Ahhhh! Our '57 Pontiac won't run, towed home.

[Jake H.]

Driving home from the Road Agents' Rumble, the Pontiac died on the 84 in Connecticut. Acted like it was running out of gas, hiccupped, stalled, backfired, done. Coasted to the shoulder and she would crank but not start.

Armed with only my leatherman (I know, big trunk, no tools, I'm a dumbass). I popped the fuel line off at the pump, then at the carb, and cranked the engine. Fuel galore. Gushing everywhere. I still was showing a half tank on the gauge.

Popped the distributor cap, everything looked good, new points and everything. Pulled #1 spark plug and grounded it on exhaust manifold, wife cranked the engine, and no spark.
Pulled a second plug to check, still no spark.

By now there was a huge thunderstorm, so we called AAA, and she came home on a stretcher. Any ideas as to what's wrong?

[Upchuck]

coil wire come off?
points grounded/bad wire
coil burned up?
A wire always used to come off the back of my ignition in my 55 chevy, got so I could reach behind the dash while driving and hook it back up http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

[choprods]

GOOD NEWS- A BAD COIL OR BUSTED CAP- BURNT POINTS-PORCELIN ballast RESISTOR BURT INTO [ON BACK] http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif- or.....
BAD NEWS-TIMING GEARS WORN OUT....HOPE YOU LUCK OUT!

[Upchuck]

[ QUOTE ]

BAD NEWS-TIMING GEARS WORN OUT....HOPE YOU LUCK OUT!

[/ QUOTE ]

I got no experience (YET) with the timing chain going, if it goes will you lose spark completely or just spark off timing? unless of course its completely shot and the cam isn't turning

[Rhino]

If you know your not getting spark, see if your getting power to the coil with key in on positon, if not check fuse or wireing.

[shoebox72]

If you have power to the positive side of the coil, hook your test light to the negitive side of the coil with the key on & have an assistant crank the engine over. if the points & all are working the light should flash on & off as the distributor turns. if the light just stays lit you have bad points, condenser or a short in the distributor,especially the insulator were the screw goes through the housing.

Billy

[Jake H.]

Thanks for the tips. Haven't had a chance to check it out today. With what y'all have mentioned, my bet is on the original coil. This is an original, 55,000 mile car.

The points look brand new, as do the cap, rotor, and condenser. The wires are all there. Even the plugs look recently installed (we just bought this thing a couple months ago).

[noboD]

Check the condensor, too.

[choprods]

pull cap and wires out of the way and crank motor over to see if Rotor is TURNING at all.....

[ponchobilly]

I'm with choprods and the ballast resistor on the firewall near the wiper motor. Happened to my '57 once when it still had the original equipment. It coughed and stopped running like it ran out of gas. My brother and I walked for a few miles and got some gas... then had to start looking around for what else it might be. He says "what's this wire go to?" Ooops! http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/blush.gif It wasn't like that when we left.

Let me know if you need something I might have.Good Luck!
Bil

[Rocky]

Ok, so there I am...fulla beer and cruising the back roads around Portland one night. I got my 57 Pontiac all tuned up and the 347 sounds FINE!!!!! I was listening to the radio [stock AM, thank you] and climbing up a hill when the engine gives with a hickup, dies and then blows a huge flaming fart through the glasspacks...dies again and I coast to the side of the road....dead!
After sleeping in the car and having a buddy tow it to his place the next morning, I clean the carb and rebuild it,check the fuel pump, adjust the valves, adjust the points etc etc etc...
My buddy tells me he has a spare coil but I poo-poo him. It's never the coil! In desperation, after about 3 more hours of screwing around with it, I swapped the coil...fired up and ran like a top again!
I'd look at the coil and don't trust the ohm meter test. Sometimes it will indicate a good coil when the coil is cold. After warming up, the coil will sometimes experience an internal short and not work...
ANOTHER TIME: I'm cruising another different 57 Poncho down I-5 to visit my folks in Medford. It runs like a champ all day but when I come out to start it the next day, it cranks but won't quite start. Again, I was young and inexperienced in the ways of the internal combustion engine. I pumped the gas and the afb obliged, sending plenty of gas into the old engine,still wouldn't quite light off... I pulled the timing cover and the chain was a little sloppy, so I popped a new one in place and buttoned it all back up...still wouldn't start!
I let it sit overnight and came out the next morning to try again...lit off immediately and blew a big ol black cloud of fuel out the tailpipes....the damn thing was simply flooded!
57 poncho engines have steel timing gears with no hokey ass plastic on the teeth like later Pontiac V/8s had. A timing chain will go a loooooooong time before it needs changing on a 57 Pontiac..
I vote coil.
Just for funnzies, here's me and Ponchobilly with his 57. I lost my own 57 photos in a computer crash...damn!