55 T-Bird stalls

[Grumpy Rick]

My '55 Bird has the original 292 motor with an aftermarket Edelbrock carb, and has been converted to 12V. Haven't changed the distributor yet, but have a rebuilt later 292 mechanical to put in.

It was running fine except for the advance problems, but recently it acted like it ran out of gas and quit. I checked the clear fuel filter, and it had some junk in it, so I got a new one, and checked the pump which was working. Put new filter on and it started up just fine, idled normally for five minutes or so and quit again.

The filter is full of gas, the carb squirts when you pump it, but it won't start until it sits for a while, then runs for five minutes and quits again.

I ran out of time and haven't checked anything else yet. I am wondering if the resister or condenser could be bad, or if the Edelbrock carb has a built in filter I don't see that might be clogged. Plugs and points work fine when it starts, so I see no problem there. Ignition switch maybe?

Any thoughts??

Thanks,
Rick

PS: Just thought of this....I drove the car 6 miles or so to a club event in the morning a few months ago when it was cool. In the afternoon I drove it home and it acted like it ran out of gas halfway home, even though the gage read half full. I called the wife and she brought me gas. Then it started right up and I drove it the rest of the way home. Wonder if there is a correlation? The car has been started only to move it around since then.

[scicala]

Check to see if you are getting spark when the problem happens, and go from there. If an ignition problem, the coil or condenser would be prime suspects.

Sal

[Ole Don]

On my 55 sedan, there was a sock in the fuel tank with a leaf on it. The leaf was removed. Also, the tank had a bulkhead soldered in at the factory, where the fuel line screwed in. The fuel line is a 5/16 line. The inside of the bulkhead would not pass a 3/16 drill bit. I made that as big as possible. I also installed an electric fuel pump near the tank, with a switch and a relay. When the car has not been used in a week or more, I use the electric pump to prime the carb. The stock fuel pump pulls through the electric just fine after the prime is complete.

[Anteek29]

Check for spark when engine dies. I had 2 cars that exhibited the same problem as yours. Both had defective coils!

[50fordcoupeman]

Hi.........................I had the same exact symptoms as you describe in my 302. Would run and start great when the engine was cold but when the engine temp was up to operating temp it would miss and die at stop signs. Turned out to be the coil. Good luck.

[scicala]

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There must be an echo in here.

Sal

[paul2748]

Since you are getting gas at the carb when it stalls, I would go with a bad condensor or coil as others have mentioned

[Grumpy Rick]

Thanks guys, that pretty much echos what I was thinking. I am going to check and see if I have an old coil to change out.

No one suspects the resister?

I especially like the idea of putting an electric pump near the tank. The car sits for weeks, or longer between uses, and I always have to crank a bit to fill the carb.

I do keep a battery tender on it, so it always cranks fine after sitting.

I will report on what it was, soon as I get some time to play with it.

Rick

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

No one suspects the resister?

If the ballast resistor has any marginally corroded connections, like the rivets holding the wire terminals onto the wire-wound resistor, they could go 'open' as it warms up.

I replaced this one because it had been around forever and was misbehaving, but soldered the rivets to keep it as a backup spare. I looks terrible but works fine.
.

[Grumpy Rick]

Sorry to be so slow, but I finally got around to putting a coil in it today. That was not the problem, unfortunately. I bought a new condenser to try, and will get it in soon. The resister looks brand new.

The problem has gotten worse, the car now starts for a few seconds and then shuts down. Wait 15 minutes and it does it again.

I have my 56 Vickie on a lift above the T-Bird. Can't open the hood all the way when it is in the garage, so I need to pull it outside, and have another person here that can help me push it back into the garage, up a slight hill, when it does not run.

The good news? I will have spare parts to keep in the trunk.

[Ole Don]

To prevent having to push, clip a wire from the battery or hot side of solenoid to the coil and run it just a few minutes. That will get you back in the garage, and trouble shoot the resister.

[dmsfrr]

Most likely not related to your symptoms, but since you'll be poking around in the ignition wiring already...

Double check the ground wire from the points to the distributor housing.
They're often overlooked. If it's damaged, loose, etc. you'll get erratic ignition & spark.

The ('57) distributors in the example photos below are just to show the ground wire.

>edit<
photo #3, a '55/'56 dist with the ground wire marked.
.

[Ole Don]

Looking at the picture of the inside of the distributor reminds me of a hard to find problem I had a few years ago. The wire that went from the coil through the side of the dizzy to the points looked fine. The rubber outside held it all together, but the wire inside was broken in two. Thanks for posting the picture!

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Ole Don

Looking at the picture of the inside of the distributor reminds me of a hard to find problem I had a few years ago. The wire that went from the coil through the side of the dizzy to the points looked fine. The rubber outside held it all together, but the wire inside was broken in two. Thanks for posting the picture!

You're welcome,
that's why I get the big bucks

The wire likely got broken by pulling on it too hard while installing it.
And your comment reminded me...
If you've got the older style ignition lead with an insulated bolt thru the dist housing, check the ceramic spacer and flat fiber washer for damage and loose or bent wire terminals that can cause a short against the housing.

To back up for a second...
The bare copper ground wire for the points in this other dist may look ok but it only had one tiny strand of wire left connecting it to the crimp terminal on the points mounting screw.
.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

My '55 Bird has the original 292 motor with an aftermarket Edelbrock carb, and has been converted to 12V. Haven't changed the distributor yet, but have a rebuilt later 292 mechanical to put in.
It was running fine except for the advance problems,
......

My apologies if you know this, but I'll mention it because some folks don't.
The dashboard tachometer is mechanical and driven by a cable from the distributor. If you use a replacement distributor without a tach drive gear/housing you'll need to make other arrangements to have a working tach.

"advance problem" ???
The distributor vacuum port pressure on a newer Edelbrock carb isn't really compatible with the vacuum advance canister on an oem '55 distributor.
.

[Daves55Sedan]

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

The wire likely got broken by pulling on it too hard while installing it.

Yeah, that little prefab, one-piece replacement wire you can get is awful flimsy, because it is fine stranded machine tool wire and it doesn't have any tensile strength. Instead of trying to pull that beveled rubber thing thru the hole, I got back behind that flat part of that rubber thing and pushed it into the hole to avoid possibly breaking the wire inside the insulation.

Originally Posted by dmsfrr

If you've got the older style ignition lead with an insulated bolt thru the dist housing, check the ceramic spacer and flat fiber washer for damage and loose or bent wire terminals that can cause a short against the housing.

True, the phenolic spacer should have a lip on the end that goes thru the hole. If that lip is chipped or broken off, it absolutely must be replaced. And that flat fibre washer that dmsfrr mentioned, I would be skeptical of it usefulness at this point also. I replaced mine with a homemade washer cut out of roofing felt. (this is all in case you were re-using the original split-style distributor wire arrangement).

[Grumpy Rick]

Wow, lots more things to check. Like I said, the coil did not do it. I will check out the new items mentioned.

Checked the spark from the coil yesterday. Weak and intermittant. Still have to put in the condenser and check for broken wires and grounds.

I can hardly wait to get down to where I just have the advance problem. Interestingly, the Edelbrock carb has two different vacuum ports. The manual says one is for mapped vacuum, and the other for straight manifold vacuum. I could not see that either one is for the '55 dist., but right now, I need to get it running again first.

About the tach...I decided I would rather have the engine running right, than have the tach, so I will put the newer distributor in when I get the other problems solved. I have no problem with an electric tach. I understand someone makes one that fits my housing and looks fairly stock. Gives me something to play with later.

[dmsfrr]

Once it's running better you can try the vac line for the dist on either port of the carb.
Double check the advance function of the oem dist with a timing light, and see how it feels while driving.
When you try out the newer rebuilt distributor you'll have something else to compare to.
Whatever works best / feels better should be the way to go.

If you end up not using the oem '55 distributor and tach you could keep them with the car for the next owner, or not. I sure wouldn't have minded more original pieces with the one I have.

.

[Grumpy Rick]

SUCCESS!!

Yesterday, a mechanic friend took pity on me and checked out the ignition. Everything checked out, new coil, new condenser, no shorted wires in the distributor, resister working correctly. This is all stuff I checked earlier.

What I did not check was the points. I checked the gap, and they were ok, but looked really dark colored. He checked all the above again then checked the points. Power to the points, but never made it through the points. He removed them to look. They were not really pitted much, but discolored. He took some fine emory cloth and sanded them, put them back, and it fired up like new.

I drove the car a few miles to check, but did not want to get stuck if the points burned again.

Thanks, guys for all the thoughtful answers.

By the way, the solenoid was changed out to a 12V when the car was changed, but no one ever hooked up the lug that supplies a full 12V to the coil when starting. We left it that way, since we will be upgrading next week.

I have a later rebuilt distributor that will be installed, with a Pertronix setup and new Pertronix coil. My Carter 4070 fuel pump has arrived, as well as all the power steering hoses, and correct connections, to stop a PS fluid leak.

Also got the service manual, electrical manual, auto trans manual, reference manual, and a new neutral safety switch that will let me start it in park.

Whew.

[dmsfrr]

Originally Posted by Grumpy Rick

..... I have a later rebuilt distributor that will be installed, with a Pertronix setup and new Pertronix coil. ......

Just FYI... the cap, rotor and misc tuneup parts from '55/'56 distributors aren't the same as the later distributors.
If you keep an eye out for a usable '57+ tach drive distributor you can use your oem tachometer again.
In addition to the '57 T-Birds some y-block powered Ford trucks from '57 thru the early 60's had an in-dash tach with a tach drive distributor that might work for you.
There used to be a Mallory y-block tach drive distributor (part # 3838701) but it was discontinued. https://www.summitracing.com/parts/maa-3838701
Maybe you can find a good used one?

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