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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / '37 Flathead quits after 30 min.?

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Posted By Discussion Topic: '37 Flathead quits after 30 min.? -- page: 1 2 3     Stroker 01-21-2015 @ 9:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 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. trjford8 01-21-2015 @ 7:40 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 4215 Joined: Oct 2009 No contradiction, it's a fuel problem or an ignition problem or maybe both. TomO 01-21-2015 @ 7:22 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 It's not really a contradiction, it just says that most of the guesses that you make are wrong. Tom cliftford 01-20-2015 @ 3:42 PM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 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. boss1940 01-20-2015 @ 2:30 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 11 Joined: Dec 2013 Sounds to me like the coil is going bad. I would replace both coil and condenser . Stroker 01-20-2015 @ 10:00 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 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". 4dFordSC 01-20-2015 @ 9:37 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 266 Joined: Oct 2009 FWIW, when I had those identical symptoms some years back, it turned out to be a clogged fuel filter. jfarrell 01-20-2015 @ 9:20 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 46 Joined: Oct 2009 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 cliftford 01-20-2015 @ 8:44 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 845 Joined: Jan 2014 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. TomO 01-20-2015 @ 7:19 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 7253 Joined: Oct 2009 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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