Technical 58 T-Bird mysteriously dies when hot.

Hello! So my 1958 Ford Thunderbird runs really well when it is cold, but when it heats up it dies under load. After it dies, it doesn't start back up and run until it gets cold again. I have checked for vapor lock, that's not a problem. I have replaced the gaskets in the carb and tried adjusting the mixture, no dice. Just replaced all the spark plugs and all of the plug wires, those are all good. The coil works as it should, even when hot, the distributor acts fine and the spark sits regularly at factory spec from top dead center. Currently the engine only pulls about 13 inHg of vacum. The idle is also at factory spec. The current setup is a ford 352 FE block with a Holley remanufactured motorcraft 2100 2 bbl. Carb and a 3 speed Fordomatic automatic transmission. Any thoughts on my problem? Thanks for taking the time to read that!

 

I would still suspect the coil if you know it is not a vapor lock.

 

Alright, I will look into replacing the coil. Something else that I have just noticed is that before it heats up the digital tachometer holds perfectly steady, but once it heats up the rpm starts to wander and you can hear the engine misfiring.

 

Replace the condenser.

 

The distributor has been modified so that it doesn't have a condensor and points, but instead it has a magnetic pickup.

 

Also thinking Coil. Keep us posted.

 

Try disconecting the Tach ,if that doesn't fix it check the ballast resistor or resistor wire. Both will cause your problem

 

Plugged exhaust.

 

Alright everyone, I am back, thanks for waiting. So I tested the primary resistance and the secondary resistance on the coil. Before I started the car and it was cold, the primary resistance read between .9 and 1.2 Ohms, after I let it heat up and die, I measured the resistance again and it held steady at .9 Ohms. The manufacturer stated that the primary resistance should be .6 Ohms, but from other places I have been reading from my resistance isn't outrageous. I also measured the secondary resistance, when cold that measured to be 9,180 Ohms and when hot it came out to be 10,140 Ohms, with factory specifications being 10,000 Ohms, but again, not outrageous for a coil. I also measured the change in the dwell, and that started at 12.9 degrees and rose to 15 degrees when it died. I read online that the dwell should be between 24 and 31 degrees, but either way that seems a bit off. The upgrade to the ignition system from points to pointless is the Pertronix Ignitor system, found here. The coil is made for the Ignitor II system, it is called the Flamethrower II. Also in my search I have discovered the engine may not be a 352 but instead a 390, but honestly I cannot find a way to tell the difference, again, thanks for the help!

 

Also, I looked into the plugged exhaust, unfortunately the exhaust is working just fine and the solution wasn't that simple

 

On my 59 Mercury I had the voltage regulator charging too high and it was over heating my ignition coil. Backfired the exhaust and blew out a muffler! One more thing to check.

 

I would try the old ignition and see if it runs ok on it.

 

Unfortunately this ignition system is the only one we have for the car, it was installed when we got it.

 

And I will definitely look into the voltage regulator, but are you sure they still use those with the generator? I thought that was just an alternator thing.

 

Put stock points and condenser back in it,or buy new dustributor.

 

you tested the coil, changed wires and plugs and did some carb work. why? when it dies does it have a fuel problem or an electrical problem? is there spark when it won't start? or no fuel?

 

check the hot wire going to the dis to see if it is hot when the car dies. mine was heating up after about 7 miles of driving and die. then would crank right back up after about 10 minuters. it was a bad connection.

 

I do hope you get your problem fixed, but exactly HOW is a '58 Tbird a Traditional Rod or Custom?

 

I had a problem like that on my 59 Ford in the day- turned out to be a bad ballast resistor......resistance went WAY UP when it got hot.....

 

Originally it was a vapor lock condition, and the needle valve needed to be replaced so while I was going through the carb I decided to go ahead and replace the bad gaskets and bearings in the carb. Now that is fine. But then when it was still having problems I determined that one of the plug wires were bad, and since plug wires come in a set I just replaced the whole set. When it gets hot the timing light doesn't read spark on plug 1 all the time and occasionally it will read and the timing marks will not be visible at all, so therefore I think its an ignition problem.

 

I checked that, the connection is good.

 

It fits under the guidelines of the traditional customs forum.

 

A '58 T-bird was custom straight from the factory man! My money is on a bad module...but I gave up on Pertronix years ago...( now for the barrage...)

 

I had the same issue with Pertronix in my wife's O/T '66 mustang. The issue was intermittent and a real pain in the ass. I ditched the Pertronix to solve the problem.

 

for ideas on this might contact Hotroddon here, or call Pertronix, Inc 909-547-9058

 

I normally would not comment on these type of threads because there are so many on here with a good deal more knowledge and experience than I. However, it seems to me that the fuel may still be your problem. You commented in one response that you had "gone thru the carb" to eliminate the vapor lock problem, even replaced the "bearings" in the carb. That comment tells me that maybe someone else went thru the carb, which would not be surprising at your age. But going thru the carb has nothing to do with vapor lock in my experience. Do you still have a mechanical fuel pump or an electric one? By the way, I have to commend you on your response to a poster questioning whether your Bird belonged on the HAMB. I probably would not have been so polite. Is the Bird in your avatar the one in question? Great to see a young guy participating in this great hobby in such a mature way.

 

My Pertronix complete distributor would not fire---but since it had been purchased 3 years earlier-we were working on the body-the warranty was void. A boneyard dist fired the engine. The pertronix now holds the door open at the shop.

 

if its the kit I think it is you should be able to get a set of points and a condencer and put it back the way it left ford I would bet it will keep running after that

 

check for sucking air on the fuel pump! or the gas tank isn't venting [pull the fuel cap]
If it is a fuel problem, tipping a bit of gas down the carb when it cuts out will confirm that.

 

What's the word bird?