Whats happening here

[Rex_A_Lott]

Intermittent problems are the most difficult to find. Check the fuel delivery, as suggested.
Also pay attention to where your spark advance is when you have trouble. Something could be grounding out as the point plate is being moved.
Also check the points/point plate to make sure you are getting a consistent gap every time on every cylinder. I've only seen it once, but recently I had one that had been converted to modern points that was shifting around, sometimes the points would open and sometimes not, effectively turning the ignition off and on and causing a backfire. And yes, it just started out of the blue one day.
Also I'd try bypassing the switch, just to eliminate it.
Good Luck to you!

[William Kelchner]

I have declared my garage a Model A free zone in 2014.

Put a known good coil on the machine for one last test. Started up, ran great for 15 minutes then got rough for a minute and quit. Repeat restarts same thing. Checked for junk in the carb, spark, played with the GAV, ignition switch , now will not start - everything on this thing is new or close to new.

Therefore my love affair with my roadster is sadly over. Thanks for all the help.

[Patrick L.]

Well William, if the car is up for sale, what is your price ? I'd like another roadster.

[William Kelchner]

Well I'm an inch from a price. Started it again and purring then died like no gas. Took off fuel line-great flow. Spark was still good. Started it again, it ran minute or two - weak spark. I have an old old original set of points I found in my shed, I gonna put them on this evening just for kicks. None of this started until I decided to get the rebuilt dist with original hardware.

See what happens with the other set of points.

[Quigley1930]

Bill I'm going to bring the distributor coil and carb from my coup. I know they are good as I've driven the car about 200 miles this week and have not had one problem. We will try one at a time until the "beast" is tamed. Just holler when's a good time.

Sewall Tyler

[BILL WILLIAMSON]

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W.K, See if the post that the point arm pivots on is loose &"wobbly"----If so, turn the plate over & TAP-TAP-TAP, where the post is riveted under the plate. Bill W.

[captonzap]

Originally Posted by William Kelchner

None of this started until I decided to get the rebuilt dist with original hardware.

Ah ha! Now we're getting someplace. If it started having problems with the "rebuilt" dizzy, the odds are pretty good that the problem is in there. Who rebuilt it? Do they have a track record of good work, or was it the Shadetree Shop run by the kid fresh out of Auto Tech?
As has been suggested, calm yourself, take the dizzy apart, piece by piece, and look at every small detail.
Shaft bearing tight, both ends.
Wiring insulation unbroken or bare/ frayed?
Points not pitted? (Over or under capacitence)
Rubbing block loose
Most problems are pretty obvious, visually, if you know where to look. The trick is to look at everything as a potential problem, and see if it indeed is.
And not "yeah, the cap is on right".
Is it cracked, or have carbon tracks?
Or "Oh yeah, those are the points, they look OK".
Are they pitted, spring weak, smoothly working on their pivot, wire connection tight and wire away from any potential contact with ground?
And the fact that it works for a while, and quits when the heat goes up, would suggest that thermal expansion might be a factor. Look at what might expand and short the electrical flow.
What ever you do, don't let it be said that a machine got the best of you.
Troglodytes have that niche covered.

CZ

p.s. And be sure to let us know what the problem was, (that means you found it), as there is some heavy betting going on out here.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Have you tried unscrewing the ignition cable one turn where it screws into the distributor housing?

The tougher the problem, the bigger the reward when it's fixed!

[Mike V. Florida]

What about the ground from the dizzy to the head.

[tbirdtbird]

Captonzap is right on

[William Kelchner]

Thanks for the latest - I'm going to set a date up with Quiggly who is close to me and pop his known working dist in there. This rebuilt one I have I got from Bratton's. Have no fear if we can win this battle the resolution will be on the Barn.

The other evening I swapped the upper dist plate with an old one and it did the same @&(**# thing. Ran great for 15 minutes and then went silent.

[Patrick L.]

All the questions have been answered within these 5 pages, but, just for the heck of it as has been stated[ lastly by Mike] why not just check the distributor set screw. I'm sure you greased or never-seized the distributor, so, loosen the lock nut, work the set screw several times and make sure its snug against/into the distributor when tightening the lock nut. This problem has to be something simple thats just being over looked. Also take the gas cap off and loosen the primary cable a turn, these are basics and previously mentioned, but, I don't remember these being done [ doesn't mean much as I can't remember what I had for breakfast].

[William Kelchner]

Well gang my friend and forum member quigley1930 came over and we went through everything and it appears the problem has been discovered! Initially the car started and was performing well, he put a transparent dist cap on (neat) and we were scratching our heads after about 30 minutes was running great and then it died on us.

So we have good electrics and decided to swap the carb out. As I was
removing the fuel line at the carb my expert said "whoa" the fuel line I constructed prior to my problems was waaay too long. We broke out the grinder and took a good 1/4 off the end.

Started the beast up and it has been running for hours without so much as a whimper.

I put my Zenith back on and ran it for another hour and runs great. Pretty confident this is/was the culprit (of my own doing).

ttbirdtbird and Rex A. lot mentioned checking the fuel line but hey, I constructed it it must be perfect..therefore, I did not check it.

Back for another road test tomorrow. Considering this fuel line I constructed was along for all of my ill fated rides this has got to be it....!!

[Tom Wesenberg]

Geezzzz, that's too bad............I was hoping to buy a cheap car!

[Patrick L.]

Glad to hear its back up and running. Knew it had to be something simple.

[William Kelchner]

Thanks. I read that the fuel line should extend 1/8th inch beyond the ferrule, heck I was way beyond that. I had that fuel line off and on over the past year looking for fuel problems and honestly I could have looked at the end of the fuel line 50 times and never given it a second thought.

Well best of New Years and the help to everyone out there that reads this.

[Rex_A_Lott]

Glad you got it! Look at the bright side...you'll probably never make that mistake again!

[captonzap]

Damn, I lost the bet!
You prove the reciprocal of the old adage about most carburetor problems are electrical in nature.

Glad you found the problem, although I'll miss your ranting and raving.

CZ

[29er]

I love happy endings! This thread read like a Model "A" CSI story and I learned lots along the way. Had me worried for a while though, but the good guys ALWAYS get the girl.

[tbirdtbird]

Model As are notoriously reliable.
Like any car, especially old cars, there are a few quirks that the owner MUST be aware of, and these must be addressed. The pros here know them and will pass them on. If these are tended to the car will run all day long no problem