The Fordson Tractor Pages Forum

Hello my brother has acquired a Fordson Major E27N for his wife as a garden ornament. However he and I have both decided it is far too wonderous a machine to be left idle under the tree. It is the side valve 4 cylinder of 1917 design which Ford saw fit to power their tractors from1947-52 I beleive.
The machine seems to have been rebuilt many years ago and is in fairly good condition considering. It has no starter (has been removed) but turns freely on the crank, has plently of spark from the magneto and loads of compression. We are not sure what to do with the magneto advance-retard lever which is fitted to the front of the magneto. It actually spins around completly which may not be a good sign. There is no cable or levers to the advance so I presume you merely adjusted it from the ground.
Can anyone advise how to set the timing for start up via the crank and then where to set it at run.
We have not told his wife yet but intend on restoring the tractor to some of its former glory.
Any advice would be much appreciated
From the plate on the left firewall it is a Fordson Major 1164466 and the engine block has E27N 6015 Fordson marked.

regards

Godfrey Harmer

Have I got it wrong I presumed the govenor is the the lever going to the back of the magneto( front end of tractor) and the advance retard is on the back of the magneto (towards the rear of the machine)

regards

Godders

Hello Geoffrey,

Can't find the right picture at the moment on the web, but:

The magneto is driven on the backside of the governor.

There is a "saw" type lever used to set the engine speed and a rotating lever on the lower dash to adjust te spark timing.

Best regards

Emiel

Thank you Emeil.

As a bit of idle gossip I worked on a farm with my (twin) brother when we were 15 for a few years in our holidays, that's 30 years ago now, and they had a Fordson E27N P6. I recall it was a big scary tractor and I only drove the little Massey Ferguson.
It was driven about 70 miles across from where it was purchased and the farm hand was not overly polite about the time he spent on the road trip. It was used as a spare machine when everything else broke down, which seemed to be quite often. I can not recall a time when it would not start or do what was required of it.

We used to marvel at it and discuss with the farmer how clever the mechanic must have been to put that nice perkins motor in such an old tractor not realising that was how it came out new.

regards

Godders