<VV> Starting 4 year Dormant Car

[hank kaczmarek]

Just my uninformed.02---but I think too many Corvair folks, especially the 
older ones (no offense Smitty) seem to think that coils don't go bad, or can 
act different when the engine is warm (which I'm taking it this one doesn't 
get yet).

Guess I just spent too much time on the Parts Counter at Western Auto with 
the Ohmmeter testing coils, and even then some people didn't believe the 
coil could fail.   Old Charlotte Club guy had about 40 coils he'd taken off 
engines. And would try one after another----hell, even back then they were 
40 years old, now most of them are 50 or more.  They weren't made to work 
indefinitely.  Yellow spark could be an indicator of the coil breaking down.

HANK

-----Original Message----- 
From: Doug Mackintosh via VirtualVairs
Sent: Friday, August 15, 2014 10:44 PM
To: Smitty ; Virtual Vairs
Subject: Re:  Starting 4 year Dormant Car

Have you tried putting a meter on the power wire at the coil? When you crank 
the car the juice comes from the starter solenoid, then once it starts it 
has to run across the switch, down the harness and all those connections, 
and thru the ballast wire (or whatever serves as the ballast on a 1960). 
Maybe one of the old corroded joints along that path is so wimpy it heats up 
and quits conducting within a few seconds. Easy enough to rule out by 
measuring voltage at the coil while running.

<<Smitty Says;   An elderly clubbie that lives 65 miles away has asked me to 
get his car running so he can sell it.  I want to be a nice guy but the fun 
is gone after 3 round trips to get it going.  I?d like to have some 
suggestions or thoughts I can follow up on.
60 model with very good engine.  Good compression , Good valves.  Carbs have 
been cleaned and rebuilt and even swapped out for other rebuilt carbs.  Fuel 
pressure is up to 7 psi for the short times it is running.  It will start 
and run for 3-4 seconds and then die.  Not even long enough to use up the 
fuel in the bowls.  This can be repeated any time.  Fuel is being supplied 
by a outboard motor gas tank with priming bulb.  Other times  I have used a 
lawnmower fill can sitting in front of the engine lid.  Plenty of gravity). 
I Don?t know if I trust the accuracy of the fuel gage all that much but the 
bowls are filling rapidly and and the float valves are handling the pressure 
OK.  The proven good fuel pump was replaced with another known good pump 
During trouble shooting the distributor was found to be in lousy condition. 
Flyweight springs were loose and timing was flopping all over the place. 
The springs were replaced. Points were making electrical
contact most of the time.
gg.   Corrosion on faces.  Those were replaced  Internal plate ground wire 
was broken.  Timing is set at 4 degrees as per the book.  Vac advance is 
stroking like it should.  I didn?t expect those things to fix the problem 
and they did improve it while it was running but didn?t keep it from dying.
I am convinced the problem is fuel but due to the non changes with different 
carbs I will now believe anything.  Quite a bit of backfiring indicates a 
going lean condition as the engine dies.  This afternoon , grasping at 
straws, I changed the plugs which contributed nothing.   Come on guys, I 
need some answers.  I?m too damn old to be taking this kind of abuse.>>

------------------------------


-- Doug Mackintosh
Corsa member since 1996
Corsa/NC member since 1996,  Virtual Vairs member
Corvair owner 1969-1971 and 1996-on
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