The Ford Barn

smross · 04-30-2015, 07:43 PM

I took my '37 Coupe for a drive Saturday afternoon and about two miles from my house the engine died while I was driving it. I tried starting it and it felt like it wanted to catch but it never did. Ultimately, the engine just spun and spun and it wasn't even close to wanting to start. Good Samaritans came along and we put five gallons of gas in the tank (gas gauge does not work). No difference. I sat for 1.5 hours waiting for the flatbed to bring it home and I periodically would try to start it. Again, it would turn over fine but there wasn't a hint of it wanting to start. Since I had no tools with me (lesson learned) I couldn't tell if the electric fuel pump was actually pumping although you could hear it, and I couldn't tell if I had spark. For the record, there wasn't even a hint of gas smell under the hood which was odd as I was trying to start it with choke, without choke, gas pedal to the floor, no gas pedal, etc. The flatbed towed it home and I've been too busy to delve into it until this evening. Just for laughs I tried to start it and it ran as though nothing had ever happened. Then I thought about a locking gas cap that I recently purchased and installed and I wondered if it was vented and if that caused it to stall. I ran the car for a good twenty minutes with the locking gas cap installed and it appears that was not the problem as the car did not die. I also reached under the car to feel if the fuel pump was hot and it was not. Since it was getting dark I elected not to take it for a drive fearing it would die again.

Some background info. about the car. It has a 286 inch flathead with twin 97's, a Mallory electronic ignition, the aforementioned electric fuel pump which runs full time through a regulator set at 3psi, a thermostatically controlled fan and a Powergen alternator. The car has been converted to 12V and it has a new battery.

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Regards,

Steve Ross

04-30-2015, 07:43 PM	#1
smross Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2013 Posts: 17	Mystery Stall I took my '37 Coupe for a drive Saturday afternoon and about two miles from my house the engine died while I was driving it. I tried starting it and it felt like it wanted to catch but it never did. Ultimately, the engine just spun and spun and it wasn't even close to wanting to start. Good Samaritans came along and we put five gallons of gas in the tank (gas gauge does not work). No difference. I sat for 1.5 hours waiting for the flatbed to bring it home and I periodically would try to start it. Again, it would turn over fine but there wasn't a hint of it wanting to start. Since I had no tools with me (lesson learned) I couldn't tell if the electric fuel pump was actually pumping although you could hear it, and I couldn't tell if I had spark. For the record, there wasn't even a hint of gas smell under the hood which was odd as I was trying to start it with choke, without choke, gas pedal to the floor, no gas pedal, etc. The flatbed towed it home and I've been too busy to delve into it until this evening. Just for laughs I tried to start it and it ran as though nothing had ever happened. Then I thought about a locking gas cap that I recently purchased and installed and I wondered if it was vented and if that caused it to stall. I ran the car for a good twenty minutes with the locking gas cap installed and it appears that was not the problem as the car did not die. I also reached under the car to feel if the fuel pump was hot and it was not. Since it was getting dark I elected not to take it for a drive fearing it would die again. Some background info. about the car. It has a 286 inch flathead with twin 97's, a Mallory electronic ignition, the aforementioned electric fuel pump which runs full time through a regulator set at 3psi, a thermostatically controlled fan and a Powergen alternator. The car has been converted to 12V and it has a new battery. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Regards, Steve Ross