54 chevy 6volt hard start

Any suggestions please , I have a 54 chevy 150 with the 235 still 6 volt , I did the following , new battery 550cca , new plugs , new condenser and points , set points and dwell , ran extra grounds from engine to body , new fuel , set timing I believe right . Car will start sometimes but not always , sometimes it dose nothing but turn over , sometimes it sputters and tries to run , then sometimes it will run . It dose get the positive cable hot after cranking awhile . I'm at a loss of why such a prob to start . When it dose run it runs pretty smooth
Any help will be great

 

Too small a battery cable came cause this ,you need at least 2 gauge and O would be better for both cables. Also if it is worse with the engine hot the starter bushings may be worn letting it drag.

 

It can be either hot or cold , dose the same

 

If you think the starter is turning over the engine fast enough.....then put the old condenser back in the distributor and try it.I chased a starting issue like yours....I was told it wasn't the condenser,but it was, a new one that was bad.

 

Even full charge on battery engine seems to crank slow

 

Is it flooding?

Hows the wiring look for the ignition circuit? I had a similar problem. I eventually bypassed the whole ignition circuit by running a wire from the battery directly to the coil (basically hot wired it) and it fired right up every time. good luck

 

A friend of mine had the same problem in his '50 sedan delivery with a 215. Everything checked out OK but it sometimes would crank slow or just plain not start. Hot or cold it didn't matter. No set pattern just random. He went to an 8 volt tractor battery and all is good now.
Smokey

 

if it spins slow and you have 2 ga or larger cables
starter may have bad bushings that lets the armature run out of center
test cables use volt meter 1 lead on the battry terminal not the cable end and the other end on the starter stud if you rean more than 1/2 volt you have a conection prpblen
do the same on the ground but use the block and center of neg terminal
same with 1/2 volt
if you have 4ga cables (the little skinny ones ) they will not care enough amprage for 6V

 

if it spins slow and you have 2 ga or larger cables
starter may have bad bushings that lets the armature run out of center
test cables use volt meter 1 lead on the battry terminal not the cable end and the other end on the starter stud if you rean more than 1/2 volt you have a conection prpblen
do the same on the ground but use the block and center of neg terminal
same with 1/2 volt
if you have 4ga cables (the little skinny ones ) they will not care enough amprage for 6V

 

if it spins slow and you have 2 ga or larger cables
starter may have bad bushings that lets the armature run out of center
test cables use volt meter 1 lead on the battry terminal not the cable end and the other end on the starter stud if you rean more than 1/2 volt you have a conection prpblen
do the same on the ground but use the block and center of neg terminal
same with 1/2 volt
if you have 4ga cables (the little skinny ones ) they will not care enough amprage for 6V

 

6 volts means half the volts at twice the amps to do the same job. Wireing is sized according to amperage requirements. Heavy duty battery cables can be found at big truck shops and parts suppliers (like tractor trailer trucks). 6 volt systems need every spot on-none of that sloppiness that you can get away with on a 12 volt system- when you get it right it works just fine, but it needs to be right.

 

Doe's it crank over at what seems to be a normal speed? If so, sounds like your problem is ignition. Pull a plug and place it against a ground to see what type of spark you are getting. Have you checked the compression? Worn valves will cause this but usually on HOT starts.

 

If it turns over slow i think the starter needs some repair.
The front bushing when worn, slows it down the bushing is only few $

 

I'm gonna try the bigger cables first . I did check the spark before and I seem to have decent spark . When I get it started it runs great

 

Who sells the bushings for the starter , are they hard to replace ?

 

Had the same problem on a 6 volt system last summer.The battery cables appeared to be heavy gage and the ends were cleaned and looked good.Removed both positive and negative cables and cut into the insulation of the cable at different locations-found heavy white powder (corrosion) in entire piece.A lot of resistance.Replaced both and has worked perfect all year.

 

they were not the best starting units when they were 10 years old rember towing my beauty in the winter to get it started at all
it also helped to take about 5 people with to help push start

being we are living in 2010 why not consider converting to 12 volt and leave the stock starter and give it a chance to crank

 

....don't know about MN, but it's 2011 in NY.

 

Hey , thanks to all for the help . I took ground off, sanded block to clean up contact , got rid of both cables , switch ground to a heavy braided ground strap , replaced positive with a 2/0 cable . Wow what difference something that simple dose . Spins over like a 12volt and starts with ease .I would never have believed those cables would cause that much grief
It is also 2011 in pa
As far as switching to 12volt . Im trying hard to keep it original 6volt for the nastogic factor

 

Hey , thanks to all for the help . I took ground off, sanded block to clean up contact , got rid of both cables , switch ground to a heavy braided ground strap , replaced positive with a 2/0 cable . Wow what difference something that simple dose . Spins over like a 12volt and starts with ease .I would never have believed those cables would cause that much grief
It is also 2011 in pa
As far as switching to 12volt . Im trying hard to keep it original 6volt for the nastogic factor