The Ford Barn

dean from bozeman · 02-17-2013, 12:32 PM

I acquired a chassis from a man who unfortunately left water in the engine and the head cracked. I replaced the head and now need to know that the engine can run and that it does not leak any water into the oil.

Presently this Model A engine is in a chassis. There is no body on the chassis.

My concern is about the wiring. What is the least amount of wiring that I need to do to run the engine? The starter does turn the engine over. Now what wiring do I need for the coil and the distributor to make it run?

I don't want to spend a lot of time putting in a temporary cowl, popout switch, terminal box, etc. Note, I will not drive the chassis around, I just want to start the engine.

Dean

James Rogers · 02-17-2013, 12:37 PM

1 wire from the battery connection at the starter to the coil and one wire from the other side of the coil to the distributor connection.

Tom Wesenberg · 02-17-2013, 01:29 PM

If you have a stock generator you will need to connect the output to the battery, or short the output to ground. If you don't do this you risk cooking the windings.

Purdy Swoft · 02-17-2013, 02:54 PM

I have wired similar to James and Tom. Instead of connecting to the battery, I run a wire from the post on the starter switch to the coil, I run another wire from the cutout to the post on the starter switch, If you have an old junk armored cable you can thread the end into the distributor and peel the other end of the wire that went to the switch. connect a wire to the other side of the coil and peel the other end. You can twist the peeled end of the wire from the coil together with the peeled wire from the distributor and that will be your temporary ignition switch. When these two wires are twisted together at the peeled ends, the ignition is on. If you don't have the distributor end of an old armored pop out switch, you can solder a wire to the lower distributor plate where the popout cable end would contact the lower plate. I have driven model A's with this simple wiring until I sorted out the details. This will allow the generator to charge and no ammeter will be needed. If you want to check if the generator is charging, rev the engine for enough rpm and quickly disconnect the ground cable, If the engine quits running, the generator isn't charging, Just don't let it run long with the cable disconnected or damage will occur. Good luck.

Tom Wesenberg · 02-17-2013, 03:57 PM

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The first motor I fired up I didn't have a distributor cable, so I used a nail pushed throught he center of a cork. Just turn the cork in a couple turns and push the nail in until it hits the metal strap.

02-17-2013, 12:32 PM	#1
dean from bozeman Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Bozeman, Montana Posts: 997	Test engine in chassis for first time I acquired a chassis from a man who unfortunately left water in the engine and the head cracked. I replaced the head and now need to know that the engine can run and that it does not leak any water into the oil. Presently this Model A engine is in a chassis. There is no body on the chassis. My concern is about the wiring. What is the least amount of wiring that I need to do to run the engine? The starter does turn the engine over. Now what wiring do I need for the coil and the distributor to make it run? I don't want to spend a lot of time putting in a temporary cowl, popout switch, terminal box, etc. Note, I will not drive the chassis around, I just want to start the engine. Dean

02-17-2013, 12:37 PM	#2
James Rogers Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Asheville,NC Posts: 3,104	Re: Test engine in chassis for first time 1 wire from the battery connection at the starter to the coil and one wire from the other side of the coil to the distributor connection. __________________ http://www.model-a-ford-4bangers.com/

02-17-2013, 01:29 PM	#3
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Test engine in chassis for first time If you have a stock generator you will need to connect the output to the battery, or short the output to ground. If you don't do this you risk cooking the windings.

02-17-2013, 02:54 PM	#4
Purdy Swoft Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Alabama Posts: 8,099	Re: Test engine in chassis for first time I have wired similar to James and Tom. Instead of connecting to the battery, I run a wire from the post on the starter switch to the coil, I run another wire from the cutout to the post on the starter switch, If you have an old junk armored cable you can thread the end into the distributor and peel the other end of the wire that went to the switch. connect a wire to the other side of the coil and peel the other end. You can twist the peeled end of the wire from the coil together with the peeled wire from the distributor and that will be your temporary ignition switch. When these two wires are twisted together at the peeled ends, the ignition is on. If you don't have the distributor end of an old armored pop out switch, you can solder a wire to the lower distributor plate where the popout cable end would contact the lower plate. I have driven model A's with this simple wiring until I sorted out the details. This will allow the generator to charge and no ammeter will be needed. If you want to check if the generator is charging, rev the engine for enough rpm and quickly disconnect the ground cable, If the engine quits running, the generator isn't charging, Just don't let it run long with the cable disconnected or damage will occur. Good luck.

02-17-2013, 03:57 PM	#5
Tom Wesenberg Senior Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Mpls, MN Posts: 27,582	Re: Test engine in chassis for first time Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) The first motor I fired up I didn't have a distributor cable, so I used a nail pushed throught he center of a cork. Just turn the cork in a couple turns and push the nail in until it hits the metal strap.