1951 Ford, runs fine then runs bad.

[Jack 1951 fordor]

I have a 1951 ford custom with the generator and is 6v, pretty much all original/stock, except for an electric fuel pump added by the previous owner, I know practically nothing about these cars so hopefully someone on here can help me, but basically I bought the car this past January and it has driven fine and hasn’t had any problems, I’m not sure if this matters but I only drove the car in the cold weather and didn’t have any problems until the weather has heated up, again don’t know if that matters or if that is a coincidence. But anyways I was driving the car and was stopped at a left turn and sat there for awhile and when I started going the car ran very bad and the amp gauge was down lower than it usually is when driving and the car could barely accelerate and turned off completely and I coasted to my destination, I parked and left the car while I went to the store and when I came back the car started fine and I let it sit and idle for a little before starting to drive and I drive a few laps in the parking lot and it was fine but then when I went back on the main road which is about 40mph the car started acting weird and died in the middle of the road again after the amp gauge went lower. I left the car over night and came back to it the next day and it started fine and I drove it home without issue, this has happened a few times after this and every time, I can’t accelerate and if I accelerate too much the car will fully die and the amp gauge goes much lower than normal, I have since replaced the battery and it didn’t changed anything.
The car also has a new voltage regulator but that was before my ownership but was replaced very recently. If anyone has any ideas let me know and thank you.
I got the car in a trade so I really don’t know anything about these cars so don’t hold back or assume I know anything.

[aussie merc]

could be one or multiple issues so lets keep it simple and start with a general tuneup new plugs, points, timing etc and possibly a new coil [this is general maintenance and could well cure it ] This needs to be done regularly regardless when and how often depends on how you use the car but at least every 12 months then followed up with more in depth maintaince IE fuel service [filters, carb service] oil change etc These older cars require more servicing than modern ones [plugs every100k] Dont be freighted to ask for help there are lots of good people willing to help on here . And If you feel doing it yourself is beyond you they will point you in the direction of someone who will do it right and not ripp you off Hope you get this sorted and HAPPY MOTORING

[flatford8]

I’d start with a clean fuel filter and make sure the tank and fuel lines aren’t full of rusty crap. If there’s debris in any of those places, I’d take the carb apart and clean it also. When it dies, open the hood and put your hand on the coil to see if it’s hot. If you can’t touch it, come back and ask for replacement suggestions. Check for spark at the plugs. If the coil isn’t hot it could still be the condenser. Again, come back and ask for replacement help. There is a lot of bad after market parts. Someone will steer you to good parts. Post pics of your car….we all like pics….good luck……Mark

[Bill OH]

Try a new coil - heat is killing the coil you currently have. You have a 6 volt positive ground system - make sure the ignition switch wire is connected to the minus of the coil and the distributor is connected to the plus of the coil. I have had this same problem more times than I care to remember. It could be the condenser, but from what you are posting and my experince, I will put my money on the coil. And the plugs should be set at .025 inch gap. Champion H10 always work well for me.

[Jack 1951 fordor]

Thank you to everyone who responded i really appreciate the suggestions, i think the plugs and wires are relatively new and i will definitely get to those, and the gas tank and fuel lines are new so I don’t think that’s the problem but i will also look into that but I think I'm going to look into the coil first, so i will do another drive and stay close to home in case i cant drive back I will make a post after and will most likely need more suggestions on what to buy if that seems to be the problem. thank you again.

[petehoovie]

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Originally Posted by Jack 1951 fordor

Thank you to everyone who responded i really appreciate the suggestions, i think the plugs and wires are relatively new and i will definitely get to those, and the gas tank and fuel lines are new so I don’t think that’s the problem but i will also look into that but I think I'm going to look into the coil first, so i will do another drive and stay close to home in case i cant drive back I will make a post after and will most likely need more suggestions on what to buy if that seems to be the problem. thank you again.

[Bill OH]

You mention new wires - if they are resistance wires I would replace them with copper core wires. Packard 440 is a god wire. But give attention to the replacement of coil.

[tubman]

"The Brillman Company" is a good source for Packard 440 plug wires. They also have the neat-o Rajah spark plug terminals that make life easier.

[kiwi nz]

I would have a look at the wire to the electric fuel pump.
If that is shorting intermitenttly your ammeter would move to discharge and the pump would stop pumping fuel.

It would give you the symptoms that you are experiencing.


Geoff

[52flthed]

I will take a shot here. You are saying the amp meter is going down; to me that means that the generator isn't charging the battery. Your car is shutting off cause you're running off of your battery and your battery isn't enough to run your ignition thats why your car is dying. You replaced your battery but that wouldn't change anything except allow your car to run off of a fresh battery until that ran itself down. Problem could be Generator, Regulator, Battery and then any of the wires or grounds or Circuit Breakers in between them. All would have to be checked and tested, They printed an excellent Supplement Manual in 1951 on diagnosing all of these items and how to check ohm resistance.

[JayChicago]

52flthed I think you missed this part from the long original post:
"I coasted to my destination, I parked and left the car while I went to the store and when I came back the car started fine"

[40coe]

I recommend a quick and simple test to see if the generator is operating properly. Put a digital volt meter on the battery terminals. Set the meter to VOLT function. Start the car and bring up accelerator form idle and the volt reading on the meter should read approximately 7.6 volts. Let off accelerator and the volt reading will drop to battery voltage. If the generator is not working you will not see a change in the volt reading.
Best of luck

[Terry,OH]

There are some very good ideas above. Your symptoms appear to indicate a problem when the car gets to running temperature. Typically the ignition condenser and the coil cause these problems. If you replace the condenser get another from NAPA or on line you can get a magneto condenser. NAPA has some quality control over their products many of the other suppliers condensers fail often.

[Jack 1951 fordor]

Originally Posted by JayChicago

52flthed I think you missed this part from the long original post:
"I coasted to my destination, I parked and left the car while I went to the store and when I came back the car started fine"

Yeah that’s the only reason I didn’t think it was the generator, because yeah the battery was still charged and didn’t seem to be drained at all, which if the generator wasn’t charging then the battery probably would be dead by then.

[Jack 1951 fordor]

Well I think based on everyone’s suggestions I’m going to do a little bit of it all mainly because it can’t hurts to update some of these parts anyways and hopefully will also fix this problem, so I was going to get a new ignition condenser, coil, and spark plugs. I was also planning on cleaning up the wiring on my electric fuel pump since it seems to have been done in a hurry and based on some people’s responses could also be my problem, so if anyone has any suggestions to what parts to buy, I would like to get the best so not worried about cost.

I also have practically no floor left in the front so if anyone has any suggestions on the correct floor pants for a 1951 ford custom 4 door.

[50fordcoupeman]

I have had this exact issue on two seperate engines and on both it was the coil-it would get hot and the engine would crap out.

[JayChicago]

Yeah, I normally go to coil or condenser for this kind of symptom. But then how do we explain this: "...and the amp gauge goes much lower than normal"?
So now I am leaning towards what kiwi nz suggested in post #9.