47 V8 ignition mystery

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by 47topless

Checking for vacuum leaks is good but, as you know, the distributor requires a viable source of vacuum in order to operate correctly. Have you checked for obstruction in that vacuum source line? Are you sure the distributor is receiving sufficient vacuum?
Going back through the volume of past posts to this thread, I do not find any mention of that. If I missed it, I apologize for wasting your time here.
Good luck with your car and hope you're back on the road soon.
Phil

Thank you for that suggestion.
I just removed the distributor to check it out again and blew through the vacuum line from the distributor to the banjo fitting under the carburetor.
No obstruction.

[Old Henry]

I just rechecked the impedance of my coil.
Primary was .7 ohms. Close enough to the prescribed .75 to .81 ohms.
But the secondary coil impedance was only 5,500 ohms, half of the prescribed 10,000 to 11,000 ohms. I don't know if that's off enough to cause my problem but I just ordered a new coil hoping it fixes it.

I'm still very bewildered about the poor, if any, spark to my #6 cylinder.
I have good continuity from the distributor cap to the sparkplug end of the wire so the problem isn't the cap contact or the wire.
Can't think of what else it would be.

I do have some brass shavings/particles inside the cap. I'm thinking the rotor has hit some contacts and wore something away. I don't see any obvious wear to any contacts. I'll blow out the particles and maybe shave the rotor down slightly to keep it from hitting and hope it improves #6 spark.

[Old Henry]

My distributor is a Ford remanufactured one that I put new points in and Michael Driscoll put in a new condenser and set the dwell.
As I inspect it closely, now that I've removed it, I see that the cam appears very worn with no sign of any lubrication on it. The gap on the points is less than the minimum 0.014" specified and won't adjust to any wider gap.
See attached photos.
I'm thinking I'd like to get a new one or get this one improved.
I'm not finding a source for a new one. Who would be best to fix this one up? (I PMed Michael but got no response.)

[1942deluxe]

I'd send it to Michael for a full rebuild if he has time. Since he's seen it may shorthand the process. Charlie Schwendler in Orchard Park NY has rebuilt 4 for me and they've all been great. Skip Haney just rebuilt a distributor for a friend of mine and he was happy. Skip also rebuilds the coils and does fantastic work.

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

My distributor is a Ford remanufactured one that I put new points in and Michael Driscoll put in a new condenser and set the dwell.
As I inspect it closely, now that I've removed it, I see that the cam appears very worn with no sign of any lubrication on it. The gap on the points is less than the minimum 0.014" specified and won't adjust to any wider gap.
See attached photos.
I'm thinking I'd like to get a new one or get this one improved.
I'm not finding a source for a new one. Who would be best to fix this one up? (I PMed Michael but got no response.)

[Old Henry]

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Originally Posted by 1942deluxe

I'd send it to Michael for a full rebuild if he has time. Since he's seen it may shorthand the process. Charlie Schwendler in Orchard Park NY has rebuilt 4 for me and they've all been great. Skip Haney just rebuilt a distributor for a friend of mine and he was happy. Skip also rebuilds the coils and does fantastic work.

Could you give me Charlie's contact information or user name so I can contact him please?

Thanks

[petehoovie]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

Could you give me Charlie's contact information or user name so I can contact him please?

Thanks

[1942deluxe]

Probably best to email Charlie. I know he checks email with some frequency.

[Old Henry]

I've just sent my distributor with cap, rotor, all wires and carburetor to Charlie to see what he can find wrong with them and fix them.
I am very hopeful.

[Lawrie]

Henry, you need to get that old rocket fixed so you can't back to travelling .
We missed your stories,
Lawrie

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Lawrie

Henry, you need to get that old rocket fixed so you can't back to travelling .
We missed your stories,
Lawrie

Thanks,
That's what I'm trying so hard to do.
I've go three road trips lined up as soon as it gets more fun to drive Old Henry without him spitting and sputtering all the time.

[ford38v8]

Craig, don’t forget, you’ll need to fill that shotgun seat once again now.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by ford38v8

Craig, don’t forget, you’ll need to fill that shotgun seat once again now.

I've got all the shotgun passengers all lined up too.

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

I've just sent my distributor with cap, rotor, all wires and carburetor to Charlie to see what he can find wrong with them and fix them.
I am very hopeful.

With only #6 having electrical continuity problems, I vote for a bad cap. I also think that the flyweights are not lubed or gummed up, preventing distributor advance.

[Darrell S]

Before selling the 48 the distributor was rebuilt and the cap replaced. A miss developed right away and the new cap, when removed, was full of brass particles. I sent it back to Charlie and when returned and reinstalled everything worked out fine, the miss was gone. Apparently, it was the cap that was at fault. I question the quality of the new caps and rotors.

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by glennpm

With only #6 having electrical continuity problems, I vote for a bad cap. I also think that the flyweights are not lubed or gummed up, preventing distributor advance.

I had the same thought except that the problem with the number six cylinder was there before I even put the crab cap on. It was there with the old rabbit ears.
I'll hope Charlie gets it all sorted out.

[40cpe]

I know you say that there is little/no spark at the plug, but have you checked the compression?

[glennpm]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

I had the same thought except that the problem with the number six cylinder was there before I even put the crab cap on. It was there with the old rabbit ears.
I'll hope Charlie gets it all sorted out.

Yes, hoping for the best and what the "Doctor Charlie" is able to find!

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by 40cpe

I know you say that there is little/no spark at the plug, but have you checked the compression?

Compression test reported in post #152:

1-90
2-90
3-90
4-100
5-90
6-96
7-95
8-95

[Old Henry]

Originally Posted by Old Henry

I just rechecked the impedance of my coil.
Primary was .7 ohms. Close enough to the prescribed .75 to .81 ohms.
But the secondary coil impedance was only 5,500 ohms, half of the prescribed 10,000 to 11,000 ohms. I don't know if that's off enough to cause my problem but I just ordered a new coil hoping it fixes it.

I just got the new coil in.
Primary impedance is .7 ohms.
Secondary is 8,500 ohms.

I had previous info saying that the primary should be 7.5 - 8.1 ohms and the secondary should be 10,000 - 11,000 ohms.
Neither of these secondary coils is 10,000 ohms.
I googled for the correct coil specs and found they were 0.47 to 0.55 Ohms for the primary and 5,000 to 5,500 Ohms for the secondary.

How critical are these specs and is either of these coils too far out to work right or are both just fine?