Technical 58 studebaker commander no start

hey guys, just bought a 58 commander, drove it home from mount holly to gloucester city (in rush hour traffic, that was fun w 3 on the tree and a carburetor with the idle too low haha) , parked it for 2-3 hours and now it wont start, trid adjusting the carb, tried ether, tried letting it sit more in case it was flooded, nothings working, even tried bump starting it to no avail, any suggestions??

-Matt

 

Instead of adjusting the carb, and what was it you adjusted? perhaps you should have done a basic troubleshooting procedure to ascertain what/where the fault may be.. Is it getting spark at the plugs, is it getting fuel? does it have compression? which engine does it have? Does it have a ballast resistor?

 

Vapor lock? Studes are notorious for it. Fuel filter in carb might be gummed up - check inlet into carb. Fuel pump could be blocked. Is the carb getting gas? I've had problems on my Studes with crap in the gas tank coming loose after sitting for a long time and blocking the little screen that covers the tube out of the tank.

Try starting it with a small gas can and some hose connected to the carb if it's not getting gas. Check all the spark plug and distributor wires. I'm sure it's something simple if the car was running earlier.

 

i threw a new coil at it and put a new clear fuel filter on it so i could see if there was anything in the fuel, its getting fuel, i dont think its getting spark still, im gonna throw some points on it later. i popped the dist cap off and the points looked pretty fried, tried cleaning them up with no success, any tips on clearing up the vapor lock??

 

Let it cool off?

If it does it again when it's hot, pop the gas cap off the tank, and look for the area along the fuel path that is most likely to be overheating your fuel supply, and put a bag of ice on it to chill it down, to include pack one against the carburetor.

If it works, you'll need to shield the fuel supply from getting all that heat.

 

hmm, day number 2 and still nothing stills seems to be getting no spark. i think the distributor is beat, thats the last thing it could be from what i can conclude, thanks for the tips btw everyone!

 

Have you asked over on the forum of the Studebaker Drivers Club?
Lotsa Stude knowledge over there.

 

If the cap looks fried then get a cap rotor points and condenser
Check the wires and plugs for degradation
It all comes down to spark, fuel and compression at the correct time in the correct stociometric ratio




Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

If all else fails you could try diagnosing the problem, then fixing just the part that is not working. Or, randomly flail around replacing everything in sight until you accidentally get the right part.

Is the engine turning over? Do you have a good spark at all the plugs? Is there gas in the tank and is it getting to the carb? These questions are a good start to diagnosing a no start problem.

 

Is this your first old car? Let it sit and get cold, give the throttle 2 pumps then turn the key

 

Old cars don't start like New stuff, you have to learn in, then learn how to tune it to your liking

 

you need to determine if you have a spark or a fuel problem. Spray some starting fluid in the carb. if it starts or tries to then you have a fuel problem. Pull a plug wire and see if you have spark. I have been able to get a car into the garage by having someone spray starting fluid into the carb while I try to start the car.

The first thing I do to a new used car is give it a tune up...points, plugs, condenser, plug wires, dist cap and rotor. Set the timing etc etc.

 

Go here and sign up. That is the Stude forum . Large group , and racers too .
You will get good advice.

http://forum.studebakerdriversclub.com/

In the meantime, take cap of distr , see if there is spark at the points with ign on .
If there is , then check out coil and ballast resistor . That is all it takes to make spark.
The points just charge and release the coil fields as they open and close . Then the field
collapses thru the secondary and finds it way to ground thru the plug gap , making
a spark .

 

This is basic diagnosis. Check battery volts with a meter (Free with coupon at Harbor Frieght) - 13 or more? Good.Pull a plug wire, spark? Pull the coil wire, spark? Hotwire it under the hood with a test lead (this determines if it's a wiring issue). Spark?

Somewhere in there you should be able to isolate the problem. Points and condensor are still not too expensive, cap and rotor shouldn't be either, unusual for a distributor to be so worn it itself is the problem.

 

thanks for all the advice and help everyone, and no, this isnt my first old, haha, im well aware of the stociometric ratio and whatnot, im a mechanic by trade, the only reason im posting here is to get a little extra help because this thing is baffling me

 

from what i can find on the interwebs, it seems as though i can use an HEI distributor for a chevy, does anyone have any info on this?

 

You can't use a stock HEI from a Chevy, but you can get a custom HEI for a Stude from: Dave Thibeault @ (978) 897-3158. You could also install a Petronix module in your existing distributor: http://www.summitracing.com/parts/pnx-91181/overview/make/studebaker