It was running ok when I parked it-------

smittykid

smittykid

Senior Member
Got my 29 Fordor out today for the final run before winter storage. Ran a little rough at first, but it was cold last night-we had a frost. The car is in an unheated garage. Anyway, the rough running didn't clear up after the car warmed up. In fact it started acting like it was starving for gas & backfiring. The car has been sitting for about 3 weeks since last run. The only way I could get home was to run with the choke full out. I tried adjusting the GAV and the spark, but nothing seemed to help. When I pushed the choke back in it would die. It just happened, so I haven't checked anything yet. I guess I'm looking for suggestions. It had a rebuilt Zenith put on it last year. Thanks
 
Im guessing you got a clog in the carb. Did moving the spark lever affect anything? Im leaning heavily towards fuel issue.
 
I agree, gas problem or gas cap vent problem. First start car with gas cap removed to see if that fixes problem. If not clean lines, and carb. Filter? Enjoy.
 
Or intake leak. Get it half *** running and spray carb cleaner around the intake to block and carb to intake. If it runs smoother you got vacuum leak. Also check vacuum wiper syatem if present
 
Yep...Where have I heard that before.
 

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Thanks to everyone. Here's what I did-- pulled plugs & cleaned them-set gap at .035 - cleaned & reset points at .20. Good fuel flow from tank. Started it up and let it idle for a while. I also removed the gas cap. Ir ran, but not well. I backed it out of the garage and took about a 1/2 mile run after it warmed up. Ran horrible, this time pulling out choke didn't seem to help. It seemed to run better on about 1/2 spark advance. I got the old boy back in the garage. I ran the carb out of gas. I'm running out of time in regard to heading South for the winter. I'll do the final winterization on "Clarence" cover him up and work on him next Spring. Thanks again. Smitty
 
Check your timing. Connect a test light between ground and the point arm, turn the key on, spark lever up, Light should be out. Pull spark lever down two clicks, the light should come on. If not, retime it. All this at TDC on number one.
 
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With a weak spark, the engine will run a little better by running a richer fuel mixture. I would look at the possibility of a weak spark cause by a wrong point gap, dirty points, possibly a bad condenser, and more.
 
Here's a old vw trick. Hold motor at about 2000 rpms.... then place hand over carb till it almost chokes out.
Remove hand and let the rpms pick up. This will sometimes suck the trash out.
 
Wick said:
Here's a old vw trick. Hold motor at about 2000 rpms.... then place hand over carb till it almost chokes out.
Remove hand and let the rpms pick up. This will sometimes suck the trash out.
Click to expand...

Yep, back in the 80's and 90's I had to do that quite a bit to the Omnis and Horizons. I showed the customer what to do because it would often need it a month later.

One time my Model A started running bad I turned off the tank valve and kept driving. Just before the engine died, I turned the gas back on and the car ran fine again.
 
I'd be willing to bet you got a valve sticking open, ask me why I mentioned that. Put some MM in your gas tank and keep it running for at least 15 minutes if possible before you put it away for the winter.
 
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