D-17 No spark

Check for 12V at the coil. Might be the key switch or the wire broke from the switch to the coil. 

Thanks for the responses guys.My friend Tom came over to help me tow The D-17 home. He looked at the points one time and said they are opening too wide.Screw that holds points in place is wallered out a little and loosened up enough to let points move. He moved points and eyed it up.Fired on the first bump of the starter. He said to find a metric screw a little bigger to hold it tight or drill and tap next size screw.Any other suggestions? Just a work tractor but would like a dependable repair

Check the condenser by temporarily disconnecting it. Engine will run without but eventually would burn points.

There is a very slight chance the point plate for the distributor could be found by AC part number or in a shop that specializes in distributors, perhaps Steve in NJ. The original screw likely is a 6-32 thread. It might tap 6-40 (national fine) and hold, but finding the 6-40 screw will be a pain. You may be able to buy a box from McMaster-Carr and I know they have the tap. But if the hole is stripped out, that tap won't do much.

Up through WW2 there was a 7-32 thread that was just a little larger, but its been mostly abandoned except for sight screws on some rifles so the tap and screw may be available at some gun shop supply houses. Going fatter on the screw can make it necessary to file out the frame of the points so they will adjust. Not necessarily progress. 8-32 would be the next common size and its about .040" bigger than the 6-32 screw. Probably wider than the slot.

If there's clearance under the point plate, you can solder a steel nut there. Hold it in place with a stainless steel screw and the screw won't get soldered in place. Or find a press in place PEM nut but its designed usually for aluminum that gets extruded into a groove in the nut to hold it in place. A PEM nut could also be soldered to steel and can be practically flush if the hole was machined to take the hex on the underside. But if there's room under the plate, soldering a standard nut in place will work after taking the distributor apart. Things need to be CLEAN for solder to hold.

Gerald J.

I s it possible to take the plate out and lay in on a heavy chunk of steel and then take a 1/8 inch punch and go around the thread hole woth out touching the threads and punch/work the metal towards the hole to shrink it?  Do four corners and if that isn't enough, then go inbetween.  Fon't punch syraight down but maybe at a couple degrees angle so it punches towards the hole.  Oh and work it from the bottom side, and if it dipples up on the top side, you can tap it down to flat again. 

 Just a thought

That plate will never survive the Mapp Gas, so I wouldn't go that way. That thing will be warped fir' sure. If you decide to repair it, don't use any heat, and make sure you work on a flat steel bench or anvil. This way after the repair, it'll go back in the Distributor and line up correctly with the support screws. Two of which anchor the bails.

Jimmy, that's a common symptom of a failing ignition switch contact.  Put a jumper wire 'tween the coil BAT/IGN terminal (not the side connected to distributor/points) and battery, and try the keyswitch.  if it starts and runs, it's a bad keyswitch.