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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / 1940 Merc 4 door convertible - Slow cranking

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Posted By Discussion Topic: 1940 Merc 4 door convertible - Slow cranking -- page: 1 2 3     trjford8 03-27-2017 @ 6:56 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4214 Joined: Oct 2009 Beautiful Mercury. Check the ground cables If it has the old braided type ground cables they can corrode and poor grounding is the result. Put on new cables. Make sure there is also a ground from the body to the frame. grounding is critical in a 6 volt system. Also make sure the cables are 6 volt and not 12 volt. The cable from the battery to the solenoid and from the solenoid to the starter should be at least 2 gauge or larger. ken ct. 03-27-2017 @ 7:35 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1513 Joined: Jan 2010 Looks like possibly incorrect fuel pump,hard to see it would need closer pics of it 3-4 of them.Car looks super fine. ken ct. len47merc 03-27-2017 @ 8:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Rustymopar - to answer your question on value the old adage 'whatever someone is willing to pay for it' applies, but given the credentials of the car, and assuming the condition to still be consistent with and accurate representations of those credentials, I'll take a stab at ~$50K-55K for the value based on 4 pricing resources I have. Possibly more if it has strictly been a show car and not driven AND you can bring it back to the 'then' condition, possibly less if any changes/departures from original have been effected &/or current conditions warrant. Noticed a bit of rust on the block around the heads - makes one wonder how this may play out elsewhere on a car with these (past, dated) credentials. Likely not much - assume though it has been stored in a humid environment. EDIT - also, does the car have complete records of the resto? Mike Kubarth (kubes40) can give you the most accurate read on value on a '40 (albeit possibly Ford specific) - he likely knows the car and may have records on it, and may have actually performed some work on it in the past. Hopefully he can weigh in here - suggest you pm him with the serial number located on the top forward driver's side of the frame in the engine compartment. On the slow start - how long did it sit? Did you change the oil? As others have said, focus on all the grounds and freshen them up with new cables if necessary, and confirm all the original grounds are on the car. From what I could see in the photographs the cables on the battery look period & gauge correct at first blush but closer inspection would be necessary to confirm. Did it always sit on the tires or was it stored wheels up on stands supporting the frame? Is this car in NC (given its Pinehurst credentials)? If so, would be very interested to know if Clint Bivens was involved with the car (looks like it). Would love to have a look at it in person as I live near Raleigh. Beautiful car - would love to have it myself, especially if Clint was involved! Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 3-27-17 @ 8:26 AM ken ct. 03-27-2017 @ 8:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1513 Joined: Jan 2010 Pump is right in back of carburetor,looks like may be a 34 to early 36. They are very close in appearance but owners of in those yrs would spot it in a minute.34-40.As a long time rebuilder of carbs,fuel pumps and distributors I would need better and more pics of it. All single action pumps would work satifactorly on that motor from 34-53. Just disregard if inquiry dosen,t interest you. It was just for your info. ken ct. TomO 03-27-2017 @ 9:02 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 That is a very nice example of the 4 door convertible. To fix the slow cranking on it would be the same procedure that I would use on any car. 1) Check the battery voltage while cranking the engine. The reading should be above 5 volts. Any reading below that means that the battery does not have enough of a charge to crank the engine. 2) Check for resistance in the starting circuit. a) Set the meter scale to read a maximum between 6 and 10 volts. b) Connect the volt meter COM or black lead to the NEG post of the battery and the + or Red lead to the cable connection on the starter motor. c) crank the engine with the ignition OFF and read the meter. The meter reading should be less than 0.3 Volts. -A higher reading when cranking the engine means there is too much resistance in the circuit. -Isolate the source of the resistance by moving the Red lead of the meter to the previous connection spot on the starter solenoid. -Repeat the test and now the reading should be less than 0.2 Volts. If the reading is OK replace the cable to the starter, if it is still high, move the Red lead to the input of the solenoid and repeat the test with the max reading now 0.1 Volt. -If the reading is in specs, replace the starter solenoid, if it is high, replace the battery cable with a new 6 volt cable. 3) to check the ground circuit, connect the red meter lead to the POS terminal of the batery and the black lead to the case of the starter. Crank the engine with the ignition OFF and read the meter. The max reading should be 0.1 volt. A higher reading means resistance in the circuit. Check the cables by moving the black meter lead to the cable that connects the engine to the fire wall and repeating the test. The fuel pump looks correct to me. The output port is lower than the input port and there are no tabs on the sediment bowl cover. I would look in the Old Cars Price Guide. It should be available at your local library reference center or online here: http://www.oldcarsbookstore.com/2015-collector-car-price-guide?lid=ocwnav I would ask the price for a no. 1 condition car from your description. My guess would be in the $55,000 - $65,000 range. The car is rare, but there appears to be less demand for them than the convertible coupe or a Ford from the same year. The horn button appears to be incorrect, but that could just be the lighting. I have attached a photo of a correct horn button. If you need one, I have one for sale. Tom len47merc 03-27-2017 @ 9:11 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 The prices in the 2016 Collector Car PRICE GUIDE are actually 5% higher for a 4d Conv Sed than the 2d Conv. For a '40 Merc 4d Conv Sed level 2 'FINE' car the price guide shows $44,100 and for Level 1 'EXCELLENT' car $63,000. These prices are roughly consistent with the other pricing sources I have. Suspect given the time the car may have been sitting it will fall somewhere in the middle at this point in time pending your returning it to the original resto condition. Steve This message was edited by len47merc on 3-27-17 @ 9:12 AM len47merc 03-27-2017 @ 10:15 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1165 Joined: Oct 2013 Thanks for the chat Rusty. Truly respect your efforts and investment in support of your colleague's family. All the best - will keep my eyes posted. Steve 37 Coupe 03-28-2017 @ 6:47 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 362 Joined: Oct 2009 This post caught my attention because of the make and year of the car and the Ohio plates. I met an 85 year old man at a local swap meet Sunday who has quite a few Fords. He seems to be like so many of the collectors on American Pickers that family members want them to sell but they are hesitant or price so high they won't sell. One car in particular he wants to sell is a '27 Model T roadster pickup for $27,000 or as he said a grand for every year. He mentioned a '40 Mercury convertible 4 door that he has owned for years which would not be as nice as yours I imagine,full house flathead in it. Don't know the price ,didn't ask but what was interesting to me he said when he bout this 40-50 years ago he had a choice of it or a '58 Corvette for $2,500. He opted for the Merc thinking it would be the better investment and has been in disbelief ever since. I may take a look at the Mercury after seeing your pictures. Definitely something different and not a mousetrap rumble lid for the grandkids. TomO 03-28-2017 @ 7:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7252 Joined: Oct 2009 There is no need for a ground strap from the starter to the frame. There are supposed to be 2 ground straps, one from the battery to the firewall and one from the firewall to the engine. The starter is grounded by the face that meets the oil pan. Originally the face and the mounting flange were not painted to give a good ground. Those appear to be original 1940 plugs. Tom Rustymopar 03-28-2017 @ 8:13 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 20 Joined: Mar 2017 My apologies to all who have taken the time to respond to me and this post. 1) I am not an EFV8 guy. I knew nothing about them until recently. I'm a Mopar and Mustang guy, with a new found interest and eye for EFV8's. 2) The term positive ground did not resonate with me until 1am-3:30 am, while tossing and turning in bed over the Merc. I know now the positive terminal grounds to the firewall. 3) I did not know the toggle switch beneath the steering column was the "On/Off" for the car. 4)It fired up the first time with a half of a revolution. I started and stopped it about 6 times. It purrs and I have a video. I feel foolish, however at 52 years old, it just reaffirms, I really know very little. BUT,,, I sure as heck know how to start a EFV8 1940 Merc now.. ;-)

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