VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1937-1945 1940 rear end ratio change

Could have been a particle of dirt passing through the low speed jet or needle valve. I would keep the idle speed a little higer than the factory suggests. Keep mine high enough that the ammeter is in the center or to the + side a bit. Never set it with a tachometer.
In another 1500 miles it will be broken in and running at its best.
Its says the radiator cross section is .25 inches by .565 inches instead of .22 inches by .565 inches on the Master Deluxe. Its descried a little differently for the 1939. There is no idication of just how the measurement is made.

Gene,

It sounds like the difference in the radiators is very minor.

As to the dirt in the fuel, I have a fuel filter ahead of the fuel pump and another ahead of the carb. I also have an oil bath air filter instead of the dry screen one that came with this engine. That is about as clean as I can make the air and fuel. This has happened a couple of times before. I need to be "trouble free" when my wife rides with me. She does not enjoy the thought of being stranded somewhere, of course, neither do I. I do feel that the car is much more reliable than it was before the recent overhaul. I know it will never be as reliable as a modern vehicle, but it needs to be as good as I can make it.

Rich

I never drive farther than my wife can push it home...

It is nearly impossible to diagnose your problem without being there. I could be ignition switch, weak condenser, points momentarily sticking, needle sticking to seat, dah, dah, dee, dah. The list is nearly endless.

The best accessory for an old Chevy is a cell phone and towing policy. One of those pay first type phones is okay since you likely will not ever use it but the "BOSS" will feel more comfortable knowing that she will not need to push or walk too far.

Rich,
You didn't mention if the car was turning over or if it turned over and wouldn't fire. If it was a cranking issue maybe a ground? ignition timing off a bit? If it was a firing issue maybe as mentioned a piece of dirt? points as mentioned? weak fuel pump?

Thats such a common problem. Engine stalls, will not restart with the starter but with a little push it starts right up.
Possible weak coil. The starter is drawing a lot of amps and not engough left to supply a weak coil.

The starter cranked the engine just fine, it just did not fire. I do have an original coil, the one with the armored cable that goes into the top of the coil and the coil is mounted up side down.

The only times that this has happened, the engine is at full operating temp. Yesterday, I had been off of the Interstate for perhaps two miles when the engine died, so the engine should have been cooling down a little. Once, I drove about 25 miles on the Interstate, got off and immediately had to stop at a light. The engine died as I came to the light. I tried to pop the clutch and get a restart, but I was too close to the light. It took 15 minutes to restart the engine. During this time, I verified that I had good fuel flow, opened the top of the carb. to make sure I did not have a stuck float and after puting it back together, the engine restarted when I cranked it again. Being away from home I was careful to not kill the battery as I tried to restart. I suppose it is possible that I have a weak coil. It there a way to check the coil?

Rich

A bad coil typically fails when it gets hot.
I would check into getting a new coil and you should keep a spare either way.
If the coil is original the thin narrow band around the lower part of the housing will be brass colored.

Gene,

The coil that I have is an original one, it does have the thin brass ring on it.

I also have two other 6 volt coils, but I am not sure how to make a clean connection to the armored cable that comes out from the ingition switch if I use a more modern coil. What do other people do that don't use an original coil?

But, back to the engine cut out problem. This has only happened a few times. Several times, I have been able to pop the clutch and restart the engine. If I have to stop and the engine dies, it will be hard to restart. To me, this does not sound like a coil problem. Although I don't know what it is I do think it may have something with the gas boiling in the carb. After all, it is in a very hot location. Hot air from the radiator dumps right onto it and the carb sits directly above the exhaust manifold. I can't think of a hotter location in the engine compartment.

Rich

Rich;
As far as your coil problem go's, I've had two go out on me, until I put on a modern one. What I was able to do was, remove the cap on the coil, and disconnect the wire. Then take a pair of channel lock pliers and squeeze out the crimp, on the little collar on the cap, that holds it onto the armored cable. Mine came right off, but I had to nip off the wire connector to pull off the cap. Then, put a new wire connector back on, and attach It to the new modern coil. It does'nt look original, but It's more reliable. Hope this help you out.
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Joe's 37

Joe,

Until I am sure that I have a coil problem, I am not going to tear up the old coil. Gene sent me the instructions on how to remove the cap from the coil, so I have alread done that once before.

What I may do is put in one of the newer coils for a while just to see if that takes care of the problem.

Thanks for the suggestion,

Rich

I see electrolock coils on ebay on occasion. I've picked up a couple of extras just in case. Usually they're NORS coils instead of NOS and pretty pricey too but if you want to keep the electrolock looking close to original that's the only way I know of to do it.

Tiny,

There is a guy here in the Denver area that has a bucket full of them. That's where I got mine. These are used; I don't think he has any NOS or NORS for the coils.

Rich

Good evening Rich.

Similar situation with a 54 I used to have. Won't go into detail about what all I did to find problem, but it ended up to be a bad condenser. That's a lot cheaper and easier to replace than anything else. Might want to try that first before going into coil. Just a suggestion and good luck.

Jim.

Jim,

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have a new (less than 1,000 miles) condenser.

I have a fresh rebuild on the engine and new points, condenser and spark plugs. However, I am using the wires, cap and rotor that came with the car when I bought it. They were in very good condition, but are likely over 25 years old.

Rich

Rich.

Same with my 54. Complete rebuild including bore job, turning crank, all new valves, seats, guides, etc. etc. Also new points, coil, condenser, even rebuilt starter. That new condenser was the culprit in my case. As soon as another new condenser installed, started with first roll over of starter. Man, what a deal that was!! It always started before if you just pushed it a foot or two and popped the clutch but refused to help me out when using starter.

Anyway, wishing you the best and hope problem is resolved without too much cost, or the loss of your hair as you start pulling it out!!!

Jim.