Landed a solid 48 Silver Streak, just getting into what all it needs. It looks like it has been parked for 20 years, someone had bypassed the manual fuel pump with a cheap electric pump. I went ahead and pulled all plugs and put some marvel in each cylinder. I can't wait to hear how it sounds! I figured out how to start it ( my oldest car before this was a 66 Mustang). Problem is, with 6 volts you just hear a humm from the starter and get no rotation. I read they can take 12 volts for a bit so have that a shot. It spun over but didn't catch and seemed like it had a massive load on the starter. Could it be a bad starter? Needs solenoid cleaned? One of my biggest issues with this car so far is finding common parts. It's a 248 with what looks like the original carb . How do I find the right pertronix , solenoid kit etc? So cool the car came with the original keys and a title from 1954. I ordered new plugs, wires etc and plan to run it from a temporary fuel container until I can evaluate the tank. Read hundreds of posts here before this , now I have a car that belongs here
20180208_173101 by GoDawgs posted Feb 8, 2018 at 10:00 PM How can one tell if it's been converted to 12 volt?
It could be the starter but more likely the pistons are dragging or nearly stuck. Forget the Pertronix for now. Does it have spark? Clean corrosion from the points and jump the point gap with the key on and see if it sparks from the coil wire to ground. Yes, I've been running a Pontiac 8 6 volt starter on 12 volts for 45 years--works great! It will likely need the carb rebuilt but you can start it after spraying some choke/ throttle body cleaner down the carb for a few seconds - it may even keep going by then!
What all will the 12 volts hurt ? Signal system? Fan? Gauges? I will see if she has spark tomorrow, hear is to hoping for good compression!
Years ago I was in your exact spot. I had bought a 49 Silver Streak that had been sitting for years. The fuel pump was missing. Every place I found that had one wanted about $100 with $100 core....no thanks. I took some measurements from the block surface to the lobe on the crank and hit the books. I think I ended up with a fuel pump from a 6cyl Ford but I don't remember the specifics. When I fired the engine up it rattled and clattered like crazy and seemed like it might have only been hitting on about 5 cylinders. I let it sit there idling and as it warmed up it got quieter and smoother. Before long that old straight 8 was purring like a kitten. Man that was a smooth engine!. Mine had the 4 speed auto trans behind it. Drove like a dream. I drove that car for several years before someone offered me a 49 Ford truck and $600 for it....so I traded it away. Here's a pick of mine when I got rid of it; Good luck with your car! Bobby
That's great info thank you! This is what I have, found out the factory color was red. I need some pdf manuals on wiring , engine, owners manual
Wow, looks like a great car!! Its been a long time since I had mine. I think I swapped it off back around 96 or so. It was a great car. Supposedly I still own the engine and trans....the guy I traded it to plans to remove them and replace them with a SBC. I asked him if I could have the engine and he said yes, but he still hasn't pulled the engine. The only thing I never got working was the accessory heater that was located under the front seat. I was even able to get the Indian head hood ornament to light up. I never had any manuals on mine other than a basic Motors Manual for 1949. I seem to recall that I had to do some fiddling around with the voltage regulator and generator to get the charging system working. Have fun with it, it looks like its a great starting point for a fun project Bobby
If you think it may have been converted to 12 volts, look on the coil. Most of them have the voltage stamped into the coil canister. I converted my 48 and my 41 coupe over to 12 volts and never worried about it starting again. Use a 12 volt solenoid, 12 volt coil, a "voltage limiter" from a 70s ford pickup [were $18 from NAPA] for the gauge feed and a 6 volt voltage drop for the radio. I used a later 12 volt heater motor. Change all the light bulbs including headlight sealed beams. Sounds like your starter may be worn out. Squirt a little more oil down the spark plug holes and use the starter to turn the engine over...keep at it 'till you can't hold your finger on the plug holes while cranking. My old 48 hadn't been started in years when I bought it. I played with it an hour or so and ended up driving it 153 miles home.
Couple questions as I haven't located an owners manual just yet. I find the features of the car fascinating. What are the little levers at the lower part of the far rear aide windows? They seem to move a little but not enough to anything that I can see. What do all the buttons under the dash do? Some are self explanatory like for lights but there are at least two push buttons without any labels that appear to be factory. Is there a particular website you all go to for common repair parts other than the big auction site? The car seems mostly complete but I know it's going to need a patch panel for the trunk, maybe a new trunk lid, soft interior parts etc. I appreciate all the great info, when we saw this car 3 states away we knew we had to get it and fix it up to its former glory.
6 volt cars are sensitive to resistance in the wiring. If connections are loose or corroded you get the symptoms you describe. Solution is to take off the wires clean and polish the ends with steel wool or sandpaper or wire brush and put them together nice and snug. Don't forget you need a good ground too (your motor is mounted on rubber). Also, 6v cars take wires twice as big as 12v cars. If someone replaced one of the battery wires with a new one it could be way too small. This too sets up excess resistance. 12v on a 6 v car can burn out light bulbs, fan motors etc. So make sure everything is shut off including the dome light. You can start the engine on 12v and warm it up but if you run it for more than 15 minutes you could overheat the coil. Usually they are ok once they cool down. It could also be that you need a new starter. There should be auto electric shops in your area that can rebuild the starter good as new, for the same price or less than you would pay for a cheap chain store rebuilt.
You can get most of what you need from your local NAPA store. Parts are available if the parts man is savvy enough to find a good part number. If you have an old dusty parts store with gray haired or bald headed counter man that is the place to go. The kind of place farmers buy parts for their pickup trucks. Then there are online places like Rockauto and there should be vintage Pontiac specialists.
You might be able to find a manual or sales brochure here; http://www.oldcarmanualproject.com/ edit: Here's a sales brochure; http://oldcarbrochures.com/new/021110/1948 Pontiac Foldout/dirindex.html Here's a manual for 49-54. Not quite what you need but a lot of the mechanical and electrical info should be close to the same; http://pontiac.oldcarmanualproject.com/manuals/1949/1949 Pontiac Shop Manual/index.html
Hey Bobby - I have a '48 Silver Streak and I cannot get it to start! Has fuel, spark, turns over, (although slowly) has fresh points, plugs and condenser, took it to a guy who is known to fix old stuff today - no compression on #4 cylinder! He says a valve job...BIG $ and while we are at it just rebuild the straight 8! $10,000+? Any ideas on just getting this to start? We are way over our head, it is an exceptionally clean Arizona car but cannot afford the money to rebuild this motor
Even with no compression on #4 cyl it should still start and run. It should run on 7 cylinders (might be rough but it should run) Is it even trying? is it coughing, spitting, anything? How is the compression on the rest of the cylinders? Start with the basics, you'll need fuel, fire, and air (and it helps to have them all in the right place a the right time). A slow crank won't help the starting situation but its not the end of the world. I know its a 6V system but you can jump it with 12V (Don't forget that the Pontiac is a positive ground) So, make sure the firing order is correct, then check to see if you get a good strong spark. Easy enough to pull a plug wire, put a screw driver in it and hold it a 1/4" or so from a good ground and see if you get a good blue spark when cranking. Or pull a plug, put it in the plug wire and set it on the block while cranking and see if you get a good blue spark that way. (might check several cylinders just to be sure) If spark is good make sure you are getting fuel. Pump the accelerator and see if you are getting a good squirt from the accelerator pump. If not then you might not have fuel to the carb. If not, you can pour some gas down the vent tube and fill up the bowl. Then check to see if you are getting a decent squirt. You'll probably spill fuel down the carb, no biggie, you'll need that as a primer anyway. Then crank away. If you primed the engine by dumping fuel in the carb its probably flooded and you'll want to hold the gas wide open until it catches. I would definitely get it to start and run before I committed on tearing anything apart. Sure it could have a burned valve, or could be that a valve is stuck open, or has a piece of carbon holding it open a bit, who knows. Its worth it to get it running and warmed up Good luck, let us know how it goes Bobby
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