Multiple starting issues maybe my fault

[Jerry Roberts]

That is great !  So how did the plug get to be missing ? Was it loose and it fell out ? 

[keithb7]

Great news. Glad you were able to solve it completely, and quickly. 

[harmony]

1 hour ago, Jerry Roberts said:

That is great !  So how did the plug get to be missing ? Was it loose and it fell out ? 

That is the million dollar question.  The threads in the manifold look really good. Not stripped or poorly shaped. Plus there are a lot of threads on that plug.  If it was gradually working it's way out, you'd think I would sense it by the engine starting to gradually run erratically over time.  But as I mentioned it started to act up almost instantly.  I'm still scratching my head over that.  But at least I'm a happy camper!  Solving a problem always feels good but it's better when you discover the cause. I would have felt pretty sheepish if I had thrown in the towel and had the old girl towed to a garage to be repaired. 

[harmony]

33 minutes ago, keithb7 said:

Great news. Glad you were able to solve it completely, and quickly. 

Thanks Keith, plus the repair bill was around a loonie once the taxes were thrown in for that brass plug.  The upside is that I replaced all that ratty looking ignition wiring and I put in a new coil and condenser.  I now know my compression on each cylinder and I made new ground contacts on the trans relay and cleaned up all the connections including that fuse on that relay too.  

[harmony]

Thanks everybody for your input and suggestions and your support.

[Saskwatch]

Thank you for posting this , a lot of valuable information just in this one thread plus a happy ending !  Perfect ! ?

[Hamilton]

Glad it turned out to be so simple.

_

[desoto1939]

glad it was simple fix and issue. Also glad that you posted what caused the issue and how you solved the problem.  Most posters only as the questions but forget to inform us

on the real cause of the problems and how they fixed the pbm.

 

This is known as passing it along.  This small item might happen to another member and then we can tell them to look for a missing bolt inthat area.  Knowledge is so important with these old vintage cars and trucks.  The mechanics that worked on these on a daily basis are mostly dead so we need to help each other to understand them and how to preserve them for the next generation.

 

You learn something everyday.

 

Rich Hartung

desoto1939@aol.com

[Plymouthy Adams]

enjoy the hobby......stay active on the forum.....before you kick off...sell the cars and leave the heirs a picture.....especially one of you enjoying the proceeds from the sale......?

[Marcel Backs]

Congrats! An easily solved problem is the best one to have. M

[greg g]

Not putting any one down here by any means, but here is where a properly followed basic trouble shooting procedure would have put it right with out any guess work.  One of the tools in the trouble shooting drawer is the trusty crusty vacuum gauge.  One of the first things on a trouble shooting tree is engine vacuum.  The branch would have said, check engine vacuum.  Attach vacuum gauge to intake manifold.  At which point you would have found the loose or missing port plug and would have been done.

 

Glad you solved your problem, thanks for posting the solution.  Maybe do a summery post and add it to the technical archives section.

[greg g]

Back in the day when we faced cars on frozen lakes, I had a Honda Civic which would ice up and die 3 or 4 laps know a race. As Dave noted in his article this didn't happen in January and February, but reared its head in the first couple weekends in March when ice was still thick but temps were in the mid 30 to low 40s.  My fix was to chisle a hole in the fire wall and pull heated air from the passenger door well through a piece of flex duct to feed the air cleaner snorkle.  The factory sheet metal stove having long since returned to rust.

[Dartgame]

Good you found the problem, but thats weird. How did the plug get removed without you knowing it ?