1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

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Greg J
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:03 pm
Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada

1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

Post by Greg J »

Hi all,
Look at a recent project of mine that I am excited about. 1942 Ford 2N tractor was gasoline when I bought it last year, but I have been converting it in my spare time since. That is a custom rollbar with a place for a standard 33# metal forklift tank. The forklift tank has liquid output. Note my use of CGA TypeIII hose from the tank and VFF30 lockoff, and another shorter piece of the same rated hose between the lockoff and Model J vapourizer. The mixer is a CA50 in which I duplicated the thottle brackets and linkage exactly from the original gasoline carburetor. The governor and throttle hooks up exactly the same way as the gasoline carburetor, and no modifications were necessary to governor or throttle.

The CGA TypeIII hoses are actually used that I got from an autowrecker, but they are not too old and in very good condition with no chafing or damage.

I had to customize the tractor's cooling system, and make a place for two heater hoses to attach to for the Model J. The original radiator was in bad shape so I made a custom radiator "frame" and installed a small Japanese car radiator with electric fan and radiator cap. The tractor's original metal bladed fan is removed. The original waterpump and pulley remains.

Please note the tractor is NOT finished yet. I have to properly clamp the supply line, and install a proper vacuum hose to the lockoff. I also have to redo all the wires on the tractor. It was very poorly rewired and converted to 12 volts before I got it. The air filter tube is not installed yet, but my CA50 has the exact same inlet diameter as the original carburetor. I am planning on making a paper air filter housing instead of running the original oil bath air filter.

I started it up a few times and drove it around for an hour since I converted it - and it runs great. Engine sounds perfect. Seems as powerful as it was before. No more old rusty gasoline tank and evaporating gasoline while sitting for me.
Attachments
Installed and working but NOT finished.
Installed and working but NOT finished.
r_one.jpg

Frank
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Re: 1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

Post by Frank »

Good work! I have a Ford 3500 industrial tractor that I was also thinking about converting. My problem was that the tank valve used to leak so my tank would empty before I had a chance to use it again. (I replaced the valve so this isn't a problem anymore.)

Are you going to have a spare tank mounted somewhere on-board to save you some walking when you run out of fuel?

Are you using the blade for clearing your driveway?

Steptoe
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Joined: Fri Feb 02, 2007 8:32 pm
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Re: 1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

Post by Steptoe »

I recon thats cool.
My Spelling is Not Incorrect...It's 'Creative'

Greg J
Posts: 88
Joined: Sun Jan 29, 2006 4:03 pm
Location: Southwestern Ontario, Canada

Re: 1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

Post by Greg J »

I have three metal forklift tanks, and I just got one of them recertified. Luckily I had it stored outdoors because it sat full for about three months without a problem but later my brother noticed the area smelled like propane for about two weeks. When I finally checked it, it had completely emptied itself. What a bummer. I lost all 33 litres. The tank was about to expire anyways so while it was getting recertified they noticed the threads around the gauge fitting were leaking. It looks like they resealed them. The bleeder also wasn't extremely tight and maybe the rubber shrank down in the cold weather and it leaked that way. I will always be storing my forklift tanks outdoors because I wouldn't trust them indoors, not even in a garage or out building, under any circumstances. I should make an outdoor box to put them in so direct sunlight and weather does not ruin them. I would also caution against storing them outside directly beside a house or garage because they have the potential to leak. The vapours could find their way inside through soffit venting or whatever. Better keep them far back and be very safe instead of being sorry. Fortunately I live in a rural area so yard space isn't a problem. My tractor is stored outdoors, but if I did store the tractor indoors, I would be disconnecting the tank and leaving that outdoors for safety reasons.

I wasn't planning on having a spare tank mounted on board because it was difficult finding a good place on the tractor for one tank. I don't intend on driving too far from my spare tanks. All three of my tanks have a gauge (with float inside) so hopefully I will have a good indication on when they will be empty. I also like winter and don't mind a short walk to change a tank. It has a blade on the rear and will be used primarily for snow removal. I have a set of rear tire chains not installed yet.

I am used to filling my family's two other tractors from a five gallon/20 litre plastic gasoline can, so changing a forklift tank on mine isn't much different in weight.

I guess theoretically I could have mounted two forklift tanks vertically in the rear, but then the fittings would be quite high to reach. I was also trying to keep the weight as low as possible to the ground because this type of tractor is small and not exactly very stable. I know some forklifts have their tanks mounted vertically, but I much prefer mounting them horizontally.

By the way, so far the tractor has the stock ignition system and works perfectly with propane. I am still working on converting the weird style square coil to 12 volts properly. This type of coil attaches to the front mounted distributor directly. I bought a couple of spare Taiwan coils at a swap meet, maybe they are already 12 volts but they weren't labelled as to any voltage. I think I have to check the resistance of the coil to figure if the replacements are 6 or 12 volt. (The original coil is for 6 volts, positive ground.) These square coils also have one wire going to the battery, the other "wire" is a metal tab built under the coil and goes directly to the distributor. It would be very difficult to change the coil polarity with this type, definitely not simple like the typical round coil of the 50s,60s,70s.

Frank
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Re: 1942 Ford 2N tractor converted to propane

Post by Frank »

Recently, when having to tune up my tractor, I was surprised to discover that Pertronix made a electronic ignition upgrade for my 3-cylinder 3500. To avoid having to put in a resistor, I replaced the old coil with a new 3 ohm coil. You might want to consider something similar when you need new points.

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