The Old Gal is...running again!

[racertb]

Well, she fired up today.  Went through everything again, changed plugs (reinstalled the Champions just for the hell of it, even though that probably didn't do anything), used the test light just to make sure I was still good with spark, etc. 

Still no start, so I pulled distributor and rotated 180 degrees degrees then cranked her up. I must have been trying to start her on the power stoke vs. the compression stroke (or vice versa).

She ran very slow and rough, but she ran.  I advanced the distributor until she smoothed out nicely.  Still a miss noticeable through the tail pipe but I took her out for a short 5 mile run. She ran great, but still need to fine tuned. She was popping a little through the carb right when I got home.

Needless to say I'm very happy.  I will try a to attach a video with sound later so you all can hear the miss I'm talking about.  I will try to fine tune next weekend, possibly using a vacuum gauge. 

I'm just curious/concerned about how this problem happened in the first place.  Thank you to all of you who have been trying to help me along the way.  I'm sure I'll have more questions when I get to the miss and fine tuning.

[frankp]

Congratulations!!  Now for the hard part...    frank

[racertb]

Right...I will try to upload a clip asoon as I can.  It had the same/similar miss before, but she still drives well.  At least I have something to work with now    

[imoore]

Well done. Nice to hear you got it running.
To get the ign timing right i would have a go at using a vacuum gauge. I have never done it this way but sounds like an easy method.
I set mine by ear
Also you probably check anyway but when setting timing make sure ignition advance is all way in.

The missfire you speak of sounds very similare to what mine does. Like a random misfire. I have overhauled my hole ign system in search for the cause to no success.
I have now just lived with it as its only noticable at idle.

Ian

[chetbrz]

The missfire you speak of sounds very similare to what mine does. Like a random misfire. I have overhauled my hole ign system in search for the cause to no success.
I have now just lived with it as its only noticable at idle.

Ian

Ian you have described my engine exactly.  A random misfire which is only noticeable at idle.  If you watch the old movie channel and find an old movie which depicts cars from the teens and earlier, it was common place for them to backfire through the exhaust.  I believe our 29s are a great improvement over the prior 10 years of technology.  BTW  I also tune by ear but I don't think this random misfire is what Ted is experiencing.

Chet...

[Old Man]

From reading many stories and tales of repair from over the years, I believe some of these misfires can be buried in the valve train. They can be caused by a bouncing valve caused by weak valve springs to a sticking valve because it has worn in the guide and 'falls over' every once in a while and doesn't close properly. Obviously you will never fix this without a complete tear down and rebuild of the valve train. The old guys,older than me LOL, used to be able to listen to an engine and hear if it was a valve. They could listen to the exhaust and tell you if it was a valve or not. I had to rebuild a flat head 6 a while back and was shown by a parts dealer that the valves from my Plymouth had all lost their hardness from heat cycling over the years. He dropped one of my valves from about a metre to a cement floor and it barely rebounded or made any noise. He then took a brand new GM  283 ci V-8 valve and did the same thing. The new valve bounced up and flipped around and sang like a bell. He said that's what a valve with it's hardness still in it should do. I used 12 exhaust valves from a 283 V-8 in my engine instead of searching out NOS Plymouth valves. (Which are available, but he recommends I not use any NOS valves,springs or piston rings. I also used modern 3 1/8" ,4 groove, piston rings with backer springs instead of NOS.) But he also said the new GM valves would last many years longer than NOS Plymouth ones. He thinks the hardening and materials today are better than what NOS ones would have in any case. My point? The valve return springs in your cars are most likely suffering the same fate and losing their spring and taking a 'set'. This could cause the occasional bouncing or sticking as the springs are not strong enough to 'snap' the valve down on it's seat and hold it there. This will sound exactly like a fuel starvation or spark miss to us.         

[chetbrz]

Your post makes good sense to me.  I also agree that the quality of today's metal products far exceeds the quality and design specs of 85 years ago.

Chet...

[racertb]

Thanks for all the replies...I do have a vacuum gauge and I plan on using it this weekend to see if I can make the engine run better.  I'll let you know my findings...I know this won't fix the miss, but I'm going to hoepfully fine tune the timing.

The miss I have is a steady miss that you can really hear out of the exhaust pipe.  It almost sounds like a "pop, pop, pop, pop..." as it sitting at idle.  I had read earlier this week online what Old Man was suggesting...it may be a (exhaust) valve, maybe just sticking.  Someone suggested trying Marvel Mystery Oil or Seafoam to see if that might help.  Apparently ir worked for them.

I will try to get the clip up tonight or tomorrow.

Ted

[SteveG]

Great to hear you got the old gal running!

My '28 does the same things you have described, but less evident. I'll keep driving her till things get worse and perhaps do a top end. Time will tell.

I'm not a big fan of additives but in some cases Sea Foam and Mystery Oil help with sticky valves and rings.
A little off the subject but, Sea Foam really helps with cleaning the injectors on my old Chevy van. (342,000 mi and going strong!)

You are on the right track now. Just keep fiddlin' a little at a time.

Please keep us posted.

Is this site great, or what!

SteveG

[racertb]

This is a great site with a lot of great people!

I've got my video clips uploaded to Photobucket, so I will attempt to get posted soon for some feedback!

[racertb]

Ok, here is a 43 second video clip of the car running...tuned by ear at this point and I've not put on the vacuum gauge to check the timing or adjusted the idle at the carb yet.  You can really hear the miss at the exhaust pipe at the end of the clip.

Thoughts?  Does this sound like a valve issue or ?


http://s947.photobucket.com/user/racertb/media/29EngineMiss_zps7127bbfb.mp4.html

[imoore]

It sounds like its sucking air. From somewhere. Have u checked for manifold leaks. Just use water in a spray bottle.

[racertb]

Ian, thanks!

I will look this weekend...hopefully it's something simple like this that can be fixed by replacing a gasket, if that's what it is...I'll keep you posted.

[Old Man]

Water will work but ether works better. Spraying starting ether around the intake manifold and the base of the carb will smooth out the engine and speed it up momentarily.

[racertb]

This gasket is definitely leaking and you can feel the air...not yet sure if there are others, but this one's obvious: