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Posted By Discussion Topic: 38 Ford Distributor/camshaft -- page: 1 2     TomO 06-29-2010 @ 6:29 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Jerry, buy a fuse puller at an auto supply store, Harbor Freight, or your hardware store and use that to pull off a plug wire. They are made of plastic and will not conduct electricity. Tom jccorbin 06-28-2010 @ 7:08 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 Thanks Tom, I tried that once years ago and received one heck-of-a shock. I have been avoiding that diagnostic approach ever since. But, I will try it with an insulated pair of pliers. I have been working on English cars for over forty years and I adjust the carbs using plug readings. I have read the plugs on this Ford every week and they have a little black around the rim with a nice tan center. The 97 is spotless and the float level looks fine, although I haven't checked it using the electric pump. I wish I had some history on this car as would really help.....But I do not. Thanks for the help......Jerry TomO 06-28-2010 @ 12:24 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 Jerry, save yourself some trouble and check the spark before you replace the coil. The best time to check it is when the engine is at operating temperature. Pull a plug wire and hold it near a head nut. The spark shpuld be at least 1/4" long, blue in color and make a loud snapping sound. If you have good spark, check the color of your spark plugs to see if you have a rich condition and need to have your carburetor rebuilt. Tom jccorbin 06-27-2010 @ 6:56 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 The coil does attach with two long screws as you described. That’s a good point about it starting up. I let the electric fuel pump run for about 15 seconds before starting but it did surprise me that it started so easily. Now that I think about it I can’t remember it losing power before I changed the distributor and the coil. The coil I replaced is from Industria Argentina and looks to be in good shape. The coil I replaced it with came from C&G Early Ford Parts and it is a Dennis Carpenter reproduction. I think I will reinstall the original and see what happens…….Thanks……..Jerry deluxe40 06-27-2010 @ 5:15 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 413 Joined: Oct 2009 Jerry - I'm suspicious of your new coil. Is it the kind that is held to the top of the distributor with two long screws? If so, and if it hasn't been rebuilt by Skip Haney, I would not trust it. I went through a dozen of those things, some new, some rebuilt by other vendors, until I had Skip rebuild one. Most often the coils failed with the same symptoms you are are reporting. Next time you have a warm day with nothing pressing, take the car out and drive it until it starts to run poorly. Then stop and pull a plug wire off and hold it about 3/8 to 1/2 inch from a head nut. If you don't get a nice blue arc at least 3/8" long, suspect the coil. (A small orange arc isn't good enough.) If your car had been out of gas, I don't think it would have run poorly for half a mile and I don't think it would have "started right up". You would have had to grind the starter for a while to pull the fresh gas from the tank. While you were hiking home things had a chance to cool down and that is more likely what caused it to run well again. This message was edited by deluxe40 on 6-27-10 @ 5:25 PM jccorbin 06-27-2010 @ 4:01 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 When my wife first got the car a few years ago I noticed the odd configuration of the distributor so I ordered another distributor and coil for a 38 Ford and they were exactly the same so I assumed they were stock. I installed the new one but used the old caps and wires because it looked like a big hassle to reefed the wires through the two tubes. I could never get it to stop missing under load and when it got hot it would simply loose power until it would only idle. Once it cooled down it would run ok again. Since this is the first flathead V8 I’ve driven or worked on I really didn’t know what to expect but I have known may people who swear by them. So, I decided to remove the wires from the tubes and in doing so I discovered the plug wires on the right side had been arcing within the tubes presumably causing the under load miss. I ordered new wires and caps from Mac’s and installed them. This is when I apparently dropped the camshaft/distributor disk which lodged out of sight between the crank pulley and the cover. Thanks to this forum and it’s participants I have a new ignition system and it runs great with a lot of power and torque……until it gets hot. I have not yet reinstalled the spark plug wire tubes. Yesterday my wife and I took the Ford to the Farmer’s Market in town and it ran great. But on the way back it started losing power and within a half mile it would only run in first gear. I tried to get up the ¾ mile hill to home but it just would not do it. So we left it on the side of the road and walked up the hill in 95 degree heat and drenching humidity. She was not happy with me. It was a long walk. A very long walk. I took 5 gallons of Green/Stabil treated gas and returned to the Ford an hour or so later, put in the gas, and it started right up and went up the hill just fine. Maybe it was out of gas!!! The gage indicated the tank was half full and when I’ve run out of gas before its indicated ¼ full but who knows. The electric pump seems to work fine and the mechanical pump looks good (I have a new one just to try). The gas tank and lines look new but I just noticed it does not have a vented gas cap nor could I find an internal vent on the filler tube. Maybe it’s just that simple…….I hope……Thanks again for all your help……Jerry ford38v8 06-26-2010 @ 4:05 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 2759 Joined: Oct 2009 40 Coupe & 42 Wagon, I disagree. The 59 series block has the recessed cam that requires the adapter for the football distributor. It is also necessary to use the early timing gear cover when using this distributor. Jccorbin, to avoid losing the adapter in the future, I prefer to drill both the distributor key and the adapter keyway for a taper pin, with the distributor hole a bit larger. Tap the pin snug and cut off the excess. This allows for self centering when installed. Alan supereal 06-26-2010 @ 11:04 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 Most "vapor lock" is actually the ignition coil failing when hot. If you don't have a rebuilt coil, I'd start there. As I have often mentioned, we are finding partially clogged fuel lines from the tank to the firewall, mostly rust. It is likely that the "oxygenated" modern gas is attacking the interior of the line where the copper coating on the steel has eroded over time. If you are finding the problem more frequent on hard pulls and higher speeds, but will come out of it when the electric pump is used, replace the line. I did. 40 Coupe 06-26-2010 @ 8:16 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1676 Joined: Oct 2009 as 42wagon mentioned in his posting the adapter is necessary only when using the later distributor on the early engine cam. If you were using the 37-41 distributor it would not be there. jccorbin 06-25-2010 @ 12:14 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 23 Joined: Jun 2010 It’s ALIVE ! ! ! I rotated the crank by hand with the plugs out just to make sure it was smooth with no resistance, I tightened the bolts and installed the coil, plugs, and caps and she fired up immediately. I really appreciate everyone’s help. I’ve ordered a manual from Mac’s which should help in the future. Now…….It’s on to the fuel system which is “not quite perfect” and seems to lose power when it gets hot. I suspect it’s vapor lock contributed to by the lower boiling point of the methanol laden gas we are forced to use and the fact that I do not use the electric fuel pump until the symptoms present themselves (which is probably too late)…….Thanks again…….Jerry

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