Hi again-'41 P-11

[rlovette]

Hi all

Just checking in from Northeast Tennessee--haven't posted in a while. I posted late last year about my '41 P-11..not running. After a long winter and spring (including the unexpected death of my father), I'm back to working on the car. It does have spark through the plugs....and I'm going to put another fuel pump on and see what that does.

My dad and I worked on the car some together..and that's what I miss most (not just the extra pair of hands..but the conversation). I guess you could say I'm on a mission to get it running again.

My troubleshooting skills aren't the best so any suggestions/help would be appreciated. Thanks also to those who make this forum possible.

Richard Lovette

Elizabethton TN

[John Mulders]

Richard,

sorry to hear about your father.

I am sure the people in this forum will help you with your mission !

Troubleshooting is mostly making sure you don't assume that something will be ok or not.

Check and document the things you found out.

I have been using an electric fuelpump and bypassed the mechanical one.

Some others have done that too.

Good luck and keep us posted with pics and so.

John

[Normspeed]

From your older posts, looks like you were having trouble with no spark, Did you ever get that straightened out? I'm sure if you post some info about what it's doing or not doing, you'll get enough suggestions to keep you busy for a while:D

[RobertKB]

Sorry to hear of the death of your dad. Sounds like you and he had a very good relationship and you will always have your memories of him.

If as mentioned, you have spark through the plugs, I am guessing it is fuel pump, carburetor, or timing related. Also, how old is the gas? Is the tank clean with no blockage in the gas line? Others I am sure will chime in with ideas so you can get on with your mission.

[rlovette]

As mentioned, it's getting spark through the plugs. The gas is a different story, I'm afraid. The car has 23,429 original miles on it--and most of the nuts and bolts are originial--including the drain plug for the gas tank. I haven't had any luck getting it off (tried lots of liquid wrench)..and wound up rounding it pretty good. I have been able to siphon some gas out. A 6-volt electric fuel pump has been mentioned. Is that the airtex that I've seen on e-bay?

[Jim Yergin]

A 6-volt electric fuel pump has been mentioned. Is that the airtex that I've seen on e-bay?

I got my 6 volt airtex at Carquest.

Jim Yergin

[Normspeed]

I got mine at AutoZone. Not an airtex, something like a Samson.

If your mechanical pump is not getting fuel to the carb, take a good look at the little rubber flex hose between the steel line and the inlet side of the pump. These are a common problem, especially if the car has been stored a long time. The flex hose gets leaky, the pump sucks air instead of fuel...nothing gets to the carb.

[John Reddie]

Richard,

My most sincere sympathy to you regarding you father's death. On your car, you can pour a small amount of gasoline into the carburator and see if it fires up momentarily. If it does, then remove the line that comes from the tank and connects to the fuel pump. Place a container of fresh fuel on the ground and run a rubber hose from the container to the fitting on the pump where you disconnected the tank line. If the car starts and runs ok, than the trouble is in the gasline (plugged or pourous) or in the tank, possibly a plugged strainer.

Good luck to you.

John R

[rlovette]

Thanks for all the tips..and the thoughts about my dad. I actually had the car running pretty well last year...but then one hot August afternoon, vapor lock hit..in the middle of a street. I was able to get the car towed back to my parents' house (just a block away)...and after it had cooled down a bit, it started..but it wasn't easy. The flex fuel line is showing some signs of wear. This may have been discussed here, but has anyone had trouble with the ethanol-blended gas? Also, any recommendations on a new 6-volt battery? NAPA has 'em for about $76.

[Normspeed]

The 6 volts are available from NAPA, Auto Zone, Interstate, and a bunch of smaller manufacturers. I'd think the NAPA price is in the ballpark although you might find one for a little less if you shop around.

[Young Ed]

Yes ethanol eats old rubber parts. Also it tends to boil faster. Around here we can get non ethanol gas for use in collector vehicles. I try to use it in the very hotest parts of summer. I get 6v batteries from fleet farm for 29.99.

[rlovette]

A good looking Saturday morning here in East Tn--with a new 6-volt battery...and a new mechanical fuel pump--am going to try again to get it started. If not, it's time to get an electric fuel pump..and try that. I'll be sure to pass along details.

[Young Ed]

Might want to try towing it and popping the clutch. Its amazing how they'll turn over and over without starting on the starter and start so quickly being pulled or even pushed by people.

[greg g]

If you have access to compressed air, when you have the fuel line off, blow some back toward the tank through the flex line. If you have a helper, station them at the filler and have them listen for bubbles in the tank. Don't use a lot of pressure 15 to 20 lbs is good, Doing the will assure the lines are clear and clean the crud out of and from around the in tank bronze filter.

Also if you suspect the flex line is collapsing, I replaced mine by taking a short piece of steel line to go where the rubber hose is, cut in in half, offset the ends, and reconnected with a loop (to deal with engine movement and vibrations) neoprene gas line

about 6 or 8 inches long. clamp on one end of the steel line, make the loop then clamp it to the other end of the steel. If you do this take your flex line to the parts store to make sure the fittings onthe ends of the steel line match up.

Also in dealing with todays fuel, it seems to work out best if you adjust the float level a bit lower than factory spec. 1/16 inch seems to work for me.

And before you install the new mechanical pump, inspect the straking on the pivot pin for the cam lever. Several members have had failures related to the pin backing out and

letting the lever flop around.

My condolences to you and yours.

[Don Coatney]

A good looking Saturday morning here in East Tn--with a new 6-volt battery...and a new mechanical fuel pump--am going to try again to get it started. If not, it's time to get an electric fuel pump..and try that. I'll be sure to pass along details.

No need to go electric. The mechanical pump should work well. I have close to 30,000 miles on my mechanical pump.

[rlovette]

I spent about an hour (it's really starting to heat up here-feels more like Summer should)--it cranks freely---but didn't hit--even after priming the carb. The flex fuel line does look suspect-starting to show some cracks on the outside.

[Niel Hoback]

If you primed the engine and it still didn't try to fire, you need to look for spark. It sounds like you don't have any. If it's not timed close enough to fire, it will still fire but not run.

[rlovette]

I didn't have a helper this morning to check for spark--but suspected that once it didn't at least hit. A couple of weeks ago, a helper was under the hood--and said that spark jumped from a plug. I'm going to reverse the roles--and watch for myself.

[rlovette]

Had another pair of hands to help this afternoon (my girlfriend and future wife). Spark jumped from each plug...but it still wouldn't hit (even with fresh gas in the carb). Timing issue?

[greg g]

reset #1 to tdc compression and then recheck the wires in teh dizzy cap, even though the order is correct if you have he wires one tower off it won't do anything. I went through that with my rebuild when I installed it and it drove me nuts for a day and a half.

[rlovette]

Reset it to TDC--using the tips in the tech section here (boy, that distributor bolt is in a nice spot on the '41--couldn't see it--had to take the dipstick out)--including the test lamp--rotating distributor, etc and it still won't hit. I am getting spark---but have a question. How constant should the spark be? The learning process continues.