Model A backfire, can't move

S

Straw530

Junior Member
Still new to Model A's, and am having an issue, so I thought I would check with you guys to see if there is an obvious answer. I drove the car today on a little trip about 50 miles each way. Ran good until I was a couple of miles from home, and it started to sputter, and then backfire. It finally got so bad, that I had to pull it home. I had just put the manifold back on with a new gasket after having it planed. I had adjusted the points to .20, and put in new plugs and a coil. To me, it is acting very lean, but I have fuel at the carb and the glass in line filter is full. Is it ignition? I did notice when I adjusted the points, that they seem too closed. I had to open them up to get to .20. Could the points be bad? I am not very good with ignition either! Thanks in advance.
 
I'm wondering if the problem is modern points and condenser

The foreign condensers that most offer for use with V8 points are not very reliable

I notice that the list of parts that you replaced doesn't include the condenser .

My guess is a bad condenser .
 
I did retorque the manifold after a short drive. (Once it had cooled again) Are the points and condenser for this something I can get at the parts store, or do I need to go to a Model a site to get the? Thank you
 
You'll probably have to go to a Model A site to get your parts, especially if they are original type points/condenser. Modern type points/condenser are Ford V8 and could be bought/ordered from a good parts store. [ get the expensive ones].

My original thought was fuel delivery, did you try opening the fuel cap ? It could be a venting issue. Actually it could be several issues, which have been covered.
 
Had a similar adventure and found that my gas cap vent wasn't working. This will cause the car to backfire, sputter and stop because fuel cannot flow due to a vacuum condition in the fuel tank.
When this happens open your gas cap and if you hear a "swish" of air it is plugged. Put the cap back on loosely and drive home. I was 50 miles from home and it ran well all the way back.
You can use a small piece of wire to determine if the vent in the cap is clear. I also drilled another hole in mine just in case... Chap
 
Is there a main fuse in the system? If you are running a stock generator and cutout,and that blows,the generator will put out up to 40 volts,that will give you some pretty spectacular backfires.
 
Straw530 said:
Still new to Model A's, and am having an issue, so I thought I would check with you guys to see if there is an obvious answer. I drove the car today on a little trip about 50 miles each way. Ran good until I was a couple of miles from home, and it started to sputter, and then backfire. It finally got so bad, that I had to pull it home. I had just put the manifold back on with a new gasket after having it planed. I had adjusted the points to .20, and put in new plugs and a coil. To me, it is acting very lean, but I have fuel at the carb and the glass in line filter is full. Is it ignition? I did notice when I adjusted the points, that they seem too closed. I had to open them up to get to .20. Could the points be bad? I am not very good with ignition either! Thanks in advance.
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You have fuel at the carb, check if fuel is in the carb. Remove the carb drain to see if you have fuel flowing through!
 
I did take the plug out of the bowl. I had fuel flowing steady there. I did not check the cap, but I will try that as well. Wish I didn't have to work so I could do more on it!
 
Straw530 said:
Still new to Model A's, and am having an issue, so I thought I would check with you guys to see if there is an obvious answer. I drove the car today on a little trip about 50 miles each way. Ran good until I was a couple of miles from home, and it started to sputter, and then backfire. It finally got so bad, that I had to pull it home. I had just put the manifold back on with a new gasket after having it planed. I had adjusted the points to .20, and put in new plugs and a coil. To me, it is acting very lean, but I have fuel at the carb and the glass in line filter is full. Is it ignition? I did notice when I adjusted the points, that they seem too closed. I had to open them up to get to .20. Could the points be bad? I am not very good with ignition either! Thanks in advance.
Click to expand...

Had a situation like yours once. The gap in the block that holds the movable points didn't have a large enough of a gap to allow it to squeeze the movable point enough to hold it in place. I had to remove the movable point and sand the gap larger to allow it to squeeze the movable point so it wouldn't move. So if you check your point gap again and it is not right check the gap in the point block.
 
Thank you. Not totally sure I follow, but I will check it out. Especially if the points are off again. I did order points and condenser for it as well.
 
Sorry I didn't explain that too clearly.
Basically if the contact point that screws in and out of to make the adjustment can't be clamped down on hard enough to hold it in place you will need to remove some material in the slot of the part that holds it to give it more room to squeeze down on it.
Clear as mud I'm sure.
 
I had a problem w/a new B distributor cam that had a rough surface and wore the points rubbing block down quite quickly. I never thought to inspect the cam when I installed it, just assumed it was as smooth as it should have been.
 
If this monster still won't start I'd suggest a compression check. I'm wondering if a back fire happens to damage the cam gear.
 
I was actually wondering about that cam gear, because I had to open up the points to gap them. I was wondering if it was wearing down. I just need to get in the shop! Stupid work!
Thanks again for the ideas
 
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