Finding the Super A timing mark

I have the neighbor's Super "A" in my shop. It has been sitting outside for over a year, water in the gas tank, rust in the carburetor, starter stuck, battery shot, ignition parts growing hair, etc. I turned it over with the crank, so it is free, no water in oil, took out the carboned up plugs, tunrned it to TDC on #1, and was trying to figure out where the mark is viewed on the flywheel? Just like to mark it for reference in case the distributor has to come off for maintenance. He has no books, so beyond the tune-up specs that I have, I could use some guidance on finding the mark. If anyone has a photo, I sure would appreciate it. Man, that battery removal is a treat.

F-I-T: The timing mark is on the flywheel, don't ask where or what it looks like. I've owned 6 of these tractors in the past 50 years, never looked for or saw the timing marks yet.

I just bring them to TDC on compression, then set the distributor so rotor is at 2 o'clock position. They will always fire up in that position, and I do fine tuning by ear. Super A are very good at talking to you.

Hugh:

In that case, I might clean around it a bit and take a look, but for sure make my own TDC index mark and pointer mark elsewhere. I was more interested in knowing where the mark should be viewed from, like is it at 6 o'clock when #1 is TDC? Or is there a viewing hole in the bell housing that I am missing? Be nice to know, but tomorrow I'll just out two marks anywhere just for reference. I just wanted to try to see the mark. Is it to be viewed from underneath? I read in the archives about the index mark is on the tin half moon cover underneath, but this Super A is missing that cover. Just wanted to be sure that I should lay under it to find the mark, and where the pointer would normally be. I agree that it should not be too difficult to set the timing, and I have a M&W dyno to help load it, but it would be nice to have an honest to goodness mark to start on. This tractor has had many different hands in it.


Thanks so much for your help.

Look up from the bottom of the bellhousing. IIRC, there's a pointer of sorts cast into the housing, mark on flywheel is in FRONT of the starter ring gear.

There is a mark on the flywheel viewed through the hole, underneath in the bell housing. Line it up with the pointer in the housing (missing cover?). The mark is very thin and will be hard to find. You have to scrape all the crud off. Should be at the 6 o-clock position. May or may not be accompanied by the letters DC/1-4. However, Hugh is correct -- you don't need it.

I can sympathize with Hugh, that mark on the flywheel can be a bear to find if there's any of the usual scale and crud to be expected down there.

The mark on the flywheel is a fore-and-aft line from the ring gear to the front edge of the flywheel, marked with T-C and 1-4. It's not marked very deep. Get the motor to TDC as best you can from the top, by eye or using a stiff wire or screwdriver through the plug hole and riding on top of the piston as an indicator. At that point the mark should be very near the bottom of the flywheel. Dead bottom for the mark is TDC on the piston.

The flywheel mark should align with an indicator on the back of the lower cover, the almost-half-moon cast piece covering the lower part of the torque tube, ahead of the flywheel. Depending on the year of the tractor, the indicator will be either a very nice piece of steel tapered to a point, or a simnple nub on the inside of the casting.

The only place to look is through the oval (some are round) handhole on the underside of the torque tube/bell housing. A bright flashlight will help. With the right light, you could also get some better light in there by removing teh lower cover and going in that way, at least to find the mark.

Once found, you're on the right track. Clean it up and mark it with paint. Couldn't hurt to mark the indicator on the cover as well. Once marked, it is pretty easy to see though the hand hole.

Hoping all this makes sense . . .

Thanks for the good guidance, guys. Now, if the cast cover is missing, then I don't have the pointer to go by. Is that pointer dead center in that cover? If so, I could do some caliper measuring, and probably get pretty darn close, and maybe put a light punch mark in the leading edge of the bell housing, then run my TDC paint mark from the bottm edge of the flywheel and up the front. I'm probably making more out of this that I should, but if I get it running nice for him, maybe he could look for a salvage cover to make it easier the next time.

Thanks again,

Frank

Yep, dead center. With 0/360 at top, the mark should be at 180 when #1 and #4 are at TDC

The cover is NOT cast (it's steel) and the pointer is NOT a part of the cover.

The early ones were cast, changed to stamped about late 1950.

So Bob, Toss me a PICTURE.

I wish I had one. I went through this just a couple of months ago with a customer's Super A. The scribe line on the flywheel was REAL hard to see, but I finally found it after using a bent wire in the #1 spark plug hole to locate when the piston was @ TDC.

I marked the line with a white paint pen, for the next guy that has to find it.

NO photos though!

Scotty: Correct, and since I have to remove No. 1 plug hold my finger in the hole as I crank to find TDC compression, just to find the timing marks. Instead of finding the timing mark, I go right to the screwdriver function at finding accurate TDC.

No point in finding the timing mark at that point, probably going to be 3 years before one needs it again, it will be covered in rust and crud.

My 48 didnt have a mark. When i overhauled it i had it completely apart and i looked all over the flywheel and there wasnt any mark nowhere. My 52 has the mark.

Say what?

The clutch housing cover could be a forging, but it sure looks cast to me. Whether it's cast iron or cast steel, I don't know, I've never put a grinder to one.

The pointer or indicator is on the inside of the cover. Quoting an IH manual, "Continue cranking slowly until the DC/1-4 mark n the flywheel is in line with the pointer on the clutch housing cover."

Where else would it be that you could line it up with the flywheel mark from below?

Just happens my neighbor has his 1940 A apart right now. I'll see if I can slip over when he gets home and get you a pic. His has the steel indicator that's fastened to the cover. My '47 BN and '51 SuperC have just the nub.

F-I-T: I know I could have found TDC compression, installed distributor, distributor drive, spark plugs, wires started and set timing on 10 Super A tractors in the length of typing time involved in this thread.

These old boys just don't type that fast. hahaha

I think I found it. Placed #1 on TDC and looked at the bottom most area of the flywheel. Tough to reach even to paint or clean, but I'm pretty sure this is it. I guess the timing procedure is to place engine on TDC and rotate the distributor until you get a points break, similar to other engines of the day. It's a Zenith carburetor, and it will need to be torn down and cleaned, then a kit. Would it be a model #9752?

That looks like it. Pull your #1 plug to make sure the piston is at the top, just to verify.

Already been there done that before looking for the mark. It's at TDC on compression stroke.

The A is opposite of the Super A. The early ones were stamped, changed to cast about late 1940.