VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1929-1932 Startup issue, '30 engine refit

Having tightened up the bottom end of my '30 engine in '31 chassis, I started the car today. Car started easily enough, ran for 4 or 5 minutes and shut off to check for any leaks etc. Decided then to take it for a drive a couple of miles to see how it was working. Was a bit reluctant to start, but did and seemed to idle fine. During a 2 mile drive, seemed to run fine, quieter than before refit although still a "minor knocking type sound for maybe one cylinder". Oil pressure normal 8-10 lbs, temperature was up to normal as I pulled into yard. Car then stalled, and on trying to restart, battery would not turn engine over, appears too tight or some other perhaps more depressing issue! I also note a small amount of smoke coming from vents in valve cover. I plan to let it cool and see if it will start in order to bring it into garage.

Any suggestions as to what I am dealing with? Chance something down below is too tight (or worse such as burned a bearing)and once up to operating temp not prepared to rotate properly? as prevously posted, I took about 2 thou of shims from the 3 bearings and about 1.5 thou from the connrods. Babbitt in rods was in perfect order, while the 3 bearing's babbitt was worn pretty thin. HELP!

Sounds like a normal rod and main afjust problem. Those starters are very weak and often have trouble turning over a freshly adjusted engine. Will take a few hundred miles to loosen-up.
The "smoke" you saw is the normal blow-by fumes.

Perhaps you may be right CHEVNUT. Anyhow, after engine cooled (about 2 hours), I restarted the car and pulled it into garage for the night, engine sounded OK. As a precaution, I was thinking of dropping oil pan again and having a look at the three bearing caps/crank for signs of overheating/not enough lubrication, etc?

If it is just "normal wearing in phase", do you suggest taking it for a longer "slow drive" as suggested in manual rather than dropping pan and having a look. Not keen to drop pan again, but don't want to score bearings/burn something.

Yes, drive it more keeping the speed under 35 MPH. Don't keep testing it by attempting to start it when hot as it could harm the starter and drain the battery.

I fully agree with Gene. I would not take off the pan. Just drive it easy for a few more miles each time. Should get easier to start particularly when hot each time.

Yep, I agree with the above as well. Drive the car for a few hundred miles and see if the engine starts easier.

I think we have a concensus. I'll plan to drive it over to my friend's place tomorrow morning, he is a mechanic as well, about 7-8 mile drive, 25-30mph. Then I'll park it for an hour or so and see if it starts OK for the trip home.

Don't expect it to free-up over night.
This was common years ago when the mechanics woud adjust the rods and mains or do an overhaul job.
It is a bit more drag here and there and the weak starters (and old) just don't have the umph to turn the engine over. You will find jumping with 12 volts will realy get it going. Also depends on the condition of the cables, grounds, battery, etc.

Seems you guys are right as usual. Drove about 10 miles this am and parked car pointing downhill in friends driveway. After looking at his current project for about 1 hour,(he is doing some driveshaft work on his '52 Dodge 4 Door), tried starting car but would not turnover. I didn't try a second time, but rolled car down driveway popped clutch and it started easily. He followed my home in his '31 Model A, and everything seemed fine. So I will plan to continue longer drives for next week or 2 and see if it eventually frees up enough to start on it's own. Oil pressure running about 6lbs on gauge, temp in normal range, so looks like I should be able to enjoy it this summer. Cheers, and thanks for all your supportive advice.

Just my two cents and someone will have to confirm. I THOUGHT that the starter could get hot, from the engine, after running for some time and that it would have to cool before it would work correctly. This was a problem I had on my '53 6 cyl: Started fine in the morning, after driving to school, 10 miles, it would crank real slow like it had an almost dead battery.

Same symptoms as mine, but in my case the starter was working perfectly everytime, hot or cold, until I refitted bottom of engine. As others suggest, this likely caused a tighter engine, and when hot (and as steel parts have expanded) gotten even tighter, leading to problem with starter turning engine over. It's possible your car was suffering from same result. I don't think heat from engine is sufficient to cause an operating issue with starter, never was before refit.

Hello Gunsmoke,
Here is something you might try in regards to troubleshooting the tight engine/weak starter issue. After taking a long drive and engine is warmed up nicely, park on the hill again and turn off the engine. Chock the wheels for safety. Shift into neutral and remove all the spark plugs. Try rotating the engine over with the hand crank while engine is still up to temperature. You should get a sense of how tight the engine is and what your starter has to develop to override this tightness. As the others have said, it should loosen up over time. Drive Safe.