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bhiland

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So the wife and I took a drive today in the A and had some trouble. Everything was fine and we had drove several miles. Came to a stop sign and when we took off again we lost power. I looked at ignition switch and the key was turned back just enough to kill it I guess. It has happened before. So I turned they key back on and was fine for a few seconds then BANG backfire! Then crazy engine knock and no power so I killed it and brought it to a stop. Looked all over the engine and didn't see anything out of norm. Let it sit for a few minutes and tried to start it again. It started and knocked for a few and then stopped knocking but have less power and not much oil pressure. I limped it home and now deciding where to start.
 
I think you should take a look at dist and timing after that I,d look at timing gear possable oil pump and dist. Drive gear. Good luck
 
Probably when the switch turned off you built up unburnt fuel in the muffler causing the back fire. May be possible that you collasped a baffle or two in the muffler and it's causing back pressure and loss of power. Going to be loud but pull the muffler loose from the manifold and see if you gain back your power.

A's don't have very much oil pressure to start with. Mostly they flow a lot of oil with very little pressure. As long as your registering a couple lbs. or so your probably good.
 
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I would remove the side timing cover, turn the engine over with the starter , with the spark plugs removed. Watch the teeth on the timing gear when it turns. I figure that some teeth will be damaged and missing.. There are two 5/8 bolts on the side and one under the edge of the oil pan, that a 1/2 inch socket will fit. If you are careful the side timing cover can be removed without damage to the oil pan gasket. When the timing gear starts to fail, it will buck and knock and won't run good at all. The cam turns the oil pump, if the cam gear is striping and skiping the oil pump can't function at an optimum level.
 
Start by telling your wife that you're sorry, your Model A is sorry and she doesn't have to go on the next ride, unless she wants to. You'll find out how much she loves you. My wife and I have been riding in our Model As since the late 60s. She always takes a good book and now her favorite Model A tool, her cell phone.
 
glenn in camino said:
Start by telling your wife that you're sorry, your Model A is sorry and she doesn't have to go on the next ride, unless she wants to. You'll find out how much she loves you. My wife and I have been riding in our Model As since the late 60s. She always takes a good book and now her favorite Model A tool, her cell phone.
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She loves the car and all ready said sorry to all involved lol.
 
bhiland said:
I'm wondering if it dropped a valve.
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Crank the engine so the bad cylinder piston is TDC on firing, then blow compressed air into the spark plug hole. If it has 0 compression, the air will come out the carb (intake valve), or tail pipe (exhaust valve), or oil fill pipe (bad rings or piston).
 
So your problems all started from a backfire due to a bad ignition switch? Whenever someone in our club has problems with their ignintion switch, the first thing we look at is how many keys do they have hanging on their keychain. All that extra weight pulling on those repop switches, which usually do not have a strong detente on either the on or off positions, is the first culprit that we find causing the intermittant switch problems.
 
Piston is moving couldn't get a good look at valves. Piston looks wet and looks like it has some scaring on the head of piston.
 
Will N said:
So your problems all started from a backfire due to a bad ignition switch? Whenever someone in our club has problems with their ignintion switch, the first thing we look at is how many keys do they have hanging on their keychain. All that extra weight pulling on those repop switches, which usually do not have a strong detente on either the on or off positions, is the first culprit that we find causing the intermittant switch problems.
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Only got ignition key and key for side mount lock on the key ring.
 
Mike V. Florida said:
Double check the ign switch for reliable operation. An intermittent switch will show all the symptoms you describe.
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But I have hardly any oil pressure and it was knocking to beat the band for a minute. Ignition switch wouldn't cause that and no compression in #3 cylinder.
 
You may have a combination of problems. I had a lot of problems with the low cost ignition switches. The only reason that I didn't mention the switch in post number 4 was because you mention knocks and loss of oil pressure in the original post. You've got a strange combination of symptoms!!
 
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