The condenser is the best bet, then the coil would be next. They both can look new and be bad. Either will create the cough and lack of power.
Bingo. Start from square 1 and don't move to the next step until you are sure this stuff is right. #1 check your dwell. If you don't have a dwell meter, get one they're cheap. If your in the distributor, check the condition of the points, cap, rotor, and distributor shaft. Points and condenser are inexpensive and worth the investment if you already have it apart. #2 shoot timing using a timing light. At this time you can watch your timing while revving the engine, and watch to see if it advances. This will tell you if your advance is working. Again if you don't have a timing light, they're also cheap.#3 check valve lash. (setting them looser than tight could be a good idea while diagnosing your problem.) #4 Check for vacuum leaks. Richen your fuel mixture while the engine is running rough and see if it smooths out and the rpms pick up. You can do this by choking the carb or introducing fuel like starting fluid or carb spray. Start with these basics. You gotta have the cake before you **** with the icing.
Make sure the plug "wires" are good. I've had carbon core that were so bad the spark jumped to the adjoining contact in the cap. .
also hook up a vacuum gauge to the intake manifold. If its bouncing all over, you have a valve or guide problem. You can also use it to adjust your idle screw. Adjust until you get the best vac signal.
Ok, so the dist. does NOT turn when I rev the motor. So this means a bad va***e advance correct? And if I manually turn the dist. the RPM's change. I did not loosen the hold down bolt. I will have to wait a week to get the va***e advance because they are $65!! So ive got to wait on the Army to pay me... Would it be worth looking in a junk yard for one? Are they the same on any old strait 6? what about a '53 216? Hotrodpat might be ably to donate his old one!
You never said one way or the other....did you check compression? If you have a burnt intake valve it will pop back through the carb. Check for a broken valve spring. Also you might have a cracked dist. cap...that will make it pop and crack. Start it up at night......turn off all lights and see if you can see any fire jumping around. That will tell you a lot! cracked cap, bad wires, etc. If it has Champion plugs in it....throw em away and buy some good AC's..... Check point gap (dwell), valve lash...anything after '54 should have hyd. lifters. '53 powerglide will have hyd. lifters and inserted rods. Just a few ideas you might try without spending a bunch of money...let us know what you find......Good luck Posey
Yes, if it looks the same, it is the same. They show up on Ebay for alot less than that. There are salvage yards in your area. The odds are better at finding a good used one than a bad used one. There is a tool that you can use to induce a vacuum. It's basically a hand pump with a piece of tubing on the end of it. If you had one of these, you could easily verify if one was good or bad...
yule16met You said you sprayed carb cleaner in carb when you first started diagnosing the motor ,just a thought,maybe you dislodged a piece of dirt in the carb and it lodged somewhere else in the carb. Pull the top off the carb and take a look.Also how fresh is the gas?
This may sound a little too simple, even stupid but as written above look at simple stuff first. I had a similiar problem and guy's gave suggestion's from the cam gear was missing teeth to point's and condenser cap wires, carb rebuild all of it. I changed all of that out and still had the problem. The solution was the post that p***es thru the distributor in a plastic hsg, The post that connect's the wire from the coil to the points. It was loose!! Tightened it up and she runs like a top.
The gas is good, went COMPLETLY through the carb. The valve lash is set correctly. The cap and rotor are new. I will be replacing the condencer and points when the Army pays me. And I dont have a va***e gage, Dwell meter, or compression gauge. If I need to I can start picking these up one by one. My current plan is to search for a new/used va***e advance. Since the dist. doesnt move when the motor is reved that is the first obvious solution. It has new plugs, wires look new, It has SOLID lifters and a 3 spd.
You don't necessarily have to connect a vacuum advance for the engine to run OK, provided all else is in order and to spec. All it does is advancing the timing at part throttle to give better fuel economy and leaner burn. A bad vac. advance can create a vacuum leak. So for now, just plug the vacuum port at the carb until you find a new one that doesn't leak. You simply get not as good mileage and performance when cruising, but the motor will run. When you have a new one, before installing, connect a hose and **** on it to see if it works and holds vacuum. Your problem does sound ignition/timing related. Maybe as simple as a bad condensor. But without the basic tools mentioned, its more like a hit and miss guessing game.
You have 2 advance systems mechanical and va***m. The va***m in this case moves the whole dist. The mechanical is internal and is controlled by springs and weights moving the rotor as engine speed increases. These sometimes freeze up . Easy enough to check , pull cap and twist the rotor . Going one way it should move and when released move back by the action of the little springs. It should twist clockwise in this case. Also you need to put a few drops of light oil under the rotor after you pull it off. A sticky mech. advance will play hob with the way the engine runs.
The mech advance is inside the dizzy, not on top like a V8. A bad vac advance won't make it run bad, as mentioned. You're gonna need to buy/borrow the right tools if you really want it to run right. Since you rebuilt the carb, did you make sure that the hole on the bottom of the carb isn't blocked off? The base gasket should have a notch in it that lines up with the hole. If it doesn't, then your power circuit isn't going to work right. Long shot is the camshaft has slid back out of the timing gear. I had this happen to me once. You can tell by pulling out the dizzy and looking at the cam gear. If the gear is centered in the hole you're OK, if it's to the rear, you may have a problem.
i know sometime you cant but.... do one change at a time and run and drive before starting new things .. just cuts down the guess work
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