Wood and Steel

Nope. It's in an empty carport that's 80% covered on three sides, and has a concrete floor. There's nothing near it, but it is only about 12' from a somewhat busy road (speed limit 35).

Hi everyone, I've been noticing some rapidly worsening rust on my '51 Plymouth, particularly on the bumper guards, but also evident a couple of other places such as the part of the door handle that screws to the door. I've had the car for about 6 years now, and, although the chrome isn't perfect by any means, I've never had this problem. It's all developed within two months (with very little use since it's winter here in Indiana). The car is stored in a south facing car port. I don't drive it if there's any visible salt on the road, and I avoid driving in the rain. I haven't done anything to try to remove it yet because I didn't want to accidently cause damage. I haven't applied any sort of polish or wax to the chrome since I've owned the car, but it's always shined up nicely from a normal soapy wash. So, what might be causing the rust, what's the best way to clean up what's already accumulated, and what can I do to prevent it in the future?

I had to wait for parts to come in, but it was officially the rotor shorting to the shaft. I couldn't visually see anything wrong with it, but it fired right up once I switched them out. I'm not sure I would have ever thought to check that without the help of this forum, so thanks yet again! This is the first time the car has stranded me, but I definitely learned a lot about the ignition system because of it.

I think we have a winner! It seems the rotor is shorting through the shaft. I think I have a spare rotor at home, so I'll update tonight or tomorrow after I get a chance to test it. Thanks!

I have indeed tried that. That's how I know I'm getting spark plugged directly into the coil, but not plugged into the distributor.

The points seem to be opening and closing properly. There was too much spark when I first checked it, so I changed the condensor. It has a small bright spark every rotation now. I set the points and checked dwell not too long ago, and don't have the tools to double check with me, but I don't think that's the issue.

I wouldn't have thought to check for a rotor short. The cap looks dry and free of carbon, assuming that's what carbon traking is.

That is correct. I already changed the condenser. I assume that would take care of any short. To answer Sniper (sorry, i cant figure out how to double quote on the phone: I already suspected that. I just happened to have all the stuff to make new wires in the car (I was planning on doing some major maintenance while I was up anyway). Made a new one, no luck.

I get spark with wire one if I plug it directly into the coil, and that's the one I'm using for testing. I checked all the wiring I could think to check with the multi meter, and got what I expected. No shorts, good voltage. I definitely could have missed something though. None of the wiring has been changed for several months, and the car is used as a daily driver.

The cap looks new still. Button is intact.

Alright everyone, I'm having trouble figuring this one out. I was taking my '51 up to my parents house for Christmas and it died on me a couple of miles out of town. For some reason, I lost spark. I will have to give an abridged report of trouble shooting, as I'm typing this on my phone around family: I've got 6v at the coil and the dis. I've check resistance on the coil and got something around 1.5 and 8k. The cap and rotar look clean. The points I did a couple years ago, and still look good. They were sparking more than the internet told me they should, so I changed the condenser. I changed the wires coming off the coil a few months ago. I get spark with the plug directly connected to the coil, but not with the coil to the distributor, and I can't figure out why. Additional facts that may or may not help: it was a foggy, rainy night. It was about 40*. I have no experience with ignition systems pre 2000. I don't have access to my shop manual, and the only video I've had a chance to watch is from Keith. I've had the car for about 6 years. It's a 56 flathead with a 53 OD. Mostly original wiring harness, but I just did the battery cables this summer (00). Sorry I don't have time to give a more detailed account, but I'll answer any questions to the best of my ability.

I would be interested in this too. My '51 is pretty crispy these days.

Thanks for the reminder, but I just left that part out to keep it simple. I figured if there's a solution for the transmission it would probably work for the OD unit too.

I don't even have a garage, let alone a lift.

I forgot to follow up on this. Just incase it helps someone else, it was indeed the flashed. One of the pins actually came loose on it, which explains why it was so inconsistent. Easy fix once I found it. Thanks everyone!