my 54 savoy, 6 volt, flat head six,one barrel,won't start ,turns over and backfires through carb,new plugs,wires,cap and rotor,getting spark and in time,ran fine and decided to not start,gonna get a fuel filter tomorrow little resistance on old one,maybe jealous of the 74 truck i brought home but i did get it some new moon disks,anyway was wondering if points and condenser would help,thanks for any info,had this car over 10 years and never ran into this...
When I'm diagnosing a non running engine I usually do a compression test first to see if the engine is mechanically sound and then go from there.
My bet is that it's carburetor or fuel system related. Did it stall or did you shut it off and it wouldn't restart? How long had it been sitting?
Hello, is the point in the distributor welded together? make sure you have the right gap.. check the contact to see if it may be burnt.. did you put new plug wires on.. are they in the right order? the distributor could be out a little to..
If it was running good and you shut it down, then it won't start and bangs out the carb, and you didn't do anything to it, I'd say the timing chain jumped. If you did anything to it, wires, like that, check your work closely.
it was running and then quit,as it does sometimes,i checked the timming with spark plug out and rotor was on right wire,i have a chiltons manuel, [sic ] and checked order fifty seven times,lol,the points and condenser are old but it does get fire,anyway thanks for the help guys
I am assuming you did all the tune up first , then it was running fine until the problem started ? Or did the problem start AFTER you did the tune up ? If after the tune up , then you crossed the plug wire or the timing is way off or something along that line . Now if it was running good after the tune up , recheck the points and pack sure the carb is getting fuel .
sorry to post on my own post again but i don't know crap about points and condensors,i would think if they went out i wouldn't get fire at all,????
the old trick was to get it to start, rev it up, squirt a water pistol into the carb a coupla times see if it clears.
Points & condenser are cheap ! They can crap out on you at anytime for no reason , new or not . I have bought NEW ones before and installed them and they were no good . It will happen once in a while . Now you know why we changed over to electronic , pointless dizzys ! It's good when you do reply , it helps get the problem fixed faster and gets you and your Plymouth back on the road !
There are two things to look for when one of these old MoPar flathead sixes won't start after sitting (and if they were running when parked). The first is that the points are oxidized. Dress them with a points file. The second is that you got a stuck valve. This is easily checked with a compression test. The timing would not have changed all by itself from storage unless someone was out there fooling around with it. If you moved the distributor while trying to get it started, then readjust it. You can find TDC by removing the pipe plug over the #6 cylinder and then inserting a welding rod. Of course, you should clean the plugs while you have them out for the compression test.
my guess would be put new points in, you got every thing else changed but those.. points are cheap.. it just might be the problem..
yeah,the car alway's ran never was a problem but it would die from being cold natured after it warms up she would run like a top,this day she idled and died from not being warm and i was going in for the night so i didn't do anything with it for a few days,and apparently not for a few months and some $$ later,did get some accel super stock wires and put my chrome coil cover back on so it looks cool not running.
A bad rotor will cause backfiring through the carb. Had one go bad. It was 5 days old, so I knew it was "good". New plugs, wires, dist cap, points and rotor. Dove me nuts. Finally put the old back in and it ran fine.
tried three rotors and three caps,will get the points and condenser and let you guys know,have to order be a day or two,gonna get a timeing light and learn more about compresion testing,i joined the hamb to learn from you guys and i thank all of you,
Hey partner Check fuel level also, your tank may be glogged, or fuel pump diaphgram died. If you got it running and it died to lack of fuel?
Lots of good advice here. If it has spark, check to make sure it is blue, not pink, if it's pink it's weak and the condenser is bad. It will try and fire at times then nothing. Just another thing to look for. You can just replace everything but it's cheaper to find the problem then if it does it down the road you know what part to replace. JMO. Lippy
You are ordering new ones, so this isn't directed at you, but all the others on here with traditional (points) distributors. There was a reason cars got tuneups more frequently, and that was points and condensors!! You need to change them on every tune-up! Sure you will find the old guy that checked the points, and if the wear was even would keep the condensor but change the points, or just file old points. If you can buy good quality parts at a reasonable price, just replace them! Throw the old (known good) ones in your trunk. Now, are the wires you are talking about those cheezy Yellow ones? Are they solid core? The cheap radio supression yellow Accel wires are often bad in the box, and have problems on a 12V system. I would try to find some solid core wires, or high quality supression wires. If you do get it running with those wires, take a look under the hood at night in a dark place. Bet you yank them off ASAP, I did as a teen when I saw the light show they provide....
yes cheap accels,had the repop laquered old style,anyway had points and condensor for years,another good word for robertsmotorparts,so i take the top off the carb today,1 brl,and the "o ring" on the plunger is so worn it doesen't seem to seat or push gas through the jet,looks like cork.did sand the contacts on the points no differance,will go out later in the dark and check spark color and points,
Don't sand points; file them. Sandpaper will scratch and leave tiny pieces of grit in there, messing up the contacts. Use a points file. Also, you want to file square across as you want the points to contact each other flush. A points file will file both sides simultaneously. The plunger is the accelerator pump and you don't need that to get the car started. That only helps avoid a flat spot when you accelerate. Did you do a compression check yet? You may still need to rule out a stuck valve before you start throwing new parts at the darn thing.
have someone try to start it while you pour a little gas down the carb or shoot a little starting fluid in there, maybe its the fuel pump.
Did you take the distributor out? There is a flat tang on the end that can go in two ways. One way is the right way and it will run fine. The other way is 180 off and it will backfire through the carb and wont run.
Looking from here I'm guessing your points rubbing block is worn and the points may be closed or almost closed. Points that are almost closed mimic a bad carb among other things. New points would be best, but you can adjust the old ones. Pull the cap and rotor. Turn the engine over until the points rubbing block is on the high part of the distributor cam lobe. Use a .014 to .016 leaf style feeler gauge that is clean and free from oil. (You don't want oil on the points, one drop will set the engine up so it won't start.) The .016 gauge is best. Adjust the points by loosening the mounting screws then tightening them barely snug. Note that there's a notch in the points base as well as a matching notch in the distributor plate. Using the proper size flat screwdriver blade adjust the points gap to where the .016 gauge has a light drag. Tighten the points screws to lock the adjustment down. (Don't get carried away here and strip the threads.) Check the point gap and make sure it's not gone out of adjustment during the tightening screws process. If you can, buy quality points with a fiber rubbing block instead of plastic. Buy a condenser with the molded rubber end and not the flat cardboard disc with the hole for the wire. Buy a tube of silicon points grease. Standard makes it and it probably costs $5. nowadays - a lifetime supply for most of us. Throw away the grease in the capsule that comes with most points sets. Use the silicon grease and just wipe a thin film of it on the distributor cam. As a side note, make sure your plug wires are separated. You don't want them together for a long run or they will induce voltage into the adjacent wire and fire the wrong cylinder.
Not HAMB friendly, but I had an 80 Toyota Tercel that used to need the points adjusted about every two weeks and it would backfire and get very hard to start. I figured out my thumbnail was about .0015" and I carried a slot screw driver in my glove box. Two minute and she would fire right up. Start there.
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