My '53 is having difficulty starting and staying running for more than 5-20 minutes. When it does fire, it fires quick and runs smooth. Here's what I have done so far since the problem: - rebuilt carburator "Rodchester" - replaced plugs and wires - new fuel pump & glass filter From the gauges, it shows 180 temp, and 15 psi on the oil when hot. And I checked the distributor and it's getting 12 volts. When I purchased the truck. They told me that they replaced the distributor and coil with a 80's style all in one distributor. Which has been hell trying to find parts for since I don't know exactly what it came off of. Any suggestions what to do next?
Distributor The dist is probably a Tom Landon unit which would be out of a 85ish s-10 2.8l v-6. Go to his web site and compare the pics.
Hi Danny, I had a truck that did what yours is doing. My problem was the coil quit working when in got hot and when it cooled off it would start again.
Did you have some fine black or brown silt in the carb? That crap got through 2 paper filters and would slow down and stop my carb. I got good at feild dressing my carb to clean it out.
The first thing to do is diagnose what's going on when it stops running ~ carry a spare spark plug and connect it to the # 1 plug lead and lay it on top of the rockerbox where you can see the gap when sitting in the driver's seat and cranking it . it must have a white/blue spark . A picture of the distributor will allow someone here to identify it . DO NOT use cheapo coils or other ignition parts from WellsIgnitiopn , Standard etc. ~ if you get it @ Pep Boys , it's prolly junk . Use a Delco Remy coil or maybe an Echlin from NAPA as cheap coild do get hot and poop out . I remember one HEI equipped truck I workedon that had repeated ignition failures , turned out there was a tiny bit of stamped metal in the cap that had been lost and it made the ground path wrong so the coils would burn up in a month or so of normal use .
I'd nearly bet that your distributor is a HEI from a 250/292 inline six from that era. Look to see if the flange the hold down clamp fits onto has been altered. Some turn the flange completely off with a lathe, then use an aftermarket clamp. Others, like us, turn the housing till it's just smooth and then press a new flange on to the correct location and make it permanent with a dab of red Loc-Tite. If you get the number off the distributor your local parts store can tell you what it's from.
Update, there is an outfit, HEIDIZZY, that makes brand new billet units with adjustable spark advance in 6v or 12v for $255. Saw their ad while plowing through ebay--a job I hate.
