1929 Ford A Tudor engine stops on downhill street

[Forddan]

Hi all

I hope I can explain myself. On my 1929 Ford A Tudor , his engine stops when I brake and gear to neutral and take my feet off the clutch pedal on a downhill street. If I keep my feet pushing the clutch pedal the engine idle as expected. The car starts immediately and drive smoothly after that event. On leveled streets when I brake and take my feet from the clutch pedal the engine does not stop, as expected, all normal.

Any suggestion(s) what could be causing this issue on downhill streets ?

Thank you !

[Marshall V. Daut]

Check the carb's float level. It should be parallel to the upper half's machined surface when the upper half is inverted. Also check that the battery isn't loose in its carrier. Going downhill and braking, a loose battery will slide forward and the negative terminal could touch the pedal brake rod and momentarily short out the ignition. It's happened to me...
Marshall

[Forddan]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

Check the carb's float level. It should be parallel to the upper half's machined surface when the upper half is inverted. Also check that the battery isn't loose in its carrier. Going downhill and braking, a loose battery will slide forward and the negative terminal could touch the pedal brake rod and momentarily short out the ignition. It's happened to me...
Marshall

Good suggestions. Thank you !!!

[Forddan]

Originally Posted by Marshall V. Daut

Check the carb's float level. It should be parallel to the upper half's machined surface when the upper half is inverted. Also check that the battery isn't loose in its carrier. Going downhill and braking, a loose battery will slide forward and the negative terminal could touch the pedal brake rod and momentarily short out the ignition. It's happened to me...
Marshall

Sorry, I have now a question. How do you explain that if I keep pushing the clutch pedal, the engine does not stop.

Thank you !

[Marshall V. Daut]

No back pressure from the engine "braking" when the clutch is depressed. Also, the RPMs tend to stay higher in neutral (or when the clutch is depressed) than when using the engine to slow down. It's an old trick in Model A's that want to die when coming to a stop to push in the clutch pedal and keep the engine running. The carb then is running from the idle circuit and makes it easier for the engine to keep running. It's a self-delusional thing because it's masking the trouble inside the carb. The Model A engine should not stall when coming to a stop if everything is correct inside.
Marshall

[old ugly]

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my theory and i don't know for sure.(it is only a guess)

when you are coming to a stop, or maybe slowing while going down hill, the fuel in the float bowl surges forward starving the internal well of the carb which could possibly be starving the idle circuit.

you can try opening the mixture adjustment before slowing down.

i had a sedan that did the same thing, i spent lots of time with jets and float level and could not rectify the problem. if i was driving in the city with lots of stop and go i just ran the mixture rod open a bit more. it wouldn't stall when doing that.

on the hyway i could run that mixture rod almost closed.

it may help to set the idle a tad faster.

its one of those things that can take a while to figure out, or you just find a work around.

OU

[Forddan]

Thank you both !!!

[Richard Knight]

There is an active model A club in your area. Someone in the club can help you. The float level is too high. There is a tool to indicate the float level. Making the float seam level when holding the carb upside down may make the float level too high.