Los_Control

should be negative but I believe the coil does not care. Someone may correct me on this. Way I understand it, the coil gets use to running one direction. after years of use ... you pull a used coil off the shelf with no idea if it was + or - ground the last time used ... it will run but maybe give some weird issues at higher rpm. also if you convert your car to 12 volt - ground, swapping the hot wire to the coil is one of the steps. This is not your issue. If you have power going to the outside of distributor, but checking inside the distributor you lose power ... something is wrong in that area and needs corrected.

I have no experience with instagram. I watch a youtube chan called irontrap garage. Matt does a lot of car part picking, from all over the country, then sells at swap meets, Hershey Carlisle etc & he sells on instagram? I dunno he has a large following so maybe that is required to sell on there to get the views? Like facebook only shared with your subscribers? I do not have a instagram account nor do I want one. Just throwing it out there. Cool air compressor I sure would like to see it saved if it can be.

pics or it never happened. A old mason jar and a lid mounted on the firewall is not good . I do know we had external oilers and assume we had external fluid for the brakes ... I hope they were not glass jars.

Still fascinating the manufacturers thought we were such idiots to use it.

You did a great job on this, you get a attaboy from me ... I was thinking about doing something similar just to point out a couple issues, you did a great job and 110% more complete then I would have been able to do. The green box the tattered area, I suspect a previous owner did something there and has failed ... just a guess. You zoomed in on the photo and made it larger. You see how hammered the shaft is where the rotor sits? I think it will work as is. But I have to wonder what caused that in the past? Miss matched cap & rotor? Seriously, looks like someone beat it with a hammer. While I understand the goal may be to just see if the engine runs without putting to much money into it ... this could very well be the reason the vehicle was parked in the first place. This is the first place a person needs to spend time on. I have never looked, I wonder if could get a rebuilt distributor from napa or rockauto? Myself I would try to fix what I have ... that dizzy been pounded on and seen better days. Still just cleaned up it will provide spark to the points and start the engine. even if vacuum advance not working or shaft bushings are worn, it will start.

Thanks for the information, I do not look at it like a two headed monster from outer space. Just I personally have never seen one. Almost looks like a piece of art, but the op picture it has a couple sharp bends in it that make it look like touching the points. I think I would want to remove it and smooth it out, then create a smooth curve to match the distributor body. With the quality of parts coming from over seas, I would take great care with that condenser and use it as long as I could get it to work. I bought one from a guy that makes them ... paid maybe $65 or $75 for it. Solid brass and is to me a work of art. Same time I got 3 bad $10 condenser from napa in a row, 4th condenser I grabbed from a old junk motor in the shed and used it. So $65 + shipping for a solid brass American made condenser does not seem like too much ... in my mind. A original working condenser is priceless. Only advice to @CarlI can offer. at this point, it just may be time to pull the distributor out. spread some newspaper out on the kitchen table and take it apart, clean it make sure the vacuum advance is working, the shaft bushings have oil and not worn out, To much side play in the shaft will give a erratic dwell reading. the breaker plate moves freely. Take this thing apart and own it, put it back together and use it. They really are pretty simple. They sit so low in the motor they are difficult to work on in the car. Because they are slotted & not gear driven, easy to remove/install. Even if you find out the vacuum advance is not working, or the bushings are worn, clean and oil what you can, new wires & assemble. Then later when you are trying to tune the engine, You know whats what. Chances are your distributor is fine, just needs some love.Obviously it was working at some point .... possibly just the wire from the points to the connector to the coil wire is bad? To just replace that wire, is easier to pull it out of the car and do it on the bench .... while you are there you may as well check out the rest.

Not sure if a picture of a dirty but working distributor would help, but here is mine. Something just looks different with yours ... The copper strap on the condenser throws me off. Looks like it is actually touching the points , maybe that does not matter. Also could just be the angle of the photo and a illusion. I am no mechanic, but worked on all my own cars ... I can not remember ever seeing a condenser like that? I wonder where they were used. Also in my photo you can see a jumper wire that connects the points to the connection on side of distributor from the coil. Yours we can not see, looks like some black tape or cover there hiding it. Hard to say whats going on there.

Great replacement for the 53, we still want to see the 38 go back together on youtbe. I personally think it is difficult to be a content creator on youtube. A person able to show something, explain it & it all makes sense in the end. I can imagine the hours into editing out the bloopers & non worthy sections to make something presentable. Just saying, the new car is the cats meow. I really love your other car, looking forward to the videos on the engine, future projects. Not many people can pull off the videos ... you can. But, if you just decide to ride off in the sunset with some flashy paint car, I wont hold it against you

Just saying if you can unstick it, great. A lot of these old cars get parked with missing pieces .... Air cleaner, exhaust manifolds ... leaves a direct door in for mice. I have spent time with 4 old flathead 6 motors. I am no expert. All had poor compression because the rings were stuck closed & valves stuck open ... 4th one was a bad bearing and crank was seized. The 52 pilothouse had a broken rod "I suspect" you could turn it 1/2 way in one direction and hear a clunk, then the other direction & clunk again. These cars/trucks spent many years in the rainy Pacific north west. They all saw a lot of rain. They sat for over 20 years. The only one seized was the one with a bad bearing. I am just saying, you never know what you have until you open it up. A flathead 6 you have it open in 1 hour. I have to laugh about the ferd V8 sitting on the engine stand ... I am convinced is a bad bearing, probably the farmer over revved it to do some work. The cylinders, valves are perfect, the pistons are stock. The crank has a .020 stamp on it .... Telling me this is not the first time he spun a bearing. Just the 2nd time he gave up on it. When you have a 70 year old engine, a lot of things can happen to it.

I love you @knuckleharley I love see'ing your post & progress on your current projects. I saved this engine from the scrap yard last fall. I paid $100 for it and hoping it might be saveable. Is a 1951 8BA & seems to be a good block ... I scored! I have it on a engine stand all winter long with the heads off. The cylinders looked pretty good and have stock pistons. A light hone the cylinders are ready to go to work. I have been soaking it in atf/acetone over the winter. I still can not get the engine to budge. I have the cam gear pulled off & only trying to turn the crank/pistons. Look at the photo. No amount of mmo would fix that. As it turns out I am convinced it has a bad bearing and seized. I need to start pulling the rods and find the bad bearing. This could kill a mopar flat 6. We all know a replacement crank & some machine work would fix it .... sometimes a good running used engine is cheaper. Just incredible a new user dropped in and asked about free up a stuck engine ... thread went to rot out the radiator. This engine I was hoping would free up. Yeah that did not happen. While I had it on the engine stand I dropped the pan ... This thing really stunk. I think it was 15 year old diesel fuel. While the heads were off, I then removed the intake manifold. This is what I found. ... Any small access point will allow mice. I will fix this engine, will not be easy. New merc crank, new adjustable lifters, nice cam You just have no idea what you have until you open it up and touch it.

Guess I would be happy the T-stat opens & closes, be more concerned at what temp the engine ran at while warmed up. Naturally you want a accurate gauge. I personally want a 180 T-stat ... I think a engine needs to warm up to run well, get all the metals hot and expanded & sealing well. Just my worthless opinion, 160 is not warm enough. 195 leaves little room for error, 180 is just right. Sad the modern cars require such a hot T-stat. My little pea sized brain, I would think the T-stat itself needs to warm up open & close a few times, get into it's prime working temperature. Then function as advertised. Throwing it into a pan of boiling water is a good diagnostic tool, tell you if it is functioning. If you think about it. The T-stat is room temp, you bring the water to boil. The thermometer is telling you the water temp. The water is hot, but the T-stat and the spring is just now getting to temp. It would make sense the water is 175, but the metal mass/spring of the T-stat is cooler. It has not had time to evenly reach 160. Again just my opinion and we all have one ... sometimes we are better off to not share them T-stat in a pan of water is a diagnostic tool while searching for a overheating issue. .... Not to tell you what temp the gauge works at. I suppose if you warmed & cooled the pan of water several times and test ... It could tell you something. Again I prefer to just watch the temp gauge to see if I like the T-stat temp.

I would not worry about testing the radiator while trying to unstick a engine. If the cylinders are in good condition then is possible you have a bad rod or main bearing that is seized. Just saying, try to put a breaker bar on the crank and see if it will turn. I also would put some oil in the cylinders 50/50 atf/acetone or marvel mystery oil & let it soak for a few days before trying to turn it. If it moves thats awesome. You still want to get oil on those rings to free them up. My current engine was free & soaked it for 2 weeks before starting it. Cost nothing to pull the head, you can see exactly what you are working with. There is no valves, lifters push rods to deal with. The valves will be gummed up with old engine oil in the valve guides. So when you turn the engine over, they stay open. Oil them up and smack em down with a rubber mallet. Just work them back and forth and will free up. My first engine sat for maybe 30 years. Had 7 stuck valves and zero compression. These are tough engines and take a lot of abuse, they do not like high rpm and will eat up bearings. I think 3600 rpm is suggested max. I had a 52 suburban that Grandpa hot rodded and spun a bearing and parked since 1962. If you have no history on the engine, & is stuck. A head gasket is cheap and available. Spend a hour pulling the head and find out if you have a boat anchor or something to work with. They are a great engine, they were made for decades with very few changes. You will not regret bringing it back to life. They respond well to tlc

@Plymouthy Adams My only issue is to talk about some serious issues & talking about the current issues @Sam Buchanan seriously, if you can use that engine and idle it down. There is no reason to idle it lower. But if you are on a page it really does not matter what you do not master. I have to laugh at what is shown.

I honestly think it is a non issue. I also think this motor was made for 40 or 50 years? Can you imagine this engine in the Are we talking about engines built in this time period? I am saying to not start a **** show on why your car not perform ... Just fix it!.

Can we all imagine that my briggs & stoner motor does not accelerate as fast as I want it to? @Sam Buchanan send me a address & I will send you a fruit cake at Christmas time. We all love you. What you are talking about is a tuning issue that possibly can only be fixed from a person in presence. I am the total idiot that thinks @Sam Buchanancan learn & fix the issue, then share it with others. Either way you have a fruitcake coming.

We all love puzzles. Fact is, these engines are very simple ... Like a lawn mower engine. Just not to much to them. While we are all rooting for you and hoping you figure it out .... Really is a lawn mower engine with a few extra cylinders. Just saying do not get upset at us for offering advice to fix your 6cyl flathead lawnmower ... There is only so many options to fix it. That is your problem to fix, we only have suggestions. .... Yes it really is a simple flathead & basic carb issues to fix ... is a learning curve.

My 2 cents, if adding a little choke helps. Seems like it is getting extra air from somewhere ... All the choke is doing is blocking the air volume introduced into the engine. Naturally you would want to adjust the air intake with carb adjustments & not the choke. You just need to find where the extra air is getting into the fuel system. Of course it works pretty good most of the time, not going to be easy to duplicate and reproduce in the driveway. I am sure others have already suggested some carb cleaner spray around the throttle shaft, base of carb ... all ports of air entry ... and the intake manifold. Possible the intake gasket is leaking & sucking air?

To be honest, I read the thread title a few days ago when appeared. Thought to myself, there are many here that are 10 times smarter then me to help on this problem. I never read the actual thread. When I saw @martybose post I just thought would add a little to it. Why you need a working accel pump, & takes 2 seconds to check & see if yours is working. Growing up with carburetors we are just use to them .... may have been @keithb7recent video that inspired my response

In a perfect world, you should see a generous stream looking into the throat and working the throttle. Should be easy enough to see if it is working. The main purpose of the accelerator pump .... when you are driving and step on the gas, you open the throttle plate and instantly get more air volume. The accelerator pump just gives you a xtra squirt of fuel to compensate for the sudden burst of air. Then the main jets take over. A very over simplified explanation. If the accelerator pump is not working properly, when you step on the gas you get more air and a lean fuel mixture until your main jet catches up. Otherwise explained as a hesitation.

I have been taking advantage of the cool spring weather & building my "garden center" Just amazing how The price of building material went up, while same time the availability went down. I went 30 miles yesterday to purchase the material for phase 2 of my garden center. Just crazy they did not have the 6 4x4 post I needed. My local Ace yard been out for 2 months. @Plymouthy Adams Glad you built your building when you did ... today would be almost double price on material. So I get all snug, I am going to work on my truck ... Ace hardware got got a delivery & now I am back to building the garden center. I have a load of lumber to unload & paint. I am going to work hard, just feel my efforts not going to where I would prefer

Sigh ... if only had paint to strip ?

Guess what time of year it is Still a month away, time to get ready! Last year I installed the water pump, maybe this year I will install the radiator and check my work for leaks I just had to check and see when the day was, I really need one soon. Playing adult is getting old

And my point is ... I do not know. From the past I know moving the wires around was a get me by. Putting the dizzy in 1 tooth off, they started and ran ... but never good. But that was with a Datsun & a international ... Now we are talking flathead 6. Mine seems to run fine, I never put a timing light on it. I honestly do not know if it matters. The Datsun my wife was driving back & forth to work, after I got home from work I would work on it .... I wasted hours of my life fixing it. The international truck was the same., might have taken this old carpenter 2 hours to figure out the issue and then reset the dizzy. Again hours of my life wasted. The first start on my 1949 Dodge was over a week. Because of the #1 plug location. It really was a ordeal. I had to order new plug wires. I rebuilt the carb ... then ordered a new one and oiled down the rebuilt & put on shelf. I replaced the plugs, cleaned the points. Dang plug wires went to Dallas TX & sat there for 6 days ... finally they moved & delivered. Then because I followed the #7 position on #1 tdc. I wasted 3 or 4 more days of my life figuring out the oil pump/distributor issue. Once I moved the wires it runs fine. This was the first start in 20 plus years I had no idea what to expect. I ended up removing the pipe plug on #6 to check for tdc on 1. Was full of carbon and used a 16 penny nail to clear it. That was really stupid I did start it up with the wife watching, the carbon bounced around in the cylinder then got caught in the exhaust valve & eventually blew out. My wife said my truck sounded sick ...no idea if I damaged the valve or seat ....DO NOT PUNCH OUT THE CARBON! Pull the head & clean it. I think I got lucky, time will tell. I am just saying, life is a adventure. Do not waste your hours trouble shooting ignition issues when you know it is not set to factory specs. I assume the engineers are smarter then me and knew what they wanted.

I Dont need no stinking manual

The issue is the oil pump and not the distributor. We are told to put the engine on tdc before removing the oil pump. When you do this on a un-molested motor, #1 is at 7:00 position. When you look up on the internet #1 is at the 7:00 O'clock position .... we all know it is true if on the internet. I agree with @chrysler1941 it is not in the manual that on the 6 cyl engine it is 7:00 o'clock position ... while for the V8's they do specify location for #1 on cap. Possibly the writers of the manual, I am using 1958 21rst edition Motors manual ... not mopar. They just assume you have your oil pump installed according to instructions? Just saying, you install the dizzy according to the oil pump. The oil pump installation is where the timing part comes into play. Would be redundant to repeat it in dizzy install? You do it by the manual and it will be at 7:00 ... Does it matter? I do not know. I know on a gear driven dizzy, timing may only be a few degree off but on a 4cyl & a V8 it matters. I figure life as hours we use to go on our journey. I would assume thinking & discussing oil pump installation for proper dizzy install is time used I can never get back. I can set the timing at 2, 4, 6 degree ... whatever ....but is it really right if I did not set the oil pump correctly in the first place? Could be 3, 5 or 7 degree? Just saying in the future you may find a stumble, or a miss & troubleshoot a issue & you be thinking, wheeel I did not set the oil pump like it should be ... just more wasted precious time of life .... just fix it!