So im stuck here with a problem that i cannot figure out for the life of me. I have a 1952 fleetline with a 216 in it and it will not break 2000 rpms. In neutral if i rev it it breaks up at 2000 rpms and the same thing happens in every gear. I have replaced the plugs, wires, points, condensor, rotor, pulled the carb apart multiple times looking for plugged passages or dirt. I set timing and have had a vacuum gauge on it that reads perfect. The rockers are all adjusted and the thing runs excellent until that certain rpm where it breaks up. Does anyone think float level could do this? That is the only thing that i can think of may be slightly off. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
I would look more towards electrical then fuel.I will tell you a lot ,I mean a lot of electrical problems are due to bad grounds. Some times paint or rust under them ,sometimes broken or never replaced.At night try opening the hood and reving it up to where the problem is and see if you can see some sparks jumping. hope this helps.
Thats what i was thinking, i didnt think a fuel problem would be so exact, happening the same rpm no matter how much load. I have ran it at night however and cannot see any sparks flying. this thing is just driving me crazy. Thanks for the advice, i will try to look more to the ignition end of it.
Sounds like the bushings in the distributor are worn allowing the shaft to wiggle around thus changing the point gap and dwell making it flutter when it hits 2 g's. Pop the cap.....grab the rotor and see if you can wiggle it side to side. If you can it's time for a rebuilt or good used distributor.
Tried swapping out the coil? I had a partly clogged fuel filter that would only cause it to break up if I gave it enough pedal. Probably worth checking filters and so forth, no pinched fuel lines or anything simple like that, if you haven't already. Just for fun, is the vaccuum advance working right? It's not like binding and not advancing when you get past 2000 RPM?
I checked my fuel filter, i can blow through it easily, fuel pump is new, coil is new, the vacuum advance works, even if i manually advance it with a vacuum pump when it starts breaking up there is absolutely no change.
I would suspect the point dwell first. The gap is most likely too large, narrow it down to about .0014
sounds like a worn out distributer to me can u barrow another one and swap it out? and i would check the coil also maybe a bad wire on the coil run at nite ands look for any sparks jumpin from the wires?
Did the car sit for a long time, as in long enough for mice to have packed the exhaust system full of shit? Saw it happen one time with a '49 Pontiac--those old stock mufflers with lots of baffles don't like to be filled with stuffing out of the seats.
Hea, HEATHEN, I'd forgot. I had a '51 that got a piece of tailpipe broken off inside the muffler that killed the power. It made a kind of 'whoooooooshy-whistling sound.
I cut the muffler out to check for restrictions, nothing in there, the car still runs the same. As for dwell, i will try narrowing it down, i believe i set them at .0018, it would be nice if that worked since its a simple fix... I can get a reman distributor for around 70 bucks, but i dont want to buy one if im not sure that it is the problem. Thanks for all the advice everyone...
So hard to diagnose on the confuser------but-------try another condenser, I have had 2 "new" one's that were bad. Usually if fuel is OK, and it won't RPM under load, suspect the condenser. Good luck
another possibilty...seen it before...the fitting at the fuel tank 5/16 was so corroded inside that you couldn't get a 1/8 drill thru it...just maybe? also double check to make sure you have the right spark plugs for that engine..
So i was outside tonight workin on the car, no play in the distributor shaft, the distributor itself has a very slight amount of movement in it, i replaced the coil wire because it didnt test right with an ohmmeter, i replaced the wire that goes from the negative of the coil to the distributor. No difference at all... Im getting very frustrated with this thing, oh and i set the points gap to .014 instead of .018 as suggested... And another new condensor
See if it has a governer under the carburetor. They are very small and easy to overlook. They were used on company cars and military vehicles to try to control the drivers.
Why do you want to go over 50mph? Anyway, for my .02 cents I think it's the coil. Worth a recheck. If not then I'd still replace the fuel filter, that's cheap.
he, he, maybe the speedo ain't accurate? Get a helper to push the gas pedal down, whilst you look at the throttle butterfly. Is it going full open?
When you say 'it breaks up' does it kind of spit and flutter? If you have never had it over that, it's consistent, just sitting, or on the open road, it's possible somebody did a valve job, cut the seats deeper and didn't shim the valve springs. If all else fails, take the valve cover off and push down on a valve or two, see how much force it takes to compress the spring
Yeah it spits and sputters and just doesnt wanna go any faster, no matter what gear, speed, load. Even going downhill. The heat riser moves freely, i just pulled the distributor apart and cleaned, checked, and lubed everything. I hooked up a timing light and when it starts breaking up the timing light drops out, only blinking randomly, i think its losing spark at that rpm but i dont know why. I have checked everything. Maybe point spring tension? I tested both coils that i have and they test good.
Check the wire off the points. It could be broken inside the insulation. When the advance moves the dist plate the circuit goes open.
I love a mystery, I can;t wait to see how this one turns out. I can feel your frustration and know it well.
I cant wait to see how it turns out either, hopefully it turns out with me being able to drive at modern highway speeds... Thanks for all the input guys
When you do find it, it will be some simple something that none of us thought of. Some little crack in the cap, or a frayed wire inside the distributor. Something like that, I can;t help but think its electrical and something is grounding out. but its almost impossible to second guess from a distance.
I know you've said you've checked the coil, but, that sounds like a bad coil. It may test good and that's why it runs fine a lower rpm's, but when you put it to the real test, it can't perform. Is the new coil a cheap-o replacement? I'd throw a different brand/sourced coil in there, and see if it changes. Borrow a friends, even. Did this problem start after a repair or tune-up?
check the exhaust manifold it has a butterfly valve als known as a heat riser if its stuck mostly closed its like clogged muffler. Also if you can try to have some type of fuel can other than tank right by the fuel pump might be a clogged shitty old line the
You are thinking of V8 motors. If the heat riser valve gets stuck on the 216/235, the exhaust still flows.
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