|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
09-17-2016, 02:53 PM | #1 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Yankee ingenuity
Or farmer fix, or desperate times call for desperate measures.
Yesterday my wife and I were on our own on our way home from a three-day club tour, and as I came over a rise on a farm country road there was a large bang, a fiery flash, and a chuff-chuff-chuff sound as my power was significantly reduced. I first thought "head gasket", except the bang/flash didn't make sense for that. I coasted down the hill to a farmer's driveway and got off the road so I could safely assess the situation. When I opened the hood the problem was immediately evident: the #4 spark plug was gone. The spark plug connector was laying on the engine splash pan. I walked back up the road looking for the plug, but it was not to be found (a very nice fellow on a motorcycle stopped and walked the other side of the road with me, also looking). Going back to the car, I looked on the other engine splash pan, and there lay the plug, without its top nut. Hmmm. I called AAA, and they said they'd be there in 90 minutes to tow the car to the nearest town. I called a fellow club member who lived about 11 miles away and asked if he could bring me a spark plug, but then I realized all I needed to do was use the plug I had. All I needed was a nut, which I didn't have, or a piece of tape, which I also didn't have, or a piece of wire to hold the connector in place. I didn't have any wire, either. But I called my friend anyway, and told him I thought I could get it running without his driving 11 miles, and rummaged through stuff in the car looking for something to attach the connector. My wife noticed a brochure with a paper clip on it in the door pocket. Bingo! The answer. I called my friend and AAA and cancelled all requests for assistance. We made it into the nearest town (with intermittent missing), bought a new plug, and we were back on the road! You can keep a Model A running with a paper clip. See the attached photo.
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
09-17-2016, 03:04 PM | #2 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Location: Land of Lincoln
Posts: 3,131
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
An office workers fix:-) a true farmer would have straighten the plug wire, with the tension to keep it on:-) at lease you did not loose it again!
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
09-17-2016, 03:41 PM | #3 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Michigan / Ontario border, Sarnia, Ontario. 50 miles from Detroit and 150 from Toronto.
Posts: 5,800
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Was it a 3x ?
|
09-17-2016, 03:47 PM | #4 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
I like that!
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
09-17-2016, 03:56 PM | #5 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: East Canton, OH
Posts: 168
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Ever figure out why it blew out anyway? Makes me curious.
|
09-17-2016, 04:28 PM | #6 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
Did you eat your Wheaties before you installed them Last edited by Mitch//pa; 09-17-2016 at 08:57 PM. |
09-17-2016, 04:44 PM | #7 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Dublin, OH & Clyde, NC
Posts: 494
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Was thinking the same thing, what can cause that??
__________________
1930 Deluxe Coupe "Sister" |
09-17-2016, 04:57 PM | #8 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Between Seattle & Tacoma
Posts: 2,354
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
If the threads weren't damaged, then it would seem the plug vibrated loose? I'm suprised you didn't noticed a little power loss as it was unthreading, assuming that's what happened.
|
09-17-2016, 05:05 PM | #9 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2015
Location: Boise, Idaho
Posts: 1,578
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Paper clips have many uses....
This one had been there for a while....
__________________
Early '29 CCPU that had a 4-speed, but not any more.......in the family since '62 |
09-17-2016, 05:37 PM | #10 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
I think it was the nut behind the steering wheel that caused the problem. When I put it back in on the road yesterday, I noticed that the threading got a little tight before it was fully seated. I am guessing when I originally installed these new plugs back in January I got to that tight spot and thought that plug was seated. So it was probably already loose, and finally just worked its way out. The new plug I installed yesterday did not have that kind of premature tightness. These are Autolite 3076 plugs; I think I'll get some Champion 3X.
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
09-17-2016, 05:51 PM | #11 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: FRESNO, CA
Posts: 12,560
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Ray,
You mean you DON'T carry BALING WIRE & STRING?--tsk-tsk! Bill Prepared
__________________
"THE ASSISTANT GURU OF STUFF" |
09-17-2016, 05:57 PM | #12 | |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
|
|
09-17-2016, 07:50 PM | #13 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Mpls, MN
Posts: 27,582
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
#4 was rebelling against that fancy coil wire.
|
09-17-2016, 08:04 PM | #14 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Dublin, OH & Clyde, NC
Posts: 494
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Mitch, question....how much of a difference do the $25 or $30 plugs like the Champion 3X make versus a $5 plug
__________________
1930 Deluxe Coupe "Sister" |
09-17-2016, 08:09 PM | #15 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2016
Location: Barren windswept mountain somewhere in bleak Northeastern Pennsylvania
Posts: 294
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Had this same thing happen on my 1994 Toyota Pickup truck with the 22RE 4-cylinder engine. According to the old mechanic guy neighbor after examining the aftermath . . . the plug blow out was my fault. When I'd popped in some new spark plugs, they were not properly tightened. Eventually, one of those plugs wiggled it's way completely unthreaded loose and . . . KA-BLAMMO!!! Out it blasted with a whistling rocket roar!
Well . . . . Duh! As I told him . . . there is no doubt that there must have been something wrong with that lousy wrench and socket. Explained to the wife that she needs to go out and buy me some nice new tools.
__________________
I wouldn't be so paranoid if people weren't plotting against me all the time Last edited by Capt Quahog; 09-17-2016 at 08:14 PM. |
09-17-2016, 08:26 PM | #16 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
I can't answer for Mitch, but I use the Champions in my coupe, and I honestly cannot tell the difference in performance between those and my sedan, which has the Autolites. But I like the look of the Champions more. (About $20 ea at O'Reilly's).
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
09-17-2016, 08:26 PM | #17 | |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
The cost factor does not play into the equation for me. |
|
09-17-2016, 08:49 PM | #18 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2014
Location: Dublin, OH & Clyde, NC
Posts: 494
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
Thanks
__________________
1930 Deluxe Coupe "Sister" |
|
09-17-2016, 08:51 PM | #19 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Read the reviews;;;
Champion Plug Type 3X (429) Copper Plus Spark Plug, Pack of 1 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B002796PJW..._YiF3xb0BS7F95 |
09-17-2016, 09:15 PM | #20 | |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Bucks County, PA
Posts: 11,454
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
|
|
09-17-2016, 09:20 PM | #21 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Raleigh, NC
Posts: 549
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
|
09-17-2016, 10:23 PM | #22 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Bill, normally I would have those and other emergency small repair items, but I grabbed the wrong trip kit in my hurry to leave on the tour. Lesson learned!
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|
09-17-2016, 10:26 PM | #23 |
BANNED
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Michigan / Ontario border, Sarnia, Ontario. 50 miles from Detroit and 150 from Toronto.
Posts: 5,800
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
|
09-18-2016, 09:21 AM | #24 |
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2015
Location: Tennessee
Posts: 714
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Every kit must contain a length of bailer wire, a roll of duct tape, a big hammer, and a few first aid items. Hand tools are a good option.
|
09-18-2016, 10:14 AM | #25 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: FRESNO, CA
Posts: 12,560
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
"Some" plug company advertised the inner insulator as, "THERMO-ELASTIC, the heat retention properties would CHANGE, to meet the driving conditions. I "think" it was BOSCH, but I'm not sure?? Bill Sparky
__________________
"THE ASSISTANT GURU OF STUFF" |
|
09-18-2016, 11:33 AM | #26 |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 4,179
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements)
True credit due ?????? After 20 or so replies, worth mentioning that you were most fortunate to have a wonderful, humble mechanical genius passenger sitting next to you on this trip ........ good thing you did not have a typical retarded male passenger just sitting there waiting for AAA ........... |
09-18-2016, 12:01 PM | #27 | |
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2010
Location: Portland, Oregon
Posts: 5,906
|
Re: Yankee ingenuity
Quote:
__________________
Ray Horton, Portland, OR As you go through life, keep your eye on the donut, not the hole. |
|
|
|
Sponsored Links (Register now to hide all advertisements) |
|