

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Remove the distributor to do any service on it - much easier. It's only two bolts, and it is offset so you can only install it one way, and you don't have to worry about putting it back on out of time.

Having set for "years", I would put some MMO, Marvel Mystery Oil, in each cylinder and let it set for a couple of days. Then, roll the engine over a couple times and do some more MMO.
Engine oil level full?
Take the air intake pipe off.
Try a compression check. Should be above 90 pounds and fairly even. Likely not but, could still start.
The carb is likely gummed up. It may take some starting fluid to get any start attempt. Spray directly into the carb.
Plugs gapped at.030, firing order 1,2,4,3. Number one is closest to radiator.
Others will chime in with, BTDT (been there, done that)
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