Technical New wagon...loses power on ANY incline?

Listen to the exhaust and see if the muffler is collapsed. Have some one reve it up a little and go to the back and listen if it making a hissing sound you have blockage.

 

I like the fuel system as the place to start. The in tank filer, the the one up by the carb. Is there one in the carb, a brass one? Also the fuel pump, a cracked rubber hose on the suction side (before the fuel pump) will suck air a lot easier than fuel. Sounds like you are running out of gas when the demand for gas going up hills exceeds the capacity of the pump. A weak fuel pump will let you fart around town, but can't keep up at higher speed.

 

I also suspect the fuel filter.I bought a car with a slant six and driving it home, it was great on level but not hills , it just wouldn't show any increase no matter what I did with the throttle. I got it home and looked at the fuel filter, looked great. A see through filter without a hint of dirt. Went into the carb, float level was right ,bought a fuel filter for the tank, no go no faster, new fuel pump. Not a bit better. I was about to go into the carb again , had the fuel line off and a little voice said,"try to blow through it" , It was like some one had poured clear shellac in it and let it dry. It ran great for several more years until I gave it to my daughter.......

 

Will definitely change the fuel filters on Monday. Is there one in tank on the 54 wagons? I will have to get my shop manual back out to check.

 

The car in the picture has a 56 six cylinder, pretty much a drop in for the org 216. The day that picture was taken he (the guy far left) complained about the lack of power. Don, the guy on the right pulled the air cleaner off and it resolved the problem. Cheap fix. May not be your problem but it doesn't cost much to try it.

 

Will try that as well. I am open to any and all suggestions!

The previous owner did just tell me it was burning a little oil. I havent seen smoke out the pipes though. Could it be a head blown head gasket too possibly? I am getting a list of everything to try- will spend the day going through the list on Monday while I am off. Anyone local is welcome to join on Monday if they would like.

 

Two different scenarios for you:
1. Our '47 Hudson did that exact same thing after changing out the rear-end from with 4.10 gears to one with 3.08 gears. It's very strange but the drastic change in ratios caused such a change as to what rpm the engine was working to do the same thing as it was before. It caused it to be very lean and would even pop through the carb when trying to pull a incline. Putting the pedal to the metal did nothing. Mind you all I did was change out the rear-end. I re-jetted the carb a couple times to fatten it up and it ran great after that. I say all that to say you could possibly have a lean condition.

2. Our '51 Hudson on a trip home from a show once started spitting and sputtering and just wouldn't go. When it finally quit I started checking things out. Noticed no fuel in the clear sediment bowl just before carb. Worked my way back from there. We had only owned the car for 2 weeks at this point so I really didn't "know it". An inline clear fuel filter had been installed under the car. It wasn't so clear. I pulled the filter off expecting a rush of fuel from the tank, NOTHING. I had just filled it up to head home. Blew the line out and now fuel came rushing. That was 3 years ago and it's been running fine since.

 

I have not looked along the entire line yet to see if there is an extra filter underneath anywhere. The one I found was the clear plastic Fram / WIX style inline by the transmission dipstick from looking under the hood.

 

You might get lucky and surprised by trying it with gas cap loose. This does occur.

 

This was my 1st thought too. I would throw a vacuum gauge on it.

 

Going to try it tomorrow. Exhaust is fairly new.

 

Do you have a points ignition? A defective ignition condenser can cause symptoms similar to what you have described. You test that by replacing it (they are cheap).

 

Yes- still points! the local parts store should have those parts in stock- right?

 

Yes, BUT, most if not all of the condensers and points sold today at generic parts stores are junk. A good set of points might be close to $20 or $30 depending on the application. NOS is good and should be less expensive, points were made by the bajillion back in the day, and so were condensers. Echlin and Standard made good stuff for the most part. I'd get some part #s and buy and use points and condenser that were manufactured back when they were expected to work.

 

Will add that to my list to order!

So far:
*fuel lines and filters clear and good
*fuel pump may be leaking because after two days i had to put gas in carb to get it pulling again
*still looking now at rest

 

Funny, your problem sounds like exactly what I was experiencing after installing a new engine in my Studebaker recently. I hope your solution is as easy as mine was!

I decided to check whether I had as dead cylinder, since the engine seemed to be down on power generally, and much worse when going up a hill. I got the engine warmed up and idling, then I pulled the spark plug wires one at a time. If you have a cylinder operating normally, and you pull a plug wire, you will hear a change in the sound of the engine. Re-attach that wire, and the engine sound will smooth out again. But if you pull a plug wire, and there is no change, you have located a problematic cylinder. You might have low compression, a stuck valve, a heavily fouled spark plug . . . but at least you've narrowed down the problem cylinder, quickly and cheaply.

In my case, I had two dead cylinders when I did that test. It turns out the cure was just as quick and cheap as the test: I had switched the spark plug wires on those two cylinders. When I put them back in the right place on the distributor, and each of those two "dead" cylinders was getting spark at the right moment, the problem was cured!

Swapping spark plug wires into the wrong place on the distributor cap is an easy mistake to make, and it would account for your problem.

Your firing order is 1-5-3-6-2-4. Your distributor rotates clockwise, so trace your number one plug wire to the distributor, then check that all eight of the other wires are attached to the distributor in the right order.

Basic troubleshooting like this solves many problems with old cars. I can't tell you how often I buy an old car for peanuts because it doesn't run right, and find that basic troubleshooting cures the problem quickly and cheaply. I once bought a car that would start, and run for a few seconds, but then die. I assumed I was buying a parts car, and so did the seller. I had a tow dolly to get it home. I towed it a few blocks to a parts store and did some troubleshooting. I located the problem on that car within ten minutes, and drove it home running beautifully. There was nothing wrong except a poorly-attached hose on the air cleaner that created a huge air leak downstream of the MAF sensor. I flipped that "parts" car a few months later for five times what I paid.

Good luck!

 

There's a reason why back in the day, before hot rodding became "traditional", everyone put small-blocks in these, and only your grandmother would run a 235...

 

Yeah everyone can't be as fast as ol' George tho!

 

Yea, I didn't expect the ol' 6 cylinder guys to like it. Doesn't change it though, it's a fact, as the OP is finding out.

 

Ol' 6 cylinder guys DO like 6 cylinders, that IS a fact!

 

Next comes the photos of a 235 with 2k worth of speed equipment and the old "it makes as much power as a stock 283!!" thing...
I'll sit down and behave now, carry on.

 

Some guys like bangers too! I like old wagons with 6 cylinders in them especially 235s! That's why I like this thread! And I'm an ol' guy too so there is that....

 

Agree totally. But I think a lot of guys that came up on small-block chevys and fords read this stuff (I'm including the flathead here) and drink the koolaid, and a lot of them a might be pretty shocked when they find out the performance reality behind this stuff.
So your 235 falls on its ass climbing hills? really? Sounds pretty much like what they did back in the sixties, when our moms were driving these things.
So back to the original statement. "There's a reason why everyone put small-blocks in these."
'Nuff said, carry on....

 

The guy just got the car....I doubt that once his engine is tuned up that there is any hill between Tyler Texas and Beaumont Tx that he won't be able to gain speed going up...that's just simple geography. East Texas isn't mountainous like the great PNW and beyond. Hopefully he has it running decent by now and is off cruising it!

 

So i have vacuum up until the fuel pump, but none coming back out to the wipers. i bypassed the fuel pump and wipers work fine. when i tried to start her up after 2 days of sitting in a climate controlled garage- i had to put gas in carb to get her pulling. all vacuum lines and fuel lines clean as a whistle though. so going to order a fuel pump when i get home. chevs of the 40s or one of those sites?? my belt is squealing until it gets up to temp then lines out, but will pick that up at the local parts store when i get fuel pump in. looks like oil pan gasket is leaking in front as well (cork gasket may have been over tightened).

 

Sounds like a solid plan. If the oil on the stick looks clean don't worry about the pan gasket just yet, unless she's trying to bleed out on ya! Might even change the oil since that'd only cost 20 bucks or so. Get it running decent and then start the nitpicking oil leaks etc. just my .02 worth. One you can drive to Sonic a few miles away is better than one tore apart in the garage, even if it does bleed a lil!

 

Loosen the gas cap.

 

First, buy a GM reproduction 1949 to 1953 Chevy Repair Manual with 1954 Supplement.
There MAY or MAY NOT be a 235 engine problem.
Don't get into rebuilding this or that, under false pretenses.
Again, the 235 in a 3,500 lb station wagon, with a 3:55 rear end is not going to climb hills with ease.
I have two '51's, both fine cars, condition wise, both are 235's. Neither is bone stock.
One has 4:11 gears, it'll climb our "7 mile hill" here on I 40 with ease, in high gear.
The other has a 3:50 gear, in a Ford 9".
You can feel the stress on that "3:50 rear equipped" 235, on the same " 7 mile hill ", just because of the gear ratio.
Both of mine are 3,200 lb sedans, not the 3,500 station wagon.
Don't try to fix what may not be broken.
Verify the year and original transmission application of your engine from the numbers by the distributor boss.
That will tell you if there are hydraulics or solid lifters .... and whether adjustments should be checked.
Replace plugs, points, condenser, rotor and distributor cap, as maintenance items, reset all items to factory specs. Don't use crap shit for parts.
If still concerned, do wet and dry compression tests. Post results.
Despite erroneous comments here, the 235 is a very durable, hard running, dependable engine.
It's all in what you want.
The easy way out to more power is yet another "belly button SBC".
Anyone can do that.
Original idea, huh ?

 

Lol !!!
And echo cans make it sound like a big block

 

Mice like to crawl up the tailpipe and make nests in the mufflers. The sock type strainer filters in the fuel tanks can restrict flow. There should be a brass filter in the carburetor. You have to remove the fuel line and the fitting that goes into the carburetor. Don't lose the spring. Since there is one in the fuel line, somebody might have removed it.