Thanks to the advice of a few on this board, I recently purchase a 1929 Roadster pickup (http://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=397729). When we purchased it the previous owner started it right up and it drove fine. We got it home and this thing started like a new car without any effort at all. We drove it arond a little, but decided to check it over before we went to far. We put a new battery in it, changed the oil, checked the belt, put fresh gas in it, and a few other small things. We finally took it over for a longer test drive, and it stalled. Now it won't even turn over. After ruling out the battery and starter, I've tried the following: - Pushing it and popping the clutch - I get skid marks from the tires, but the engine doesn't even begin to turn over. - I pulled the spark plus - made no difference. - I noticed the springs on the front engine mount were soft. Jacked up the engine from underneath to make sure the front pulley wasn't sitting on anything - made no difference. - Pulled the belt off the front to make sure it wasn't the water pump / generator - made no difference. - Pulled the oil pan and everything looks clean and straight. I didn't see anything that was lose or out of place. - I've started to pull the head - but it's being stubborn and I haven't found a good way to get it off yet. What else can I try and do to get this engine spinning again? I planned on rebuilding it at some point - but was hoping to hold off until next year. I would love to get away with a few new gaskets and get it back on the road.
if pulling the plugs didn't help, that rules out a hydrolocked mill (gas or waterjacket breach) Probably is a mechanical failure (tear it down) I dont think a seized dizzy would lock a motor, but i'd pull it down in steps and see if she turns.
How far did it run after you did these things to it? How much oil did you put in it? If it was running and then stalled, and ended up locked, it almost sounds like the oil didn't get put back in.
In the thread when you were buying the truck you said that the owner told you that it didn't run well or for very long. You also indicated that the truck had been in storage since 1974. That is a long time, you need to check everything out well before driving it. Grease drys out over time and doesn't do it job. Do you have a temperature indicator in the radiator cap. If not I would get something that can tell you the temperature of the water when the engine is running. The engine may have overheated and seized. Model A engines have a tendency to overheat if things, like timing, are out of adjustment. The water pumps also have a tendency to leak and lower the water level in the radiator. I would be looking at changing or rebuilding the water pump because it has been sitting for a long time. As said the starter can also lock up, staying engaged with the flywheel. There is an inspection cover on the top of the clutch housing, If you remove it you can look inside to see what might be a problem in that area. Think you can see the starter drive also through the inspection hole. Have you tried to move the engine in both directions?
Thanks for all of the replies! I got lucky and it's only the starter. When it first locked up we talked about pulling the starter - and for the life of me, can't remember why we didn't pull it sooner. Is there a way to figure out if it's just part of the starter that's bad, or do I need to replace the entire thing?
The bendex drive is hanging up and not releasing once the engine starts. Take the drive apart and clean it, check the brushed and commutator while you have it apart. If it works on the bench smoothly it will probably work in the car. If you are going to keep it stock there are some good books on proper maintenance of the Model A's. You also need get hooked up with one of the parts suppliers for the Model A parts. Snyders is the one that I deal with most of the time but there are many others.
Many times all that iswrong with the starter is the drive is dirty. Wash the drive off with gas -brake clean etc. DO NOT oil the threaded area that the gear rides on. If it then moves freely back and forth re-install the starter. Normaly the drive is al you replace in a case like this. While it is off take a look at the teeth on the flywheel for damaged ones as that is sometomes the cause of a hung starter. Tech tip ; if it happens again push car backwards in high gear by hand ,many times that will release the hung starter.
Thanks guys. We will probably be keeping the truck original. I've got a few Model A catalogs / sites that I've been referencing (Snyders, Berts, and Mikes "A" Ford-Able), and was planning to call one of them on Monday to get their input on what to do to test / fix the existing starter. I'm hoping to get time to clean it tomorrow and put it back in the truck and see what happens. Thanks for the tip of pushing it if it happens again - I'll keep that in mind.
Check the straightness of the starter shaft, especially after trying to bump start it with the starter hung up. If the shaft is bent, a new or cleaned up bendix will probably continue to hang up.
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