Glad you told me, I would have missed it. Next major question is the fuel pump. I don’t know if it works, but if it does, I can just use a reducer to run it off a 12 volt power source and then not have to replace it. I don’t like the look of modern ones and while I found several 12v versions of that pump for sale they are all untested & rebuild kits don’t seem to be available anymore. Is it safe to bump it with my battery charger just to see if it kicks on, or will I cook it that fast? What about in 2 amp mode?
I don't have an open block to look at to verify but looking at the pushrod hole I believe that is the stock bushing to keep the pushrod itself from ridding on the Cast Iron and making the hole an oval. Looks to me like there is no plug in the hole thus not having good restriction for proper Oil Pressure. I'd leave the cover off the manifold and watch what happens while spinning up pressure. If oil flows up and out the hole, stop and get something to plug the hole without blocking off the oil passage.
I wouldn't hit that pump with 12-v. Find someone to loan you a Motorcycle Gas tank and just gravity feed the carb for now. You'll be fine.
What PnB said about gravity feed gas tank and as far as that goes, you can run it just by filling the fuel bowl thru the vent. It will idle a minute or two with just the fuel in the bowl. Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I have an old riding mower tank I can bring when we get ready to try to fire it. I have a 12 volt coil here somewhere.
Looks like I need to invest in some Rogaine once this hot rod business is over. Gravity feed sounds good for now.
It's never over, and at times you pull your own hair out. It's just a hobby of solving problems. @Pist-n-Broke, we should be able to run the 6 volt points for a short time with a 12 volt coil, correct?
Something else that needs to be tended to. We took a look into the water pumps and the inlets (or outlets, whichever they are) are full of rust and scale. Any advice from flathead guys is appreciated. trevorsworth and I are in the same boat with ZERO experience with the old flatheads.
Look closely at the bushing in the fuel pump pushrod hole. You can see a tiny little hole in the side. If you leave that tiny little hole open you will loose a bunch of oil pressure. On my engine I installed a pushrod in the hole and let it touch the cam. Then I pulled it up 3/4 of an inch and marked that spot right above the bushing. I globbed a weld bead on the rod there and reinstalled it. It now plugs the hole, doesn't hit the cam, and is removeable if I ever decide to install a mechanical pump again.
Points don't know what voltage they are... They go either way Shouldn't be a prodlem Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
You aren't going to run it for a long time so I wouldn't leave the belt on, take it off and leave the water pumps parked. They can be addressed later. This is an adrenaline building event as well as a learning one so that addressd later happens at a future time in the build. As for Trevor's comment on the rogaine, the official story can be when he gets the car on the road 'I went so fast it blew my hair off' Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
I guess it's possible that the seals on the water pumps are ok, but I agree that taking the belt off during the test to see if the engine fires is the way to go.
The good news is the belts self-removed while turning the engine over by hand and are no longer a concern.
The way I understand ignition and 6-V or 12-V is this. Ford breaker point ign. systems were all 6 volt. When Ford went 12 volt they installed a ballast resister in the line before the coil and broke down the voltage to 6-V prior to the Coil. Once they lost the ballast resister they installed a resistance feed wire still dropping the coil and points back to 6-V. The actual 12 volt coils weren't used until electronic ign came on line somewhere in the 70's. The points just make and brake the Ground. Myself I use everything 6-V for breaker points with a ballast resister and a 12-v boost on start cycle to the coil only. I can't tell ya how well a 12 Volt coil connected to breaker points will work. I've never done it.
Ive got a good 6 volt coil as well. And a couple of ballast resistors somewhere. I converted my old 9N tractor to 12 volt and Pertronix ignition and ive got the 6 volt stuff I bought to wake up that old 51 chevy. I put the original stuff back on it when I sold it. I should have enough stuff to get it done.
If it looks like it'd make more sense to stick to 6 volt we can run ballast resistors for now and I will get a 6 volt battery next payday. I will need to figure out a way to keep it charged up though... not sure it will be running long enough to get enough juice back from the generator. There aren't any electronic amenities I can't live without on this particular car so I'm good with the original 6v system in the long term... can always convert it to 12 volt later if I really need that XM radio or whatever.
We have everything we need. If it were me I wouldn't drop the cheddar for a 6 volt battery. You will want the car to be 12 volt when you build it. Today's 6 volt batteries are not what they used to be from what I've read. I think it would just be a 1 time use kinda thing.
I agree with RMONTY. Shelf life on all wet battery's isn't long and anything to do with 6-V is getting difficult to find. I say pull the 12-V out of your daily driver for this deal and keep moving forward.
I run my car, tractor etc on 6 volts. They start fine but its not without effort and upkeep. For a guy building his first car that wants to be able to service, jump start, buy parts for it, go with 12 volts. Especially since your starting from scratch. It'll just simplify things.
A ballast resistor, in line with the coil, is the way to use a 6 volt coil on 12 volts. A 12 volt coil, no resistor needed. The difference between a 6 volt coil and a 12 volt coil is the resistance of the primary winding. A 6 volt coil is somewhere in the vicinity of 1.4/ 1.5 ohms and a external resistor required to give the series value of somewhere around 3 ohms. A 12 volt will have a primary winding resistance of 2.2 ohms to 3 ohms, depending on the manufacturer, application and such requires no external resistor. The breaker points are just a switch to make and break a circuit to cause a magnetic field collapse and induce a voltage in the secondary coil. That circuit is hopefully completed thru the air gap in a non fouled spark plug. The distributor routes it to the correct cylinder. The points could be switching anything electrical, light bulb, sign contactor, elevator control, it doesn't know what it is switching on and off rapidly. The condenser is there to provide arc protection so the points don't erode so fast and extend their service life... Some matching required there based on their application. This doesn't need to be considered at this time unless it is shorted to ground. If it was me, I'd use the 12 volt coil set up offered, a 12 volt battery I already have and save my coin for other things. Good luck... Make stinky smoke and noise Sent from my XT1585 using The H.A.M.B. mobile app
Had my left eye cataract surgery done this morning so no building anything for a few days. Not supposed to lift anything over 20 lbs. That didn't keep me from digging through my electrical bin though. I couldn't find the ballast resistor i thought was in there, but I think I know where it is. I did find these though.....
Rmonty I hope you don't have a ballast resistor that weighs over 20#. Take it easy like the doc sez. Pat
I can see how converting to 12v makes the most sense, especially right now when the rest of the car doesn’t even exist yet. Take it easy Rmonty. I’ll have her mostly ready for the fun stuff by the time you’re out here next. Another stupid question: the gasket for the new Stromberg carburetor is of course a perfect fit for the bottom of the carb itself, but overhangs considerably against the intake manifold, which has a smaller outside footprint. Is that fine that way or should I trim the gasket to match the shape of the manifold so there’s no gasket face exposed to the air? If that doesn’t make any sense I’ll take some pictures when I’m back at the house. Not sure how else to explain it.
Use the gasket as is. Do not coat the gasket with anything. Do not over tighten just firmly snug the carb on there.
winduptoy, that's a grate right up on the Coil. I understand the mechanics behind breaker point ign. Did not know we could run a 12-V rated coil on points. Sounds like you know this stuff pretty well. Can you explain then what causes the points to burn up? I know in a perfect world they just take a beating doing there job and die. I always thought the current of 12-V seriously shortened the life cycle due to the Heat of the 12-V current going to ground. Is this close to right or am I just in the dark?
You also want to check and be sure the Carb fully seals on the manifold and has no overhanging Vacc channels. That condition will let it suck air and not want to idle down and/or die at low R.P.M's.
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