Next steps.

[Tatanka]

Following the advice I received here, I confirmed 6V to the primary coil terminal and at the moving point, but got no snappy blue spark, so asked the A owner to pick up a coil and high tension wire. Went back today and found the parts picked up at Little Dearborn on the front seat. The HT wire looked like something a 4-year old had fabricated and didn't see any maker's mark on the coil. From my motorcycle work I know that lack of a manufacturer's mark screams cheap Chinese knock-off, so I suggested he return the junk, along with a goose wing radiator cap he bought that didn't fit, and get his money back!

Since I was there, I check/adjusted the ignition timing, pulled/cleaned/gapped plugs (they were really full of soot), adjusted the points, and checked/adjusted the distributor contacts (no 2 alike!) as well as cleaned the other ignition connections in preparation for new, good coil and HT wire. Not sure if all the plug soot was due to dying coil or what, but the main symptom he reports when it last ran a year and a half ago was that it didn't have power, just low speed operation. A lack of good spark could account for this as could poor timing settings, I suppose.

Thanks again for the help. Once I get it running again I'll have more questions, I'm sure. These machines are fun to work on!

By the way, is the air filter behind and below the carb OEM or a later modification?

 

[700rpm]

Following the advice I received here, I confirmed 6V to the primary coil terminal and at the moving point, but got no snappy blue spark, so asked the A owner to pick up a coil and high tension wire. Went back today and found the parts picked up at Little Dearborn on the front seat. The HT wire looked like something a 4-year old had fabricated and didn't see any maker's mark on the coil. From my motorcycle work I know that lack of a manufacturer's mark screams cheap Chinese knock-off, so I suggested he return the junk, along with a goose wing radiator cap he bought that didn't fit, and get his money back!

Since I was there, I check/adjusted the ignition timing, pulled/cleaned/gapped plugs (they were really full of soot), adjusted the points, and checked/adjusted the distributor contacts (no 2 alike!) as well as cleaned the other ignition connections in preparation for new, good coil and HT wire. Not sure if all the plug soot was due to dying coil or what, but the main symptom he reports when it last ran a year and a half ago was that it didn't have power, just low speed operation. A lack of good spark could account for this as could poor timing settings, I suppose.

Thanks again for the help. Once I get it running again I'll have more questions, I'm sure. These machines are fun to work on!

By the way, is the air filter behind and below the carb OEM or a later modification?

The filter is after-market.

 

[PC/SR]

Well, there are a lot of things, mostly simple, that could be the issue. But then it could be complicated too.
But, a complaint of only low speed power makes me think first of timing, and the proper use of the timing lever. Are you really sure it is timed correctly and the lever is properly used? With all due respect, novices to Model A's often do not get these things right. Like, I would have no idea of how to tune a motorcycle although I like to think I am a competent mechanic.
Again, with all due respect, I am sure with your background you can figure it out, but really, go to basics. There are plenty of threads here on timing, and about anything else as well. But I would learn all I could about timing first. I suspect timing would be the issue with motorcycles with these symptoms.
Then too, the customer does not always give or know an accurate description of the problem. The pros here will tell you that.

As I think about it, was that "goose wing" radiator cap a quail? Again, with all due respect, and I appreciate what you are trying to do for a friend, if it was original, although not likely, it was valuable. If a repo, well, but do you know the difference? If the guy liked it, could it be fitted in?

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

Model A's didn't come with any air filter.
Sooted up plugs and no power sounds like a plugged air filter. Start by removing it and see how the car runs.

Also don't toss the coil until you know for sure it's bad. To test I would stop the engine with the points open, then with the key ON short the points on and off with the tip of a screwdriver while holding the coil wire 1/4" from a head nut. If the spark is weak or yellow, then try a new condenser and restest it.

 

[Tatanka]

Thanks again for the guidance! Yes, I thought the Model A originally had no air filter and that it was a retrofit. And Yes, I have no plan to toss the old coil until and unless I absolutely confirm that it is pooched. Even then, I'll recommend he just hold onto it. Not only out of mechanical experience, but due to personal cheapness the last thing I do is throw a bunch of parts at problems.

The owner did pick up a copy of the original owner's instruction manual and I followed that plus the "Model A Basics" resource here to set the timing and believe it is on the mark, but I'll definitely double-check it before we try turning her over. I've pulled the air filter and it looks very good. I think she's breathing OK. I can't adjust the fuel/air mix until it runs, but my working theory at the moment is that whoever worked on it did not know about the GAV and so set that screw very rich so it would start. Just a theory at this point.

Once I confirm good ignition and timing settings, I'll try firing her off. In the meantime, I am hand-cranking the engine regularly with the plugs out to move around some oil in there.
Kevin