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Hello All,

My last post talked about taking the 55 Clipper to Salado. Well, it all started off good enough. Went and got the car out of its storage unit a few days before Salado. It had been there over three months. Remarkably, it started easily and ran smoothly. I brought it home, cleaned it, and packed things for the Salado Meet.

We left home on Thursday afternoon in order to be at the Stagecoach Inn by mid-afternoon, and so we could participate in the Early Bird Tour on Friday morning. Salado only a 50 mile drive up I-35 from Austin. We got on the Interstate and started the drive. Things were going well, with the car running smoothly and cruising nicely. But, the further we went the worse the car ran. First, it would not run smoothly above 2,500 RPMs, then it was 2,000. At that point we got off of the Interstate thinking slower speeds on secondary roads would work.

This was not to be. The car kept running more poorly. Finally, when it would not run above 1,500 RPMs I pulled into the AutoZone store in Huto, thinking that maybe the problem was coil was breaking down. They had a universal 12-volt, external ballast type with the correct type of terminals. I installed it, but no improvement. After a while the car refused to restart. At that point I called AAA and arranged for a flat bed truck to haul the Clipper home.

At home, we got in the 2007 Honda S2000 and drove it up to Salado. The next morning, we drove back to Austin and exchanged the Honda for the '37 Six Convertible Coupe. The little Six made the trip just fine, never missing a beat going to Salado or returning to Austin on Sunday.

I did "win" the Hard Luck Award for my troubles with the 55. The '37 got enough votes to receive a second place award for its class. At Salado participants get to vote for their favorite Packard in each class. All in all it was a busy and rewarding weekend.

I'll turn my attention to the '55 next week, and keep you all posted on what I discover.

Take care,

(o[]o)

Sorry to hear of your problem.

My guess would be burnt points or worn point rubbing block causing the dwell to collapse to near zero. Of course AutoZone probably wouldn't have those points in stock.

Craig

Craig,

Thanks. I believe there may be two problems, fuel and ignition. The points looked to be in very bad shape, and the fuel bowl was less than one-half full.

I will know more next week.

(o[]o)

Could be fuel pump or filter-- gradual loss of high speed power is classic symptom. If the rubbing block is worn down as Craig pointed out, it'll burn even new points to a frazzle in no time (been there, done that).

didn't you just get a new fuel filter not that long ago? did you ever rebuild the fuel pump? i'm about to rebuild the one on mine myself as well.

good luck mate!

Hank

Any fine silt or debris in the tank that gets sucked up will clog the pores in those ceramic elements very quickly, even if the filter looks clean. You almost have to "back flush" the filter with some gas/brake cleaner and use compressed air to clean those pores out.

This is also another reason why I prefer to use a modern "pleated" filter back near the tank. Much larger filter surface area, and it keeps any tank crud out of the fuel pump, and ceramic filter. Plus they are far cheaper (are readily available) to replace as needed. Think of it as a pre-filter, and keep the ceramic one in place for secondary filtering and show.

Well, we should soon know whether it even is a fuel delivery problem or not. That wasn't an iron-clad diagnosis, just a thought. The car's a little too far away for one to tell exactly what is the matter. It'll be interesting to find out. The burned points add more mystery to it. They would seem to be unrelated to fuel blockage. I believe the points were installed new as well, and I do recall the electric fuel pump and a filter being part of JW's rebuild. BE SURE TO CHECK IF THE PUMP HAS A BUILT-IN FILTER. Some do, some don't.

Old gas tanks are very pesky critters, and one of the most common problems in getting and keeping an old vehicle running. Even fine rust dissolved into the gasoline from scale inside the tank can plug filters quickly. I've been cleaning out the 25-gallon gas tank in my boat for years-- one fuel filter at a time. If you saw the tank, where it is, and what it's made of (welded galvanized steel plate) you'd have an idea why this is the option I've taken. It's a lot easier to just change filters with every tank of gas. (Not recommended on cars!)

You only have 3 choices with a tank: clean it, coat it, or replace it with an NOS, replica, custom, or "will-fit." Replacement is the only sure bet I know of. What a pain.

And ALWAYS STORE YOUR CAR WITH THE GAS TANK FULL! Like the person who had it before you probably didn't.

I'll agree it is most likely fuel delivery problem.

But lets do the ez things FIRST!!!

Quote from post #1 above:
"Went and got the car out of its storage unit a few days before Salado. It had been there over three months. Remarkably, it started easily and ran smooth"

File the points. Setting for long periods of time will allow oxidation to build up on the points. Just run a file thru them 8 or 10 strokes. I run into this quite often. Sometimes a long storeage engine will start just fine but the points will need to be cleaned up after 10 or more miles. The points file will cure that problem.

There are those that scoff at the filing of points. Such scoffing only demonstrates their lack of real world experience or their salesmanship to sell someone a new set of points.

Agreed on that! If the points stop where there is a gap, ol' man moisture does a number on them. I've found this an easy operation. Just place the points file (be sure you have a real points file) between them and gently draw it through. I usually just pull it through twice. Very little material is removed, and ideally you shouldn't even have to re-set the points afterward (but check the gap anyway).

BigKev,

Would putting that pre-filter in place as you describe create issues with the fuel pump I've installed (forward of the tank near the driver's door alignment) already? I'm also using a Carter fuel pump and have the glass bowl filter piped in immediately ahead of the 4GC.