Re: 1938 Super 8 1605 - adventures with a newbie

Posted by kevinpackard On 2024/6/17 19:40:06

I haven't driven the Super much, but every time I do it just doesn't seem great. It doesn't run like it should. Weak on power, always has a bit of a miss at idle, and I wonder if the shaking in the shifter when under load is due to a cylinder missing.

So I went back to square one to see if there was anything amiss. Compression numbers for all cylinders (engine cold):

1 - 135
2 - 135
3 - 132
4 - 132
5 - 131
6 - 130
7 - 136
8 - 135

That all looks good to me there. Spark plugs on #3, 5, 6 were very dark and sooty on the electrode, whereas all the others were sooty on the sides but the electrode was clear. I plugged in a spark tester and ran it through each cylinder. Every spark plug was receiving spark and it appeared to be consistent. Whether the spark was getting propagated to the cylinder or not is another question.

I messed with timing a bit as well but there is still a definite miss. It doesn't run smooth like it should....nothing like how my Panama runs. At this point I'm not sure what to check next.

These components have all been replaced:
Spark plugs - Autolite 308
Plug wires - I made them
Cap - NAPA
Rotor - NAPA
Condenser - NAPA
Points - NAPA

Any suggestions?