1952-59 Ford hard starting

My 52 gave me some trouble today . hard starting turning over good battery charged , checked coil looked like spark was a little weak its a 6 volt system my buddy took off a spark plug wire and then put it back on then car started and ran no problem dont know if that was it or not drove it all day it could be vapror lock or I flooded it when I tried to start it it has never done this before any ideas fellow hambers
thanks

 

I wish all my non-starts could be fixed that easily! Be thankful for small favors.

Not being there when it happened, it's hard to guess as to what might have been the cause, but many of the problems I'm having with my carbureted cars seem to stem from today's poor fuel.

The alcohol boils at a very low temperature. This can throw off the mixture, cause vapor lock and boil the fuel out though the carb float bowl overflow and down the throat. All of these conditions can cause hard starting...and can disappear very quickly, allowing the car to once again run normally.

Look for fuel-related problems, but not necessarily ones that you can fix. Gasahol and hot weather do not mix, but tinkering with the carburetor will probably not help.

You can avoid the symptoms to some degree by avoiding the conditions under which they occur whenever possible. Otherwise it's a matter of developing starting and driving techniques which minimize the severity and frequency of the problems.

My old shoebox was cranky and miserable in hot weather, but started and ran great when the hot weather was over for the year. I can empathize with you, but I think that only the arrival of Fall will cure your car's ills.

 

missysdad1 has a good point with the way the heat is and the ****py gas we buy now that can make for a not so good mixture for any car that has a carb when starting . Just got done rebuilding a 302 for a 71 Bronco and with the metal fuel line near the engine , it was vapor locking up on me in the 90 degree temps we have been having . I took a piece of rubber fuel line and split it open so I could wrap around the fuel line to help keep the heat off the metal fuel line . Used slip ties to secure the rubber fuel line on the metal gas line . Now it doesn't seem to give us any more trouble when starting .
With your car , you might have been just real lucky when the wire was taken off then put back on and starting the engine up .
Just try insulating the fuel line from the heat of the block and exhaust manifolds .

Jim

 

thanks gonna try the rubber insulation see if it works still gonna replace coil too its only 20 bucks

 

Header wraps work good too but the rubber hose is cheaper .

Jim

 

Thanks Jim just got done replacing 6v coil ,battery to positive distributor to negative slip the rubber hose over fuel line from pump to carb car fired right up really good gonna take it out in a little bit we will see if it hard starts when warm it isnt as hot and humid as yesterday cross you fingers hope this works gonna replace plugs too

 

just checked found out on positive ground you wire the distributor to the positive terminal of the coil and batt to negative hope I got it now