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I've got a '54 Ferguson TO30 that I've had about 10-15 years now. The distributor just gave up the ghost, so I bought a new Chinese one because it was cheap and would arrive in 2 days. I'll probably rebuild the original come wintertime.

As I was getting ready to swap out the old and news ones, though, I noticed something: the firing order is molded into the engine block...and it is NOT the firing order that the engine has been running on since I bought the tractor.

SO MY QUESTION IS: should I swap out the plug wires and see how it works with the "correct" firing order? Or was there perhaps a change over the last 70 years and the molded-in firing order is wrong?

It has run pretty well since I've owned it, but honestly was never as smooth or powerful as the '48 8N that I had. Because it runs, I never really thought to check the firing order until today when I was installing the new distributor. But it is so different, I find it hard to believe the tractor would run at all if it is this wrong.

Thoughts?

Well, I decided to switch the plug wires just to see. It idles fine, but backfires like crazy when I give it any gas. I'm just putting it back to the way it was, but I'd still like to hear thoughts about this!

I don't know anything about a TO 30 Ferguson, but every 4 cylinder IH I ever worked on the firing order was 1 3 4 2. Don't know if that's any help.

Thanks. That’s what is embedded on the block, but it runs badly when I switched it to that. It run much better 1 2 4 3…even starts easily with the hand crank, first time. I can’t figure it out unless someone changed the crankshaft.

You going clockwise or counter clockwise? 1342 counter clockwise would be 1243 clock wise.

Great observation, Sid! Every car I’ve ever owned/ worked on has been clockwise. I just looked it up, and sure enough the Ferguson is CCW. Thanks so much, this was driving me crazy.

Amazing what a difference a new distributor makes! She’s running like new right now, more power than ever has since I owned her. I’m still planning on rebuilding the original, but so far I am not sure I will install it if the tractor continues to run like it is now.