Topic: 1937 Sedan cuts out until stops

dirkstew	-- 02-17-2012 @ 3:38 PM
	My 1937 Fordor Humpback will drive good for about two miles then will begin to cut out then die. I've cleaned the fuel line and filter. My other thought it could be the coil. What do you think?
Stroker	-- 02-17-2012 @ 6:37 PM
	Except for the seal-beam conversions and "stripped" hubcaps, that is an absolutely stunning 37! While "others" (particularly 38fordV8) will take issue with me, I offer this ancient Hot Rod truism: "Ninty-Seven point three percent of fuel problems are ignition, and vice versa". I'd send the distributor off to Skip Haney for starters, as if the coil hasn't failed, at some inconvenient time in the future, it probably will. If it turns out that it's not the coil, then any fuel problems are easy to fix, and you can eliminate the ignition. The reason I said "distributor" is that while the coil is the most expensive item to rebuild, you might as well take advantage of having the points, vacuum brake etc. set-up on a calibrated machine.
trjford8	-- 02-17-2012 @ 8:44 PM
	I agree with Stroker. Work on the ignition first. There are two types of original coils on an old Ford, those that have failed and those that are going to fail. By now almost all those old coils need to be rebuilt. A good ignition system will keep down your blood pressure and eliminate certain words from your vocabulary. It costs a few bucks to set up the ignition system with Skip, but it's money well spent especially if your wife is along on the ride.
ford38v8	-- 02-17-2012 @ 8:52 PM
	Dan, what i take issue with is your percentage, and what that number represents: It was 99.9%, and it was pure Ivory Soap. You must know that, so why argue? Everything else you said is true. Alan
TomO	-- 02-18-2012 @ 7:49 AM
	The coil may be your problem, but I would check the spark before removing it and sending it off. When your engine is at operating temperature, remove a wire from a spark plug and hold it near a head stud with the engine idling. The spark should be blue in color, at least 1/2" long and make a sharp crack. If it fails any one of these criteria, remove the distributor and coil, then send to Skip for rebuilding. I use an insulated screw driver in the spark plug connector to hold the wire. Other wise your heart could get a good jolt. A fuse puller will also work very well. If you have good spark, then check your fuel pump pressure and fuel delivery. Tom
supereal	-- 02-18-2012 @ 11:02 AM
	Your symptoms also point to a weak or open condenser. It usually takes more than a couple of miles for the coil to get hot enough to fail, unless the ignition resistor has been removed or bypassed. It is quick and cheap to swap condensers before you move on to bigger jobs. We are seeing lots of defective condensers now, and if the points don't show abnormal contact wear, we often reuse the condenser when we rebuild distributors.
Robert/Texas	-- 02-19-2012 @ 4:16 AM
	Dirkstew Off topic but I was surprised and pleased to see the picture of your '37. It looks exactly like my first car that I bought in 1950 for $175. There was a shortage of used and new cars at the time and that was an awful lot of money for me to spend. The car was in really good condition for a car that had survived the war. It was a deluxe fordor touring sedan the same color as yours and with the same sealed beam conversion headlights. The only difference that I see is that mine had blackwalls and (I believe) grey hubcaps. This car was unbreakable, I had it up to 90 on the day after I got my drivers license. It continued to get a lot of punishment until I sold it. The only thing I remember that failed was I broke the front spring and both of the headlight assemblies flew off when I went over a railroad crossing too fast. I bought a similar car (green) and unrestored about two years ago and have been enjoying reliving my teen age days at a much slower pace.

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