Engine Hard Starting And Runs Rough

Bob Grieb

Bob Grieb

Senior Member
I have a 1929 Tudor that has been running great. I parked it in the garage last week and everything was fine. Today I went to start it and it was very difficult to start. Once started it is missing intermittently . I have a Sun tachometer and it now reading all over the place (erratic). I have looked at the ignition switch as well as wire terminations and I cannot see any loose connections. I have a Mallory distributer and it has never failed to perform well.

The only work I have done since I last started it was to put seat belts in the back seat. Any ideas on where to look for the problem would be appreciated.

Thanks

Bob
 
Check all your basic settings>>>>

With an inline spark tester placed between the coil wire and the cap you can see if the spark being delivered is erratic or weak ...

You can also richen the fuel mixture with spray to see if that smooths it out, which can lead you to a fuel delivery issue or vacuum leak..

Shorting out each cylinder can Lead you to a dist body, plug or mechanical issue

Then there are the mechanical diagnostics such as compression and leak down tools.
 
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Bob,
The points didn't last very long, in Minervas' NEW Mallory! She began to miss & fart.
In the dark, with the plugs out, give it a LOOOONG crank & look at how the points are flashing. You should only see a barely discernable, BLUISH/WHITE flash. If you see occasional YELLOWISH/ORANGE flashes, blasting out, you need new points!
Locally, I found some commercial application points that fit & they had a hole in the contact, like the "modern" points for a Model A. They lasted well.
Bill Spark
 
Thanks for all the inputs. Tomorrow I will try them and see what I might discover. I mentioned that I was getting very erratic readings on the tachometer and I have been thinking that could mean a defective coil. I will report back what I find out.

Bob
 
Jacksonlll said:
Just clean your points with a business card.
Click to expand...
Yo' Bro Jackson,
That'd probably work if they just have light corrosion, but if they have that DREADED peak & a pot hole, they're "TOAST"
Points with a hole in the contact doesn't make that PEAK. That's why I like them. Minervas' old distributor has 12,000 miles on its' "modern" points & they're perfect & that distributor will go into Vermin.
ERRATIC point firing WILL drive a TACH NUTS!
Bill Spark
 
The Tudor is back running. I did three things: cleaned the points, reset the point gap and replaced the condenser.

Thanks for the help.

Bob
 
Bob
That's good to hear, you didn't have to dig to deep... Starting with the basics point gap etc is usually a good bet
 
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