41 Ford engine help

[Trailerparkhardware]

Thanks for posting your follow-up. That's really helpful for newbies like me.

But before I assume your symptoms were due to a bad coil, I have to ask:
Did you replace the condenser at this time?
If you re-used the existing condenser, any sign that it had been loose or not grounded?

I too am new at flatheads and engine work in general. My skill set is in painting and body repair. I have really enjoyed this challenge and I am very thankful for all of the help and support I have received here. That being said, to answer your question, I did replace the condenser with the new coil. It was the condenser that came with the kit. It was not loose or losing ground as far as I could tell However I had tried changing the condenser twice before because of what I have read about the quality of some parts nowadays and it did not make much of a difference. I think with my engine I had a lot of thing working against me. The fuel pump was bad and was putting fuel into my oil. The carb needed a rebuild, the plug wires were cracked and arcing to the block and I believe the coil may have had an issue too. Now I have driven it a few times and it seems to have good power and runs well but the last time I went to turn into my shop all of the wiring from the regulator to the battery and such burned up. I don't know if the wiring has been bad all along (because it was all rapped up in plastic loom) or with driving it something moved and grounded out, or if a wire got pinched when I made the turn into the shop. None of the wire is left to trace but that gives me the opportunity to rewire the car and know that it is all good.

 

[JSeery]

Final update for now. I changed the coil to an external coil and what a difference. Right from the first start up it started quicker almost on the first crank. The throttle response is good and even the idle is better. I took it for a drive and it seems to have good power and went through all the gears without trouble. Thank you everyone for your input, and patience with me. You were all a big help.
Thomas

OK, additional questions on the coil. Do you know what the ohms value between the two terminals is? It should be somewhere around 1.5 for most 6v coils. Now is the (-) terminal connected to the ignition switch and the (+) terminal to the distributor? That is the correct connections for a (+) ground vehicle. It will run with the wiring reversed, but the coil output is reduced. And finally, if it is a 1.5 ohm coil is the ballast resistor by-passed? A 1.5 ohm coil does not use a ballast resistor in a 6v application.

 

[grumppyoldman]

I'm wondering why you didn't get an increase in compression readings on all cyl's. did you put the oil in all cyl's. before test, or did you add oil and test indivudialy? You could have stuck valves, stuck rings or burnt valves. it takes about a full table spoon of oil added just before you test. and all cyl's should show an increase in compression. Al

 

[Tinker]

Pull the heads and look at the valves and cylinders. Head gaskets is around 45$. If you know paint then mechanics is easy right?

We are all are arm chairing... What do you think?


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