Very, very strange!

[Joe Shell]

Hi guys,

I have a 1936 Ford Cabriolet which Was restored about 10 years ago. I purchased this car in October of 2012. It has basically been very reliable and runs and drives great.

This afternoon it was nice and sunny on Long Island , NY. So I backed the car out of my garage to put up the top. While I was sitting behind the wheel letting the engine warm up, I heard something snap and the engine stalled. At the time the transmission was in neutral and my foot was not touching the clutch pedal. When I tried to start the engine the starter would not turn over. It was as if I was trying to start the car in gear without depressing the clutch. I made sure the shift was in the neutral position and tried again. Same result as if the engine was stuck for some reason. I left the shift lever in neutral and tried to start the engine again but this time with the clutch pedal pushed down to the floor. The engine started and ran fine but as soon as I took my foot off the clutch the engine stalled. The transmission shift lever was in the neutral position. I started the engine again I with the transmission in first, second and high gear and when I took my foot of the clutch pedal, the engine stalled without the car moving at all. The only way I could move the car was if the clutch was depressed.

Fortunately my daughter and son in law were coming for dinner. My daughter got in the car, held the clutch pedal to the floor, while my son in law and I pushed the car back into the garage.

I'm baffled by this and can't figure out what happened so suddenly. Could it be that something jammed the transmission? The car has a Columbia but that does not appear to be part of this problem.

I have not had a chance to look under the car to see if anything looks abnormal, I'll try to do that tomorrow.

Anyone have any ideas on what might have happened?

As usual, any suggestions or thoughts will be appreciated.

Thanks and a happy and healthy new year to all Ford Barners.


Joe