Featured Hot Rods From Troubleshooting Wiring to Ignition Hell

Good plan.
I was working as a line mechanic in the 70s for a Ford dealership and one day I had to change a turn signal switch in a T-bird. Cut the wires at the plug and pulled 'em out .......went to the parts dept and got a new Ford switch. SURPRISE! all of the wires were completely different colors from the original. I didn't make book on that job but I invented some new cuss words.

 

Aren't you forgetting that the losing side were using points ignitions too? Someone having won with points is hardly a selling point when the other half of the users lost using the same.
The statistics gets even worse if you went to the race track back in the day, the winner would have been running points, but everyone else were also running points and there were far more losers than winners, so statistics say running points is more likely to make you lose.

Anyway. Points ignitions work, most of the time. So should other types do, but when there are issues in those they may be harder to pinpoint.

 

LOL. Now that is a good explanation.
I find MOST of the time my unsolvable problems are looking me in the face every time I look in the mirror.

Ben

 

I've got a comic card I bought in my 20s still sitting next to the bathroom mirror.

 

Well, guys, got the 1970-era points distributor and coil Friday and spent most of the day ripping out the Duraspark II fiasco and re-wiring old school. The results at first weren't promising.
I've hit a roadblock in changing over the wiring. I can't figure out what still needs to be done yet, but it's come down to the 4/5 connector wires from the Duraspark II system that I've got to remove/terminate/reroute. I also had a hell of a time rolling over the engine to exactly TDC. I can't get a straight shot at muscling the engine once the starter spins it close. No room to fit a socket and breaker bar onto the crank nut and since it is a fresh, yet-to-be-started engine, it's tight! I wired up the new ignition, turned the key and got nothing. I figured my distributor was too far out of time to light.
Sat down to think about all that I did today. Couldn't logically think of anything I did wrong. Decided to go out one more time, put on the timing light just to see how far off the timing is. Turned the key to start and VROOOOOOOM!!!!!
I about shit my pants!! It went off like a AA fuel dragster (gotta adjust that idle) and roared (no muffler! Damn, it's LOUD!) So I'm calling it a night with a big grin on my face. I'll sort out the idle and timing (didn't run it longer than about one full second but now know I'm damned close to 10 degrees BTDC.
My thanks goes out to all of you who've supported me throughout this saga. I'm going to jury rig a couple of mufflers on it in the morning, then light it off again, set the timing closer to 10 BTDC and the idle around 650-700 rpm, then run it in at around 2000-2400 rpm for 20 minutes or so. Once that's done and nothing has gone to hell I'll drain the oil, replace the filter and turn my attention to setting up the AOD.
It's been 51 years, gentlemen, but I've persevered to the point that it's a running hotrod. Don't know if I'll sleep soundly tonight or be so jazzed up that I won't sleep at all, but man, is it worth it!

 

If possible, have a second set of eyes with you.
Also make sure the trans has enough fluid pretty soon into that 20 minutes.
Initial timing isn't as important as timing at cruise, so go for 28-32 BTDC up at that 2000-2400 RPM especially during that break in. It will not care what base timing is during that time because it won't be at idle.
Fresh engines tend to run hotter, so have a contingency plan to keep it cool.

 

I'm glad you reminded me of these things. I'd thought about putting a fan directly in front of the radiator, as I have my doubts that the little 13-inch fan sitting low on the radiator will pull enough air through to keep the engine cool once it heats up, and you know it will as fresh as it is at break in. Having some more ATF on hand is another tip I hadn't considered. I also need to install a radiator overflow can, now that you mention it. I'd better get the vacuum line to the distributor hooked up, too, considering I'll be running it at cruising speed during break in. Having it finally start up is great validation of all I've done to get to this point, but your reminders sober me up and alert me that I've still got a long way to go. Thanks again, Rod, for having my back.

 

You got it! The vacuum can be plugged off for this. It just adds another thing to consider.
Leave the battery cable untightened for quick disconnect, a hose would be nice, and a fire extinguisher!
Hope for the best, plan for the worst.

 

Glad everything is coming together for you! I second get it running at 2000 to 2400 rpm as quickly as possible let run for 20 minutes min. I don’t shut them down unless something is way off like major leaks, too hot, low oil pressure. Like Rod said I adjust the timing for 30 32 degrees after I get it started. I let the engine cool off then start again and set timing to where I want, then set idle and adjust the carb. I love it when a plan comes together.
keep us posted
Thanks
Dan

 

That's good that it went to a high RPM on first hit. Make sure it does that the next time if it has a flat tappet cam and keep it up there for the duration. So make sure sure you have enough fuel and a garden hose to spray the radiator to cool it down if needed. That transmission may hold close to a case of fluid depending on converter size, make sure it's full.

 

Great news! Having just recently fired up my flathead for the first time a few weeks ago, I second having a second set of eyes there. “Stupid” things like checking oil pressure I forgot in all the excitement. lol! Suggest a checklist. I even bought new fire extinguishers for the “just in case” situation. I had overheating issues almost immediately. Had to shut her down after only 5 mins of running. So, make sure coolant level is good. Make sure coolant fan works. I even had a vacuum gauge hooked up that I forgot to check. Haha!
I’ve had to do my cam break-in in 4 steps due to overheating. Still have the last 5-6 mins to do. When Nick from Nick’s Garage breaks in the cam/engine he does it in two 10 min sections. I think this is the best approach. Especially for novices. Gives time to check for leaks, etc. Evaluate what is going right and what is not right, etc. He’s literally built and dynoed hundreds of engines, and it’s surprising all the issues they run into on the dyno. Good luck!

 

Having a working vacuum advance will help the engine to not overheat .

 

Spotty results Sunday. Ran long enough to heat up the headers and set off enough smoke from a left valve cover leak that I shut it down. Cleaned up and tightened up as best I could. Wasted hours trying to restart. In hindsight, probably flooded the cylinders. Worked to ensure the timing was right. Timing light says so, and that's reassuring but it still wouldn't light up consistently. Also, when it did run, the tachometer wasn't working.
I'm substitute teaching Monday and heading in the direction of Atch and Saltflats Thursday afternoon and evening to take our son out to dinner a day after he turns 31. In between, I'll pull a plug or two and see if they're soaked, blackened or what they tell me. Someday this project will run consistently. Until then, Groundhog Day.

 

Sorry to hear of all the trouble this thing has caused you.
Maybe I should look into a trip over and see if I could lend a hand.

 

That's an extremely generous offer, James. Let's see what else I can accomplish this week. I'm going to start from the beginning, pull the plug on number one cylinder and confirm TDC, maybe pull that left valve cover and seal the oil weep, check the points gap now that it's had a couple of days of sporadic operation. If I can get it running again I'll adjust the carburetor so that it's not roaring to life and screaming like a banshee. I know I'm getting close.

 

I always thought that ford went out of their way just to be different. Best decision I ever saw them make was to study the Chevy big block and came up with the 385 series ( think I got the number right)

 

It started right up this morning and I forced the accelerator linkage to bring the engine down to a fast idle, so that's one issue I'll need to address - stronger spring or something's hanging up in the linkage. The driver's side header is still smoking from the valve cover oil leak, so that's the second issue that must be addressed before another start up. While I let the engine cool down I wrestled with my tractor and brush hog for two hours, trying to loosen the pto shaft to the brush hog. Got it, mowed for another two hours, now I'm too tired to wrestle with the valve cover so I'll tackle it tomorrow. Tachometer still isn't registering. I've got a 50-year-old dwell meter that I think still works and I'll hook that up (it switches over to tach). Grinding forward, identifying one gremlin after another.