Go Back   The Ford Barn > General Discussion > Model A (1928-31)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-17-2016, 07:44 AM   #1
qstott
Senior Member
 
qstott's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Wilson NC
Posts: 113
Default Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

My father and I drove the '30 Tudor to town, about a 5 mile trip for gas. It sat for maybe 10 minutes at the most while I filled up. When starting back home, it cranked fine, started off in first fine, and then started sputtering and back firing through the carb when I shifted into second. I nursed it along, changed into third and it ran ok the rest of the way.

The points had closed up some, to about .015". I reset them and the timing. I took another 5 mile or so trip. It ran great. After stopping to chat with a neighbor for about 10 minutes, it did the same thing when I left.

I was certain the point gap was correct, as well as the timing. When I returned, the gap was too wide. I reset it again, and took another test drive. It ran ok. I didn't have time to try it again after a short stop.

Even if I didn't set the points correctly, I had the same symptoms.

Anyone have any ideas? Thanks!
qstott is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 07:49 AM   #2
Mitch//pa
BANNED
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Vapor lock
Mitch//pa is offline   Reply With Quote
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Old 04-17-2016, 07:56 AM   #3
Patrick L.
Senior Member
 
Patrick L.'s Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Largo Florida
Posts: 7,225
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Sounds like what Mitch says.
What was the OAT ?
Is the horizontal portion of the fuel line actually running downhill to the carburetor ?
Patrick L. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 09:16 AM   #4
Kurt in NJ
Senior Member
 
Kurt in NJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: on the Littlefield
Posts: 6,140
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

I have had condensers that act like that too---before I put in the A&L condenser---once I knew for over 100 miles that soon i was going to have to change it, every time I stopped at a yard sale it would sputter till the airflow cooled it, then I put in the newfangled A&L condenser, it's still in there 30 years later, same one, never any problems
Kurt in NJ is online now   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 09:20 AM   #5
JD 1931
Senior Member
 
JD 1931's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2010
Location: west coast Fla..
Posts: 311
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

When fueling shut off gas valve.
JD 1931 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 09:24 AM   #6
Jacksonlll
Senior Member
 
Jacksonlll's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Michigan-- Member of Oakleaf of MARC
Posts: 1,686
Send a message via ICQ to Jacksonlll
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
When the carb bowl gets really hot and you shut it down to gas up, all the fuel boils out and all you have is vapor in the bowl. Just pour a little water on the bowl of the carb, and as soon as the cooler fuel gets in there, you will be OK. Happens all the time.
Jacksonlll is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 01:33 PM   #7
Tom Wesenberg
Senior Member
 
Tom Wesenberg's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 27,582
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

What Mitch said. My car did the same thing until I started using only the good gas.

For reliability you should install the heat proof condenser Kurt mentioned, if you don't already have one.
Tom Wesenberg is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 02:52 PM   #8
Ron/IA
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Amana IA
Posts: 527
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

After the first incident, you found the points gap had closed up a little and re-adjusted them. Not uncommon, rub blocks do wear.
Then after the second incident, you found the points gap too wide. Was this because the points gap wasn't set correctly after the first incident? Or, do the bushings in the distributor have wear? I'm just writing out-loud here because my points would not stay set properly, and it was due to worn bushings.
Just info.
__________________
Ron/IA
1929 Fordor Steelback

Hawk A Model A Ford Club
http://hawkamodelaclub.org/
Ron/IA is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-17-2016, 03:26 PM   #9
wensum
Senior Member
 
wensum's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 444
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Also, I had a new distributor fitted to my car and it took a while to discover that the distributor cam had either been machined off centre or machined wrongly.
It was hard to get it to run smoothly and I normally set the points at 20 thou on number 1 cylinder (Having checked the timing at the same time.)
What I didn't realise was that if I'd checked the gap on the other 3 lobes at the same time I would have found the gaps to be 30-40thou.
A new "super" cam transformed the car
Keith
wensum is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 06:49 AM   #10
erjbsa
Junior Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Posts: 7
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Try changing the gas. Winter Vs summer gas has a different vapor pressure. Winter gas has a lower boiling point for starting in cold weather.
erjbsa is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 07:31 AM   #11
Terry, NJ
Senior Member
 
Terry, NJ's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks Co, Pa
Posts: 3,740
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

I haven't read anything about the point gap closing and opening. That would very suspicious to me. How are the distributor bearings? Or the cam and shaft itself ?
Terry
Terry, NJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 07:38 AM   #12
Bob Bidonde
Senior Member
 
Bob Bidonde's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 3,429
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

As an antique car owner / driver, to trouble-shoot occurrences when your Model A acts up you should have a routine. The routine needs to be based on the basics of motor operation:
>Fuel
>Ignition
>Compression
>Cooling

Also practice a routine for diagnosing running gear issues.
__________________
Bob Bidonde
Bob Bidonde is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 08:27 AM   #13
Kevin in NJ
Senior Member
 
Join Date: May 2010
Location: South East NJ
Posts: 3,398
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

How much play is in the upper plate?

If you have a worn area on the dist and a worn upper plate it may move some. Try sliding the plate.

Do you have lube on the cam?

Is the cam smooth?
Kevin in NJ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-18-2016, 09:31 AM   #14
Bulligen
Senior Member
 
Bulligen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: Elgin Illinois
Posts: 735
Default Re: Hot soak? No, not in the tub :)

Worn distributor bushings
Bulligen is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump

Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 08:49 AM.