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Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 5:12 pm
by dromonedog
Does anyone know what the differences are between the Fordson major Diesel engine to the gas engine other than the head. Are the pistons, liners etc different and gasket sets
Dromonedog

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2018 9:12 pm
by oehrick
I've never seen in a petrol or paraffin major engine but pistons probably different as the diesels have the usual combustion crown, the parts drawings / listings for all E1A variants are on line somewhere, fordson.se probably, have a look at the different listings and see which part numbers vary is probably your safest bet.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2018 10:49 am
by shepp
The cylinder head is completely different as it has the combustion chambers cast into the head. The pistons are completely different as they have a flat top, they are a smaller diameter than the diesel and the cylinder liners are thicker with the same outside diameter as the diesel but a smaller internal diameter. The camshaft is different. The inlet manifold is different as it mounts the carburettor. For a petrol/TVO engine the exhaust manifold is different as it incorporates a vaporiser. The distributor is fitted in place of the injection pump. The cylinder head gasket is thicker. The thermostat has different opening temperatures. The fan is different to give a greater cooling capacity with 4 blades and bigger diameter. Other than this most other components are the same on diesel, petrol/TVO and straight petrol engines.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Sat Dec 08, 2018 11:28 am
by Emiel
Hi,

Cylinder liners for petrol/parrafin are same as diesel, for pure petrol they indeed have a smaller bore. Head of parafin engine is also different to the petrol head. If i remember correctly, valves and rocker are the same for diesel and petrol, but not for vaporising engine.

Petrol paraffin engine have been made upto the MKII engine, petrol to (nearly) end of production, according to parts list.

Parts like conrod, block casting, crankshaft are interchangeable.

Rgds

Emiel

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 5:51 am
by dromonedog
Thanks for your comments, wondering where one could buy liner kits, gasket sets, rod and main bearings

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:13 am
by shepp
Virtually all of the straight petrol tractors were exported to the USA and Canada, so I would expect that if there is any chance of finding original liners and pistons for these engines it will be from somewhere in the USA or Canada. Failing that you can have liners and pistons made to the original pattern - there are companies in Great Britain who can manufacture any size of liner and there are others who can manufacture pistons and rings, however the cost is likely to be substantial.

You might get away with the thickest type diesel head gasket, or possibly make one out of copper sheet. There are firms in GB that can make up head gaskets for obsolete stationary engines, whether they could make up a gasket for an engine this size I do not know. Con rod and crank main bearings will be the same as the diesel engine.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 12:32 pm
by AdrianNPMajor
I'm fascinated by the petrol (gasoline) version of the Major.
Why was it produced? Why did Ford feel the need to create this version?
I believe Brian in one of the posts on this great website mentioned that the (now defunct) GPO ordered a fleet of the petrol version.
Hope to see much more info on this subject. A 3.6 litre petrol engine in a great tractor sounds like a flight of fancy, and I love the idea!
Best, Adrian.
ps Bet it sounds great. Wonder how it labours under the strain of ploughing.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2018 8:04 pm
by oehrick
I don't know how big the US / Canadian market was reckoned to be Adrian but petrol / gasoline was dirt cheap in the US until more recent times, not sure how it compared to diesel at that time but certainly not carrying the sort of tax burden it had in the UK. I'm more surprised that petrol paraffin models were considered viable, perhaps as diesel had not by then gained much of a foothold in UK agriculture - the TVO tax 'rebate' here ended around that time, praps Ford didn't see that coming ? either way it was a modern, innovative tractor and at that time standardisation of parts was not so common as it has become, you can't fault UK Ford for that aspect.

My fourpennorth :yikes:

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Sun Dec 23, 2018 11:19 am
by Nick
There is an early straight petrol major on ebay at the moment - looks like a nice original one. I have to admit I am tempted but its priced quite high - £5250.00.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:00 am
by Old52
Hello, first time posting here, just joined.. I have an original 1952 gasoline Major Serial Number 1229858. According to some of the comments I read on this post, they were all shipped to the US and Canada, which might explain why I cannot find parts in the UK. I am in Canada (near Toronto) and had assumed that the best source for parts was accross the pond. From my research, there are a number of interchangeable parts, as mentioned already in this post, but certainly things like a distributor cap seem to be impossible to find. I am also looking for parts for the governor (ball drive plate) which I replaced once before in about 1972, but seems to have failed again. My dad bought the tractor in 1955, so it's older than me and just as much part of the family :) Any suggestions on parts sources would be greatly appreciated.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:45 pm
by henk
Welcome Old 52,

All electric parts are from Lucas. There are still a lot of Lucas parts. Try searching with that name on google and see what comes up.
I have even found parts for the dynamo.

Re: Fordson major with Gasoline/Petrol engine

Posted: Fri Mar 15, 2019 5:43 am
by Old52
Thank you Henk, I will look for Lucas parts...