A newbie needs help!!!!

[ModelAinCO]

I am a new owner of a 1930 Model A that I recently inherited and unfortunately I am not very mechanically inclined so bear with me if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. After a lot of trial and error, (replacing battery, removing rust from the gas tank, cleaning carb and replacing gasket, and changing oils); I was able to get the engine running and idling pretty smoothly. The problems always started after driving the car for a short time. There appears to be several significant issues.

First issue: After driving after a short time, I notice that coolant starts to flow out of the overflow tube. Although there is not water temp gauge installed, the engine appears to be VERY VERY hot. So much that after the second lap through the neighborhood, I can see steam coming from under the radiator. The radiator is filled with a coolant and distilled water mix, fyi. In hindsight, I'm assuming I was having engine overheating and didn't know it. What is very weird it that now with a full radiator, I can turn the bibcock at the bottom of the radiator tube and the coolant and water mix only drips put. When I first inherited the car, I emptied the coolant and distilled water mix through the bibcock and it flowed freely. Now with a full radiator, it just drips.

Second issue: After driving around for a short time, the car begins to backfire. It appears to backfire during shifting right after I release the accelerator. After reading the book by Les, it notes the problem could be a faulty condenser, which I swapped out with the same result.

Third issue: Even after taking the carb apart and replacing the gaskets, I notice that it still continues to leak gas after the drive through the neighborhood. Not a lot of gas but definitely more than I comfortable with. I took another person's advice and turn of the gas after parking the A in the garage and let it run out of gas, but I would rather not have gas leaking while i am driving around if I can help it.

Fourth issue: With all of the above occurring, I have still been able to slowly increase the distance of my drives... until a few days ago. After a great drive the car completely and suddenly died out of the blue and never started again. There was a faint thump or pop then the car initially acted like it was out of gas and died even more it I pressed the accelerator as I coasted down the road. The engine also made a muffled sound as it died. Initially I thought I had a clogged gas line or some issue with the carb, so after being towed home, I checked the gas supply, and it is still flowing strong.

After some additional reading, I thought maybe I lost compression somehow. When I hand crank the engine, I can hear a very distinct puff of air coming from the engine somewhere, but i have not been able to pin point the location. Unfortunately I did not pay special attention to this sound before, so I can not determine if this sound is new or was there the entire time. I'm guess not.

So, now I have a car that wont start and I am out of ideas. Anyone have ideas of where to start? FYI, I am in Northern Colorado if anyone can help.

 

[H. L. Chauvin]

All of the above is so very typical of a Model A that did not run in quite some time -- and believe it or not they are simple things that can be corrected by a Model A mechanic.

The very best paragraph in your above message is your last one asking for help just in case somebody lives close by.

Take one step at a time & try to locate a nearby Model A Club member mechanic -- every Club has a few.

 

[Tom Wesenberg]

The drain **** often plugs because of junk in the cooling system and the drain **** being the lowest point gets it. Just poke a wire up the opening while draining.

How far are you from Bert's in Denver? 800-321-1931 Steve and Phil can be a great help with parts and problems.

Do you have fresh gas in the tank? Ethanol crap gas makes valves stick if the car sets too long, and it also has a short shelf life, as well as boils too easily in hot weather and that creates more problems with driveability.

You should have a screen in the gas tank valve. You may have to polish the needle and seat in the carb to keep it from leaking gas. I polished mine with toothpaste in the 90's and it's been good since.

 

[Phil]

Are you getting crud in the sediment bowl? Rust crud can stop up the 90 degree turn in the fuel shut off valve, it will restrict fuel and not shut it completely off.
The fuel should fill the sediment bowl in about 3 seconds. If it is slower you can run low on fuel and give the systems you are experancin.
If this is the case flush the gas tank and install "pencil filter" in the tank in the fuel valve. If the radiator is over filled it will throw water.
The coolent level should be just above the core. The float valve can get crud under it and leak, always turn the fuel valve off when motor is not running

Check this ald report back and we can work through it.

A local club would be a great resource

 

[columbiA]

Only fill the rad until you can see the coolant level just above the bottom of the baffle.Any thing will just be puked out the overflow tube. I would remove the drain **** so it will drain faster.If coolant looks dirty,stick the garden hose in rad filler neck & adjust floflow is the same as out-flow & until water comes out clean.You can also fill rad with ordinary vinegar & drive around for 100 miles or so & drain & flush well.I use plain water for coolant.-non of this fancy distilled water for me! Water will cool better than anti freeze and drain it for the winter.You can always use a cup of soluble oil for rust protection. It,s the same as water pump lube but much cheaper. As for backfiring,you am not have the GAV ( choke rod ) opened far enough.

 

[ModelAinCO]

When I inherited the car, I noticed the crud in the sediment bowl and inside the gas tank. I drained the gas tank, filled the gas tank with 10 gallons of rust remover for 48 hours, and drained it again (along with a lot of rust and crud). I could actually see metal in the tank rather than a layer of crud which coated the inside. I removed and cleaned the Tillotsen carb and added new gas. I also replaced the filter in the glass bowl. After doing the things above, I was able to get it started the first time. As a habit I now always turn the fuel valve off when the motor is not running.

I received advice from another member to remove the radiator drain plug, which can accumulate crud and restrict the flow of coolant I am trying to drain and replace. I will do this and hopefully it works because I will try to flush the radiator with vinegar before refilling it with 50/50. Hopefully this will address the overheating issue. I plan on buying a a small IR thermometer to check the temp.... whenever I get it running!!

Another remedy noted in Les' book to address the backfiring issue is to replace a faulty manifold gasket. Mine looks like it is a little warped and appears to be brittle. It is a cheap fix so I will give it a try. I assume that a air leak in the manifold may prevent it from starting???

Are you getting crud in the sediment bowl? Rust crud can stop up the 90 degree turn in the fuel shut off valve, it will restrict fuel and not shut it completely off.
The fuel should fill the sediment bowl in about 3 seconds. If it is slower you can run low on fuel and give the systems you are experancin.
If this is the case flush the gas tank and install "pencil filter" in the tank in the fuel valve. If the radiator is over filled it will throw water.
The coolent level should be just above the core. The float valve can get crud under it and leak, always turn the fuel valve off when motor is not running

Check this ald report back and we can work through it.

A local club would be a great resource

 

[louver lou]

It almost sounds like you may have blown head gasket. Have you run a compression check on this engine? Model A's are notorious for fuel seeping from carb always turn fuel off when parking. You are aware that you can adjust fuel mixture by turning the choke to left for richer fuel mixture. I use to work for BIG JOE'S Obsolete Ford in Burbank CA during high school in the 60's. I drove a 31 roadster to high school. In those days everybody was a hot rodder, so when I would break a engine Joe would send me to the core pile and take engines apart until I could find one with good main bearings. Take it home and make a good one from the 2. He kept me in the game for 3 years till I moved up to a 36 FORD chopped 3 window coupe with 283 chevy. Then I lost my job. No CHEVYS in FORDS was his RULE. OPPPPS

 

[Mike V. Florida]

I am a new owner of a 1930 Model A that I recently inherited and unfortunately I am not very mechanically inclined so bear with me if I sound like I don't know what I'm talking about. None of us were born with an inate knowledge of the model A so don't worry ask any question you want and ask for clearification if you don't understand an answer.After a lot of trial and error, (replacing battery, removing rust from the gas tank, cleaning carb and replacing gasket, and changing oils); I was able to get the engine running and idling pretty smoothly. The problems always started after driving the car for a short time. There appears to be several significant issues.Major hurdle cleared now for the picky stuff

First issue: After driving after a short time, I notice that coolant starts to flow out of the overflow tube. Although there is not water temp gauge installed, the engine appears to be VERY VERY hot. So much that after the second lap through the neighborhood, I can see steam coming from under the radiator. The radiator is filled with a coolant and distilled water mix, fyi. In hindsight, I'm assuming I was having engine overheating and didn't know it. What is very weird it that now with a full radiator, I can turn the bibcock at the bottom of the radiator tube and the coolant and water mix only drips put. When I first inherited the car, I emptied the coolant and distilled water mix through the bibcock and it flowed freely. Now with a full radiator, it just drips. You need to back flush the radiator at least, go to the hardware store ans get a couple of PVC fittings that will fit in the top and bottom hoses. fit regular garden hose fittings in the PVC so you can force water into the top of the engine and force the water out the side of the engine through a hose. After running the water until it comes out clear do the same with the radiator, first top to bottom then force the water bottom to top.

Second issue: After driving around for a short time, the car begins to backfire. It appears to backfire during shifting right after I release the accelerator. After reading the book by Les, it notes the problem could be a faulty condenser, which I swapped out with the same result.Check the timing here is a site you can use, http://abarnyard.com/workshop/timing.htm seeing it several way should give you a good Ideal on what is happening when you tune the engine.

Third issue: Even after taking the carb apart and replacing the gaskets, I notice that it still continues to leak gas after the drive through the neighborhood. Not a lot of gas but definitely more than I comfortable with. I took another person's advice and turn of the gas after parking the A in the garage and let it run out of gas, but I would rather not have gas leaking while i am driving around if I can help it. You are right to worry about gas leaking. A model A carb should leak no gas! Check Float level, crud in bowl, valve etc. Turning off the gas and running it dry is not bad advice to prevent it from leaking unexpectedly but it should not leak in the first place. You might want to try a "dog leg" to be sure all the crud in out of the tank.

Fourth issue: With all of the above occurring, I have still been able to slowly increase the distance of my drives... until a few days ago. After a great drive the car completely and suddenly died out of the blue and never started again. There was a faint thump or pop then the car initially acted like it was out of gas and died even more it I pressed the accelerator as I coasted down the road. The engine also made a muffled sound as it died. Initially I thought I had a clogged gas line or some issue with the carb, so after being towed home, I checked the gas supply, and it is still flowing strong.

After some additional reading, I thought maybe I lost compression somehow. When I hand crank the engine, I can hear a very distinct puff of air coming from the engine somewhere, but i have not been able to pin point the location. Unfortunately I did not pay special attention to this sound before, so I can not determine if this sound is new or was there the entire time. I'm guess not.

So, now I have a car that wont start and I am out of ideas. Anyone have ideas of where to start? FYI, I am in Northern Colorado if anyone can help.Remember, fuel, air, compression, spark, at the right time. Remove the dist, cover and see if the rotor is turning, Do you have a spark when the points are opened? Remove plugs and place your thumb over the hole and check to see if you have any compression (stuck valve), Keep us informed.

Dirty leg picture

 

[Dennis Pereira]

You may need to degrease the radiator before the vinegar ?

 

[ModelAinCO]

With the help of a very Knowledgeable new friend, We figured out the problem was the timing gear. Because several teeth from the timing gear had been sheared off it stopped the distributor from spinning, thus killing the engine.

So in addition to replacing the timing gear, I decided since I have several parts off anyway, I removed the oil pan to clean out the gunk and broken time gear teeth. Someone little further and also cleaned the oil pump, Which lead me to the discovery of a broken oil pump spring.

I went that far so i said what the heck and I took off the other parts including the generator and manifold and replace the gaskets and painted the engine.

Hopefully in the next few days I will piece it all back together and get it running.