1947 Farmall Tractor B---problem

[kakky]

My B tractor was skipping vey badly and the spark plugs have excessive black buildup after each time I run the tractor. I had compression checked-it"s o.k---new wiring installed--new distrubtor cap and rotor---has electronic points.
Had carberator checked--checked o.k. Valves were adjusted and checked the exhaust manifold for leaks--seems o.k.
It still skips ----don"t know what else to do---anyone with any ideas?
 

[Buzzman72]

Let's take this one back to basics. If you're getting black fouling on the plugs, it's either excessive fuel or excessive oil. "Had carberator (sic) checked"...what's that really mean? if the float level's too high, your engine could be running rich, which would explain fouling the plugs...and fouled plugs would explain the "skipping," or misfire.

You say compression is OK [how many PSI per cylinder? Wet or dry? Or does "OK" just mean the compression is uniform, whether uniformly good or bad?]...but are the oil rings OK? Does the engine put out a blue cloud of oil smoke when it runs? And you say the exhaust manifold was checked for leaks...since the B has an integral intake and exhaust manifold, I'm guessing the intake was also checked for leaks--but if there was a manifold leak, I'd expect the cylinders to run lean, rather than rich. Was the manifold machined to insure that the surface that mates to the head is flat? If not, how was it "checked" ?

Obviously, someone's a great "parts replacer" on this tractor...you just need to get it to someone who's also a mechanic.
 

[kakky]

psi was somewhere in the 100 range on all cylinders---no blue smoke when it runs. I will be checking your other suggestions and many more I received at the tractor forum. I"ve tried 3 different people on this problem they do have SOME skills in engines. Just not much on tractors. I"m the parts replacer with very little on the job training but I am trying to learn....thanks for all your info.