Hey, everybody. Thanks again for the comments and suggestions from my original post.I've now made about five trips (100 miles round trip each time) out to the tractor. My mind has been repeatedly changed between dragging it out of there as it is and starting it up. A friend convinced me it would be fun to start it where it is... and so far, it has been. Fun, in this case, is defined as working without light, electricity or running water, in a dirt-floored pole barn that is also occupied by bats, racoons and a wild variety of insects, and with the nearest TSC, hardware and auto parts stores about a half hour away. I started by MMO-ing the cylinders, pulling the valve covers, priming the oil pump and cranking to get oil worked through the engine. Two stuck valves were easily broken loose. I pulled the main jet adjustment screw and the drain plug on the carb - the system was apparently drained because everything was bone dry and no hints of varnish. There was no spark. We pulled the distributor and checked the points - corroded. Points and condensor were replaced and everything there checked fine with the meter. Reassembled - still no spark. Did a resistance check on the coil - checked fine. Pulled the coil off, clipped it to its lead and "manually" fired it - and it made fire just fine. (Perhaps is the original coil... "Ford" is on the top of it.) Pulled the distributor again, put it together and something was showing a dead short to ground. That turned out to be the pigtail hitting the clip ring for the point plate. A bit of bending and that was solved - but now everything showed wide open all the time... as if the points were not making contact. I checked backwards through the points with the meter. For some weird reason, the brass cup screw that the pigtail nestles into was showing megohms of resistance to its socket! We pulled that and scraped it up a bit, reinstalled and tested for spark. Viola!!!!! Then we cranked her. She spit a bit, so we put new plugs in. Then she started for about three seconds, until gasoline started pouring out of the carb. Ah well... there is a rebuild kit sitting on my shop bench. That's the next step now - I came home with the carb. I'm very glad for the "how to" over at the other site on the rebuild! The next trip out will be with the trailer. I expect to start that puppy right up, drive it out of where it sunk into the ground and back her up onto the trailer. Then the REAL fun will start!
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