VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1916-1922 - Model 490 First questions of many to come

The lever moves the plate that the points are screwed to and therefore adjusts the advance/retard.

Good to know - didn't think the housing itself was supposed to move. The fact that it changed the engine speed/smoothness made me think it was operational.

Your distributor may be frozen or you may not have the correct distributor.

Thanks for the valuable info, Chipper! Do you have anyone to recommend for refurbishing my carburettors Zenith 04?

Sent you a PM.

Pop the dist cap off and see if the internals move....One question, does your car have a hand emergency brake lever or is it still the foot pedal? Originally it would have had the E brake on what looks like the normal brake pedal. Chevy had a conversion that changed the clutch brake pedal to just a clutch pedal and the ebrake to a normal service brake with the lever doing the parking dutys. If you have the original type, you have to be carefull not to tighten up the brakes too tight as you will be hitting the brakes every time you shift. Half way down is clutch disengage and all the way down is service brake on the same pedal. One thing that is common is a wore out clutch collar which screws up the whole deal. The only way to get the brakes to adjust right is to have that collar in good shape. I had mine welded up with bronze rod and machined down to size which will fit nicely in the collar spool. The collar removes very easily by loosing the locknuts and unscrewing the 2 bolts, Let it spin 90 degrees to 180 and it will drop right out. If it is worn into a wedge looking shape it is wore out. It needs to be the same thickness top to bottom to work right. Any slop translates into impossible to corectly adjusting the brakes. If your carb leaks I can about guarantee you have a worn needle valve or a partially sunken float due to a tiny crack. checking it is very easy. Take the 2 screws out of the top of the bowl and pull the silver pin straight up. The tip should be nice and smooth on the taper. if worn it will have a groove in it. I bet that is what is causing your puddle and black spark plugs. Another cause of black spark plugs and is very common to find is the wrong plugs installed. These engines require long reach plugs. Check the distance from the flat washer to the tip of the electrode and ground strap and let us know what you have. I put Autolite 3077 plugs in mine and it runs slick as a whistle. You can order those from any auto parts store.

Bob,

I have a service brake and parking brake lever, not sure if it is a conversion. The car is registered as 1919 but I think it is actually a '20. I tightened the brakes to the point that the brake pedal is no longer the same height as clutch pedal, it is a couple of inches higher. I think the clutch collar has issues as the clutch is noisy when released (out of gear) and quieter when depressed.

The needle valve is definitely worn- what's the solution? 3077 plugs are already on order.

Got the clutch and brakes adjusted and stuck the camera next to me for the ride.
(Excuse the lack of double clutching savvy)

Looks like you have made some good progress with your clutch and brake adjusting. I hear some gear noise, I hope you have checked the grease in your transmission and rear end.

On a different subject, you might be surprised at your cars ability to slow down and turn a corner then accelerate away without shifting down. Double clutching is easy and fun, just keep practicing.

Mike

You have made solid progress very quickly. Another 490 is touring the roadways. Wonderful! Life is good. Thanks for sharing...

I suspected the gear noise was excessive, will check the trans and rear end tomorrow!

Also, about 5 minutes into the video, when I'm in the alley about to pull into the garage, there is an obvious bucking/surging along with gear noise. Is this normal or something that can be fixed?

According to the casting codes, my cylinder head was cast in February 1919 and the block was cast in Dec. 1919. Is it likely they started life together? Also, in a previous thread several thought my car was later than it's registered year of 1919 due to a look at the chassis. Would a motor with my numbers be more likely to be put in a 1919 or 1920 car? Seems to me like a block cast in Dec. would be in a '20 model.

A Feb 1919 (2-19) Head would not have been original to a Dec 1919 Block (12-19), no. But Heads were frequently replaced in service.

Are you sure there isn't a "1" hiding faintly in front of the "2" on that February Head date, to make them both a 12-19 date? The block is more likely to be original to the car; and yes, a December casting date block would be a 1920 car. The production lag time between casting date and production (final assembly) normally ran about 6 weeks, plus or minus.

Tell us more numbers - what is the number on the perimter of the Flywheel, if visible?

What is the Car Number on the Four-Ninety plate?

Can't see the flywheel number. Never found a "490" plate, but on the inside firewall is this plate:

Briggs ???????

That is a strange body tag for a 490. It also looks great for a 91 year old car? Are there any Chevrolet tags?

Gary

No other tags I can see. Did Briggs ever produce any bodies for Chevy? A Google search shows mainly Fords made by them.

Looks like you have the conversion. Just adjust the brakes so the work well with the pedal, you shouldn't have to worry about the clutch pedal release/brake engage point like I do on my 490. On the needle valve if it just has a very slight grove, you might get away with chucking it in a drill and carefully dressing up the point with a fine tooth mill bastard file and then 220 sand paper to finnish it out. if the groove is bad, and you try to file the groove out you will change the fuel level in the bowl since the needle valve will be shortend. May have to just find another one. My clutch sounded a bit noisy when releaesd also, and it turned out to be the square end of the trans input shaft was dry. I oiled it up and it has been quiet since. This summer I found out that some of the 1920 490s had a conneicut ignition switch and the key for those is a round knob you pull out and take with you. That knob makes the contact for the igition. there are two knobs on the switch and the other one is for the lights.

Bob,
Thanks for the drill tip - never thought of that, certainly worth a try since I don't know anyone with a lathe. The owner of the Carburetor Shop said that the too short needle could be rectified by an extra washer under the seat.

According to the service manual, noise when clutch is released can be the trunnion screws needing adjustment. I'll try that and oiling the shaft you mentioned.

My ignition switch seems to have an ordinary key, however, it does have the headlight switch built in with an extra knob. Do some years have another light switch?

Seems there are several different ignition switches. The one in my car is a brigs and stratton switch and has a key with notches in the sides and two fork prongs that go straight to the bottom of the key hole. The light switch is the outside part of the key hole and moves independent of the key.

Hi Bob,

Your unit sounds like the 1925 combination ignition and light switch with a choke rod on the top part.

It normally does not take much to true up the needle. It is not necessary to have the sides exactly tapered to a point. The closer the more narrow the seat area and the better the seal.

Ray, I think those 22 or 23?-25s have a lever on them, Mine is just a knob you turn for the lights with the key inthe middle of the knob. There is a little pointer to aim at the stamped markings. My Dads 21 has the same exact switch as my 21. My choke rod is down on the part of the steering column that bolts to the dash

Looks like I won't have to go this route after all- Gary Wallace has the part (needle and seat) and it's on the way.