| PBGilmore6 | -- 11-22-2014 @ 2:08 PM |
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I have a '37 Cabriolet with V8 flathead that quits after about 30 min of regular driving. The temp gauge does not indicate overheating but I suspect it. After about 25 min of rest the car can restart or take a jump/push but will stop again after some use. Once, someone suggested putting ice cubes on the distributor which also allowed me to restart and make it home. I have tuned it and replaced the carburetor, am using good gas, seem to have working water pumps, have replaced the solenoid. Two V8 mechanics have worked on it to no avail. Any help would be appreciated!!
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| ken ct. | -- 11-22-2014 @ 2:39 PM |
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Make sure you have a VENTED gas cap on there,i seen that problem before. You will build up pressure in the tank. ken ct.
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| cliftford | -- 11-22-2014 @ 2:44 PM |
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This sounds like it could be a bad coil and/or condenser. I'd start there.
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| ken ct. | -- 11-22-2014 @ 3:57 PM |
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Its a no cost deal to check cap first. ken ct.
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| PBGilmore6 | -- 11-22-2014 @ 4:23 PM |
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I'll check that, but it feels vented.
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| PBGilmore6 | -- 11-22-2014 @ 4:24 PM |
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Replaced both - twice. Checked thermostats too and they passed the boil test - ran it without them at all too.
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| PBGilmore6 | -- 11-22-2014 @ 4:26 PM |
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I can only hope it's that easy ...
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| PBGilmore6 | -- 11-22-2014 @ 4:30 PM |
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Here's another clue: I can FEEL it losing power before it shuts down. I have to get on the gas to keep it going just before it quits. Btw, it will idle forever, the cut-out only happens when I'm driving.
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| ken ct. | -- 11-22-2014 @ 5:51 PM |
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Possibly a weak fuel pump ??? ken ct.
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| trjford8 | -- 11-23-2014 @ 8:24 AM |
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You may have something floating around in the gas tank that is shutting off the fuel supply. Pull out the sending unit and look down into the tank with a good bright flashlight. Had a similar problem with a 39 I once owned. It tuned out to be a small piece of hardened gasket sealer that a prior owner used on the sender gasket. It would float up to the pickup tube and shut off the gas supply. Once the car stopped it would float back as there was no longer suction from the fuel pump. Also if someone happened to use any silicone type sealer on the tank gasket or fittings that stuff turns to a gooey mess when it comes in contact with gas. I'm suspecting something in the gas tank. I don't know if you built the car or not, but if someone used tank sealer in the tank that was not Methanol proof that sealer could be coming loose and blocking the fuel supply.
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| trjford8 | -- 11-23-2014 @ 12:47 PM |
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In addition to my previous post, do you have the early or the late 37 gas tank. If you have the later tank with the rubber connector sleeve, that sleeve could be the source of your problem if it has never been changed. Over time that rubber begins to flake off on the inside and small bits of rubber drop into the tank and can plug the pickup tube. I changed two fuel pumps on a 40 Ford one time before I checked the tank and found those little pieces of rubber. Changed the connector hose, cleaned the tank, and never had another problem. Lastly the 37 uses a ballast resistor from the ignition to the coil. It can also give the same symptoms that you describe. Next time it stops like you describe have a piece of jumper wire with an alligator clip on each end) handy and bypass the resistor. If it starts right up you have found the problem.
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| supereal | -- 11-23-2014 @ 1:18 PM |
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Sounds like a classic case of ailing ignition coil. If you have an original or unrebuilt coil, it is almost a sure thing. The coil falters as it becomes heated, and resistance rises. If your ballast resistor has been bypassed, it will cause the problem, as well. No more than 3.5 volts should be supplied to the coil. We have a box full of coils that fail that we keep as cores for Skip Haney to rebuild.
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| TomO | -- 11-23-2014 @ 4:16 PM |
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A bad coil will show a weak spark when the engine is at operating temperatures. Check the spark wit the engine idling for at least 1/2" blue spark. As Supereal said, you have the classic symptoms of a weak coil. It will eventually fail all together. Tom
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| 40 Coupe | -- 11-24-2014 @ 3:54 AM |
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Beside your symptoms being indicative of a bad coil, it also may be a bad condenser. Both the coil and the condenser can go bad with heat and yet be marginal to work when the engine is cold. The ignition condenser is easier to remove than the coil (One bolt and one screw) I would try to replace it first with a NAPA condenser FA-49. The original coils can be rebuilt by Skip Haney in Fla. when he rebuilds a coil he etches a code into the bottom with an electric etching gun (look for the etching after removing coil) His rebuilds usually fix the thermal problems of the coil.
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| trjford8 | -- 11-25-2014 @ 10:42 AM |
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It sounds like he has replaced both the coil and condensor twice as I interpret post 11-22 at 4:24pm. The question is were they replaced with used or new parts.
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| supereal | -- 11-25-2014 @ 11:47 AM |
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Good question,Tom, but if the replacement distributor has an old coil on it, or he swapped the coil to the different distributor, it would explain it. We are now seeing repro condensers with poorly connected terminal tabs that are causing problems, too. I'd rather reuse an original condenser if it was working well. Another common fault is the ignition switch. The slider "brush" wears a path in the Bakelite causing intermittent contact which may be made worse by arcing after driving for a time.
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| PBGilmore6 | -- 01-19-2015 @ 12:26 PM |
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We replaced the coil and condenser with new parts. One other thing I notice is that when I look in the radiator the coolant (which is newly replaced) does not move at all. In the past I have seen plenty of radiators with the coolant swishing around in there. So I'm thinking: 1) recore the radiator, 2) replace both water pumps (I have them in storage), 3) drop the gas tank and clean it out while checking the gas lines etc. Think this will work??
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| joe b | -- 01-19-2015 @ 12:44 PM |
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As 40 Coupe said it could be the condenser. My '41 would do the same thing. My cause turned out to be the condenser not being held tight by the bolt. There was grease debris in the hole the bolt threaded into and it was not holding the condenser tight. It would loosen up after a drive and then ground was lost. A real bear to find.
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| TomO | -- 01-20-2015 @ 7:19 AM |
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Replacing parts without diagnosis, can lead to more problems and empty your wallet in the process. I have never seen a plugged radiator stop a car without a lot of steam coming out of the radiator. You need to start by checking the spark. The easiest test to make is to get the engine to operating temperature and remove one plug wire from the plug and hold it near a head nut. The spark should jump about 1/2" and be blue in color. You can use an insulated handled screwdriver, fuse puller or a spark tester to hold the wire while the test is being performed. If you do not have a good spark, replace the condenser or coil and retest. If you are using a modern round coil with an adapter plate, the adapter plate cols also be defective. If you are using the original type coil, most modern replacements are junk. Find an original Ford coil and have it rebuilt by Skip Haney or W. Jake Fleming. If your spark is OK do a fuel delivery test to see if the engine is receiving enough gas. To check fuel delivery, you need a graduated 16 ounce or larger container to determine the amount of fuel delivered in a measured time. Disconnect the fuel pump line from the carburetor and direct it into a graduated container. Crank the engine long enough to get 2 ounces of gas in the container and then continue cranking for 15 more strokes of the pump. The pump should have delivered 6 more ounces of gas. To check for overheating, buy a candy thermometer at the hardware store and stick it in the radiator. You may not see the coolant circulating in the radiator because the thermostats have not opened. Tom
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| cliftford | -- 01-20-2015 @ 8:44 AM |
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Supereal makes a good point. I save all my old used and NOS points, condensers, rotors, from back in the day, because in my opinion if they are at all servicable, they are better than a lot of the foreign made junk we get today, even the stuff sold by Sears and Western Auto,years ago was better. If I can't get good quality new parts, I'd rather use the old parts temporarily than risk a breakdown on the highway. I agree that coils are another matter. Use a good rebuilt one to be safe, of at least carry a spare. It's cheap insurance.
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| jfarrell | -- 01-20-2015 @ 9:20 AM |
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I had the same type of problem years ago with a '41 Ford convertible. Every time it would go on the road it would quit after after about 30 minutes. It turned out to be the "high side" of the coil. Once the car got hot the coil stopped working. By the time I got the car home or to a mechanic, the coil had cooled off and the car ran fine. It took an old-time Ford mechanic to figure out what was wrong. Jim Farrell
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| 4dFordSC | -- 01-20-2015 @ 9:37 AM |
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FWIW, when I had those identical symptoms some years back, it turned out to be a clogged fuel filter.
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| Stroker | -- 01-20-2015 @ 10:00 AM |
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An old, knowledgeable Washington State moonshiner once offered this piece of advice to me: "97.8 Percent of fuel problems are ignition, and vice versa".
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| boss1940 | -- 01-20-2015 @ 2:30 PM |
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Sounds to me like the coil is going bad. I would replace both coil and condenser .
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| cliftford | -- 01-20-2015 @ 3:42 PM |
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Stroker: I agree with your last post, but what do you mean by "vice versa"? Unless I misunderstood [quite possible] It sounds like a contradiction.
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| TomO | -- 01-21-2015 @ 7:22 AM |
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It's not really a contradiction, it just says that most of the guesses that you make are wrong. Tom
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| trjford8 | -- 01-21-2015 @ 7:40 AM |
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No contradiction, it's a fuel problem or an ignition problem or maybe both.
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| Stroker | -- 01-21-2015 @ 9:20 AM |
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The comment the old-timer made was in response to my flogging what I "just knew" had to be a fuel problem at Bonneville in the early 80's. My plugs were pure white, and missing their side electrodes. The problem turned out to be a broken stop on the centrifugal advance, allowing the total advance to go way beyond spec. Yes, it is a kind of paradoxical statement, but it reflects on the fact that fuel problems and ignition problems often mimic each other; in the above case by melting plugs.
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