My 1st Model A (non Hotrod) - Starting....

panhead_pete

panhead_pete

Senior Member
My new to me Model A arrived yesterday and just spent an hour or so trying to get it to start. Its my 1st somewhat standard car so please be gentle. This is the procedure I have used.



Fuel on (Tap in vertical position)

GAV at 5pm after fully closing it initially.

Advance lever all the way up.
Throttle lever at approx 230pm
Choke out.

Hit starter.



Car has been converted to 12V and is spinning over well but no hint of wanting to start, except one little burp.



Pulled plugs and they were black and wet so cleaned them thoughly and put them back in.



Lightly sanded the copper strips where they connect between distributior and plugs.



Car has sat 6 months since last being started and previously ran well based on what the seller told me and videos which I have NO reason to doubt.



What am I dping wrong or what should I start checking?



Thanks in advance.

Pete
 
The gav on every car sits in a different position when closed. Open it at least a half turn, maybe one turn. When it starts you can close it up a little, if too rich.
 
If you leave the choke out after a few seconds of cranking, they will sometime flood. Try pulling the choke out for a few revolutions then push it in and see what happens. The plugs being wet means it is getting fuel, if you have spark it should start. good luck
 
The old Henrys are easy to over choke and flood. My procedure is to pull and immediately release the choke while cranking. Usually fires up on first crank.
 
Pull the coil wire out of the top of the distributor and hold the end a short distance away from one of the head nuts. Have someone press the starter pedal and see if there is a spark that jumps from the wire to the nut. Should be a nice big fat blue spark. If weak then lightly sand the points with 220 or finer grit sand paper like cj5 mentioned.

Plenty of fresh fuel?

If after choking for a few revolutions and not starting you should see fuel dripping out of the carburetor. If you're not seeing fuel dripping you may have a plugged line, jet or float stuck in the closed position.
 
Well its spark related...

1955cj5 said:
Clean the contacts on the ignition points.....I use a small point file but sandpaper works. And check the gap while you are there..... .018 to.022

I have to clean the points on my ccpu every spring when I first start it.

https://modelagarage.com/service_bulletin/breaker-point-and-spark-plug-gap/


.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I have done that.

holdover said:
If you leave the choke out after a few seconds of cranking, they will sometime flood. Try pulling the choke out for a few revolutions then push it in and see what happens. The plugs being wet means it is getting fuel, if you have spark it should start. good luck
Click to expand...

Mulletwagon said:
The old Henrys are easy to over choke and flood. My procedure is to pull and immediately release the choke while cranking. Usually fires up on first crank.
Click to expand...

1crosscut said:
If after choking for a few revolutions and not starting you should see fuel dripping out of the carburetor. If you're not seeing fuel dripping you may have a plugged line, jet or float stuck in the closed position.
Click to expand...


Cheers fellas undoubtably did that initially, was worried about the fuel coming from the carb onto the floor of the garage but that put my mind at ease.


1crosscut said:
Pull the coil wire out of the top of the distributor and hold the end a short distance away from one of the head nuts. Have someone press the starter pedal and see if there is a spark that jumps from the wire to the nut. Should be a nice big fat blue spark. If weak then lightly sand the points with 220 or finer grit sand paper like cj5 mentioned.
Click to expand...

Boom! Did this and only saw one spark that was weak then nothing. Same with the points, a spark or two then nothing. Pulled a plug and got no spark too. Have 12v getting to the top of the distributor so guessing condensor?????

Here's some pics of what I have. I did find an wire fitting with no wire on the distributor (see pic) but it didnt seem to recently used etc, appears to be holding a cover or similar in place??

Once again thanks for the help so far. I know with help I will sort this out.
 
Last edited:
Ah got the pics sorted.
 

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Have just had it pointed out to me on another forum the advance/retard linkage is not connected. Learning this I went through my emails with the seller and I had forgotten it has a Model B head, cam and dizzy. Just making sure they have auto advance. Thanks!
 
Last edited:
Hi Pete,

Welcome to the club.

You are getting plenty of gasoline, maybe too much. But you need spark to run. So cleaning the points is the best approach. I use 400 grit sandpaper folded so that both points get sanded at the same time.

To check if you have an automatic advance, try turning the distributor cam with your fingers. If it can be turned then you have an automatic advance. You should feel some spring tension when you turn it.
 
Take a look at the carbon contact on the underside of your distributor cap to see if it is worn down. Also check your rotor to make sure the rivet is tight and the spring steel contact is making contact with the carbon contact.

Have you measured the points gap yet?
 
If you want a real mess start throwing parts at the car. For no or weak spark condition: 1. lift spark plug straps a quarter inch, turn on ignition then run the starter by activating the starter switch from under the hood. Watch for spark. Should be hot blue and consistent, if not: 2. pull coil wire out of distributor and again run starter, is it hot, blue, and consistent? if not: 3. use a voltmeter and check the voltage on the hot side of the coil. It should be around 6 volts, then up to 12volts when points open. 3. then watch the distributor primary side of the coil as you slowly turn the engine over by hand crank with ignition on. Should alternate between battery voltage and 0 volts. If it is not going to zero or very close to it, then you have a point issue. 4. Clean points carefully and adjust. If the points are wore out or dirty the contact surface won't do a good job of supplying a good ground for the coil. 5. if the ignition switch is bad it also won't supply a good ground, check that with a voltmeter and points closed as well, should maintain 0V.
 
Thanks all, will be a day or two before I can go follow up on the suggestions which I really appreciate. Will report back. :)
 
A bad ammeter can keep a car from starting too. That happened to me. You can put a temporary jumper across the two half wing nuts on the junction box to take the ammeter out of the equation. It’s a cheap test.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
don't forget that the A and B motors are timed differently. Check to see if you have a B timing cover on the engine and not an A timing cover. Also, maybe check the condenser.

Mike
 
panhead_pete said:
My new to me Model A arrived yesterday and just spent an hour or so trying to get it to start. Its my 1st somewhat standard car so please be gentle. This is the procedure I have used.



Fuel on (Tap in vertical position)

GAV at 5pm after fully closing it initially.

Advance lever all the way up.
Throttle lever at approx 230pm
Choke out.

Hit starter.



Car has been converted to 12V and is spinning over well but no hint of wanting to start, except one little burp.



Pulled plugs and they were black and wet so cleaned them thoughly and put them back in.



Lightly sanded the copper strips where they connect between distributior and plugs.



Car has sat 6 months since last being started and previously ran well based on what the seller told me and videos which I have NO reason to doubt.



What am I dping wrong or what should I start checking?



Thanks in advance.

Pete
Click to expand...

Switch on? Not noted but I was just checking.... and not trying to be funny.
It will probably turn out to be something simple. Best of luck✔️🇺🇸
 
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