Stranded

[Rob M.]

Hi all,

Yet another adventure of one of the first series of tours:

Yesterday, on our second mid size tour (100 km), our goal was to visit a Heartbeat Corvette Club meeting which was orginized with the Harley Davidson club in Nederhorst (since HD is also a American brand).

Appr. 3 km before we arrived at the meeting the engine stuttered a bit but we were able to reach the meeting ground. After two hours when we decided to leave we were able to start the car but again with a bit of stuttering we drove off (with slight imberacement). Then the car drove fine for appr. 5 km when it started to stutter again, sometimes with a loud bang from the right exhaust, this time so bad that I had to stop at the nearest parking lot. When I examined the engine compartment nothing significant could be noticed. We managed to drive 2 km further but had to stop at a gas station becuase the car became undrivable in its condition.

Then we called for help (its called the Wegenwacht in overhear) which arrived in 30 minutes. He examined the carburator, arival of the fuel to the carburator, air control and ignition. He noticed a lot of oil in the coil and that it was very hot (to hot to touch) and placed an emergency coil (of a Fiat!) but this didn't solve the problem. Also the distributor contacts were checked and adjusted but this also didn't eliminate the problem. After appr. half an hour he gave up and called for a towing service which brought our car back home.

During this week I'll do an attempt to solve the problem. I guess it is a contamination of the carburator (allthough the backfires in the exhaust are a bit strange then) but also the ignition part is a clear suspect (allthough here I wouldn't expect it would start and stop stuttering like it did and also the fact that it got worse after a while is a bit strange, with ignition problems I would expect it would start and stop suddenly and not worsening over time).

Just to be on the safe side I have already ordered a new ignition coil and condensor from CC (if only to have a spare one next time we are on the road).

I'll keep you posted on the progress... Any suggestions are welcome!

greetings,
Rob.




The 1959 C1 Restoration Project

[Wayne P.]

Re: Stranded

Examine the inside of the distributor very carefully. Backfire is usually ignition. Dirt, carbon, oil can all contribute to a crossfire condition. I had a similiar problem years ago on a rebuilt distributor. I tried many things because I knew the distributor was good. When I finally checked it, I found the seal was allowing oil vapor into the cap. When this was corrected it ran perfect and still is, 15 years later.

[Wayne W.]

Re: Stranded

Fuel delivery problems will also cause loud explosions in the exhaust. Bad condenser could also be a cause.

[Willard M.]

Re: Stranded

I'm voting for the condenser. After it cools down it should light up again if this is the trouble.

[Lonnie Johnson]

Re: Stranded

Rob,
Pull the valve covers and check to make sure you don't have a bent push rod or screwed up rocker arm. I had a very similar incident on my 62, and found that I had bent a couple of push rods. Unfortunately a complete valve job insued.

[Rob M.]

Re: Stranded

All,

Thanks for the suggestions, Wednesday I'll start to find out what is wrong. Your suggestions might be very welcome! I'll keep you posted if the course has been found.

greetings,
Rob.

[Rob M.]

Re: Stranded

All,

Thanks all for your suggestions. I've got the car running again after replacing the condensor on the distributor and replacing the (closed) fuel filter with a new (transparant) one which was situated in the fuel line. The engine runs smoothly again as it was previously. Lets hope it stays this way. I suspect the capacitor to have caused the problem so thats one item I'm going to cary with me next time I hit the road!

greetings,
Rob.