The Ford Barn

Jon E · 09-17-2021, 03:05 PM

Hello,

This is my first post here, but I have been reading and searching these forums for a while.

I recently purchased a 28 with a Miller-Cragar OHV which is the first early Ford I have ever owned or even worked on, so I am not familiar with these engines at all. It was originally built as a show car by the previous owner and was run very little. I’ve been tinkering with it for a few months since I bought it, but I’m still struggling to get it to run right.

It will start quickly and idles ok, but the off-idle throttle response is very poor. It stumbles and misfires badly as soon as I give it any throttle. On a few occasions, I was able to push through the roughness and it smoothed out and ran great from about 1,700 RPM and up but runs rough below that speed. At the present time, it acts like it's starving for fuel and wants to die as soon as I give it any throttle.

I made a short video of it running and put it on youtube, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMJEf6NKAmE

The basic specs are:

• Model B with Miller-Cragar OHV
• Two Stromberg 97’s
• Mallory YC Distributor w/ single set of points – unknown springs but advance appears to be working correctly
• 12V system with ballast
• Stock style fuel lines – no fuel pump

My troubleshooting so far has included:

• Replacing the points – gapped at .022
• Replacing the condenser
• Rejetting the carb down to .043 and .041 – currently using original .045’s
• Switching the carb linkage between winter and summer
• Adjusting timing up and down
• Replacing the plugs
• Adjusting valves to .016 (both intake and exhaust)
• Confirmed that I have a hot spark at the plug
• Compression test shows 80-85 PSI on all 4 cylinders (100-110 psi when the other 3 spark plugs are removed)
• Replaced the fuel filter
• Confirmed that the inside of the carb is clean. No buildup, sludge or corrosion inside of the bowls. I did not remove the emulsion tubes, but they appear to be clean.

Can you guys please help me figure out what it is that I am missing?

Is it a fuel problem? Is it ignition? Is the cam timing off?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

09-17-2021, 03:05 PM	#1
Jon E Junior Member Join Date: Sep 2021 Posts: 6	Having trouble getting new Miller-Cragar setup to run Hello, This is my first post here, but I have been reading and searching these forums for a while. I recently purchased a 28 with a Miller-Cragar OHV which is the first early Ford I have ever owned or even worked on, so I am not familiar with these engines at all. It was originally built as a show car by the previous owner and was run very little. I’ve been tinkering with it for a few months since I bought it, but I’m still struggling to get it to run right. It will start quickly and idles ok, but the off-idle throttle response is very poor. It stumbles and misfires badly as soon as I give it any throttle. On a few occasions, I was able to push through the roughness and it smoothed out and ran great from about 1,700 RPM and up but runs rough below that speed. At the present time, it acts like it's starving for fuel and wants to die as soon as I give it any throttle. I made a short video of it running and put it on youtube, you can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMJEf6NKAmE The basic specs are: • Model B with Miller-Cragar OHV • Two Stromberg 97’s • Mallory YC Distributor w/ single set of points – unknown springs but advance appears to be working correctly • 12V system with ballast • Stock style fuel lines – no fuel pump My troubleshooting so far has included: • Replacing the points – gapped at .022 • Replacing the condenser • Rejetting the carb down to .043 and .041 – currently using original .045’s • Switching the carb linkage between winter and summer • Adjusting timing up and down • Replacing the plugs • Adjusting valves to .016 (both intake and exhaust) • Confirmed that I have a hot spark at the plug • Compression test shows 80-85 PSI on all 4 cylinders (100-110 psi when the other 3 spark plugs are removed) • Replaced the fuel filter • Confirmed that the inside of the carb is clean. No buildup, sludge or corrosion inside of the bowls. I did not remove the emulsion tubes, but they appear to be clean. Can you guys please help me figure out what it is that I am missing? Is it a fuel problem? Is it ignition? Is the cam timing off? Any help would be greatly appreciated.