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Old 03-07-2021, 01:51 PM   #21
Robert/Texas
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Default Re: Condenser Problem?

Success at last. Thanks again to all of you. My son-in-law was finally able to get here and help me. We removed the hood and generator/fan which made it easy to get to the distributor. We found that one point set was badly burned. We replaced both point sets and the condenser. The engine fired right up when we finished. I had found my receipt for the point and condenser that I bought last time. The distributor uses Mallory #25012 points and #400 condenser.

Robert
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Old 03-15-2021, 11:08 AM   #22
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Well, my luck has run out again. When we got the car running on March 7, I drove it to my barn which is about 500 yards from my workshop. In the meantime, I have been in Houston doing doctors visits and other necessary things. I just got in the car and it started right up. Before it even got warmed up the engine started stuttering and then missing violently. This was exactly how it behaved last time while I was driving it.

I read Bubba’s post and it got me thinking about installing a new condenser remotely. I doubt that the points are ruined as this problem occurred so quickly. This could be a temporary or a permanent solution. If this is feasible how exactly could it be done?

Thanks, Robert
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Old 03-15-2021, 01:58 PM   #23
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert/Texas View Post
Well, my luck has run out again. When we got the car running on March 7, I drove it to my barn which is about 500 yards from my workshop. In the meantime, I have been in Houston doing doctors visits and other necessary things. I just got in the car and it started right up. Before it even got warmed up the engine started stuttering and then missing violently. This was exactly how it behaved last time while I was driving it.

I read Bubba’s post and it got me thinking about installing a new condenser remotely. I doubt that the points are ruined as this problem occurred so quickly. This could be a temporary or a permanent solution. If this is feasible how exactly could it be done?

Thanks, Robert

Robert....I don't have an answer for the question you asked. But think about this.....that old Ford (and a bazillion others like it) ran just fine all over the planet, in all kinds of climates and geographical situations. SOMETHING is not "right" about your particular situation. And moving the condenser to a remote location is NOT going to fix whatever the BASIC problem is. Who knows, the problem MIGHT be as simple as a poorly-grounded condenser.....just saying! You should do yourself a favor and find someone knowledgeable-enough and qualified to do justice to that neat ol' roadster. Hoping for the best! DD



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Old 03-15-2021, 06:37 PM   #24
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One must be very particular when fitting dist points. The points must be meeting squarely to each other and be nice and CLEAN as in no oil or any other type of residue on them. The contacts need to be gaped accurately at about .015"on new contacts. Maybe there is an issue as to how the points were fitted would be my guess. I always remove the distributor off the engine to work on it.and always use a bench type timer to adjust the contact sets and timing. You have to be very fussy doing this job. Near enough is not good enough. Just another note ,I have never had to remove the hood to get the dist off the engine on a 34 Ford,but the generator removal is helpful for better access. Regards, Kevin.
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Old 03-15-2021, 09:17 PM   #25
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Pull the coil off before you try to remove the dist, and place a piece of cardboard against the rad to keep it safe.
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Old 03-19-2021, 04:49 PM   #26
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Quote:
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Pull the coil off before you try to remove the dist, and place a piece of cardboard against the rad to keep it safe.
Lawrie
Yep Lawrie The other think I always do is remove the generator/fan
Takes minimal time and makes the whole job much easier - - I once watched a friend struggling to remove his distributor with the generator/fan in place Couldn't work out why he tried to do that ???
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Old 03-21-2021, 09:53 AM   #27
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my 36 would start right up when cold, then as it wormed up it would cut out under a load. i i changed the condenser with anouther one it got worse. I worked for willys America for awhile. one thing i had to do is get a 47 Jeep running good, it start right up and about 30 seconds later it would start to miss then die. first thing, i put in a new condenser it ran good for about 5 min, then quit. changed it again and we where good to go. i would change the condenser first, then see from there
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Old 04-03-2021, 04:05 PM   #28
Robert/Texas
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I finally got back to fixing the car. My son-in-law, who has been helping me with car repairs in my old age, has been very busy in his job. He says that the used car business has been wild lately. Before he got here, I decided to swap the old can-coil and resistor with a new “No Resistor Required” one that I got from NAPA. The engine fired right up so I looked carefully at the resistor with my strong reading glasses. I saw that the wire coil had a tiny whitish spot in it. When I pulled on it, I felt it break. Earlier we had looked at this and didn’t see that, so we then proceeded with other repairs. I assume that this was the problem all along and none of the other work was necessary. “All is well that ends well.”

Thanks again for all your help, Robert.
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Old 04-03-2021, 07:47 PM   #29
Jeff/Illinois
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Robert with the resistor built in the coil you don't need the firewall resistor any longer.

I had that on our '36 PU and after we changed the coil to the resistor type coil,
and by-passed the firewall mounted resistor, all has been well. This was all explained to me by a very knowledgeable Early V-8 guy here!
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Old 05-01-2021, 09:52 AM   #30
Robert/Texas
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My saga continues. Since the last time I posted, I have taken the car on four drives.

On the first drive I noticed a little flutter while idling and accelerating. I discovered that two of the sparkplug wires had burned-out connecters under their rubber boots. I replaced these temporarily with two old original style ones that I had removed in 1995. (I have since purchased new original style ones but have not yet replaced them.)

On the second drive I drove to a straight level road. I slowed the car down to idle speed in high gear and then gave it full throttle. The car roared to 65 mph without missing a beat. I tried this several times with the same result. (Note that the car still has the original 4/11 rear axle.)

On the third drive my wife and I drove it to the nearest gas station and filled the tank. Then we drove around enjoying the wildflowers and wildlife. We drove around 40 miles and the car behaved well.

On the last drive we got about three miles and the engine started misbehaving as described in my original post. We turned around and the bucking got worse and it began to backfire. It stalled about a half mile from the house and would not start. We towed it home behind a modern car.

I removed the Mallory distributor and here is what I found: One point set was wide open and the other completely closed. I immediately noticed that the shaft that goes through the distributor (that opens and closes the points) was loose and wobbly. I believe the rear bushing and maybe the front one are worn out.

Attached is a picture of this distributor.

To solve the problem:

• My first choice is to fix this distributor if I can find someone who can do it. (It lasted 26 years.)
• My second choice is to buy a new similar type of Mallory distributor to replace the old one.

All help and suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Robert.
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Last edited by Robert/Texas; 05-01-2021 at 09:56 AM. Reason: spacing
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Old 05-01-2021, 10:27 AM   #31
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Default Re: Condenser Problem?

Quote:
Originally Posted by Robert/Texas View Post

Attached is a picture of this distributor.

To solve the problem:

• My first choice is to fix this distributor if I can find someone who can do it. (It lasted 26 years.)
• My second choice is to buy a new similar type of Mallory distributor to replace the old one.

All help and suggestions will be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Robert.
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Old 05-01-2021, 06:49 PM   #32
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Default Re: Condenser Problem?

I dont know why many guys mess around with non original parts or electronic distributors. The original 1934 Ford helmet distributor is an extremely good unit and gives little trouble if set up correctly. Use it with the original coil on top rewound by skip and you are good to go for a long time. Regards, Kevin.
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Old 05-01-2021, 07:02 PM   #33
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Yep! - What koates said above....
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