The 12v part # is IC12SB.I got the old old coil,( the one that came in the truck)is a 6V from a Co. name KEMA #U11A on it. Its pretty ugly too. It was in the truck when I first started to get it running decent but the sputter problem existed with that one in it so....dont know how good it is. Thanks for offer of yours Ross. Let me give this on a whirl and see if its any good. Didnt see anything on Joblots flyer for coils.
Ross, what electronic ignition did you go with??. It doesnt sound like points and condensors are miraculously going to turn quality so I really want to go with a dependable system. I am not ready to do the 12V conversion....yet,...maybe after I do the front end and try your 3 on the tree rehab you laid on us. Petronixs has a pretty affordable ignition for our trucks,..6V with the appropriate Flamethrower....like $150 with shipping. That aint bad. I got that in points, coils and used dizzy now.

 

Hey John!

Try the 12 volt coil!

Try the spark plug wire test anyway - if it works, you've wasted 30 seconds.

New 6 volt coils a C&G are $24 P/N 12000.

Julie

 

I agree, try the 12v UNLESS it means you can't return it. Try the test too.

I went with the MSD ready-to-run distributor, which uses a Chevy centrifugal advance, Chevy points-style advance unit, and Ford trigger system (I'm told anyway). The electronics are inside the dizzy, so all you do is hook up power and a wire to the coil. Contrary to their name, it isn't "ready to run" on a flathead; you need to swap out the advance springs to others they provide, and shuck out another $20 for an Accel adjustable vacuum advance can (unless you want 30 deg of vac advance -- no flatty I know does!). There's some other stuff you need to do to get it ready, but pretty minimal. And once it's in, you are DONE with points, condensers, and timing. (One other thing is, it uses special plug wire connectors at the cap, so you have to re-do your wires -- and the right terminals are another $20). Anyway, all told it cost me $300, but the difference is amazing. It sits at idle without ever missing or skipping a beat, hot or cold. Once the advance is dialed in, there is a significant, noticeable boost in torque between say 1500 and 2500 -- but I'm probably comparing to a poorly working LoadAMatic.

Honestly, any electronic system really wants 12v from an alternator; they provide clean, steady power. Pertronix makes a 6v conversion but I've heard some bad things about their reliability, mostly related to generator/regulator spikes (there are ways to prevent that, tho). A converted early Chevy distributor with points is a very viable alternative that almost looks stock, works well on 6v, and of course has the mechanical advance. (Someone along the way on this thread mentioned getting one -- 55F350?)

Flatheads with their 7:1 compression ratio have no need for a Flamethrower, if you're using points it will just wear them out faster (do they even make a 6v model?). I'm using a Checker Auto $10 coil with no problems.

 

Always great flathead info Ross.

Hey John,

If you want to try the 12 volt coil, and it doesn't solve the problem (and it may not - but at this point because we can't find the problem, at least we can determine and elliminate what it isn't and eventually get it narrowed down) and they won't take it back, let me know and I'll reimburse you for it as a Christmas gift, and you can save it for when you convert to 12 volt! Next time I fly into Wilmington, you can buy me a beer!

Or better yet, I could send Ross and his wife a couple free Space A tickets and he could fly back there and probably have your problem fixed in 30 minutes!

J!

 

I ran it with the 12V coil ..... Still sputtered uphill. If I run it up lighter grades and I DO NOT give it more gas, it will roll OK. The larger hills you need to give it gas or roll back down hill, and that is why and when it always acts up on the bigger ones. I didnt try the spark on the block trick. the boot on my wire is like..molded on the wire. I guess I could cut an old wire,??...if this test is something you guys think is still worth trying.
Petronix list a compatable Flamethtrower for the 6V + ground Igniter Ignition . Its 45000 V .....0.6 OHM.
I got a new vacuum advance coming and was going to give the electronic ignition upgrade a try.
By the sounds of the way coil and points quality is these days,..I could go thru $150 in coils and point and never hit on a good set.
I got the son of an old friend at the local NAPA so taking stuff back is no problem.
Yea Julie,.....you buzz on in here and I will get you a beer......It would be the very least I could do for all your help.....as long as you aint flying out with a buzz on.......my house is to near the flight path
I took it out for a ride to OLD NEW CASTLE ( one of the bazillion places George Washington has slept around here ) this morning. I wanted to drive it over some of the old cobble stone streets, hoping to awaken my trucks "inner child " but........it just cant remember the days of sputterlessness.
John

 

Try this if you can: with the engine idling, connect the distributor advance line to a vacuum pump (MightyVac), and see if it starts to sputter when the advance gets to some point. If you don't have a MightyVac, try manifold vacuum.

I had a really frustrating problem on a British POS where the wire on the underside of the points plate was worn bare, and whenever advance kicked in, it would nearly die, because the wire would short out the points. Have you checked your wire? It can be completely removed from the dizzy. (Although now that I think of it, your whole dizzy is new, isn't it?)

At any rate, see if something bad happens when the vac advance kicks in. If it doesn't, it may be time to take another look at the carb. Something you might try there is pulling out the choke when it starts to sputter; if it clears up, your jets may be too lean. If you're fuel pump is bad and you're running out of gas, it won't help for long.

 

Wow this is a nut buster! And I'm a girl for crying out loud.

No don't cut the wire for the spark test - it's not that big of a deal if it can't be done without a mess.

Is it at all possible that the accellerator pump is pouring too much gas in, and he is flooding?

I'm out of ideas........ not being there to drive it.

J!

PS. "Flying out on a Buzz?" Huh! Have youseen that Vicks Nyquil Commercial where the flight attendant had the horrible cold and they gave her Nyquil so she would be OK for the morning turn. Fooey! I partied with that chick the night before and she was just HUNG OVER! A little "Hair of the Dog" and she was rarin' to go in the morning. The stories you hear about Airlines folk - they're true - except me!

 

I am back to thinkin its Vacuum or Fuel pump (vac fuel pump) only since It has had the symptom with 2 different carbs and 2 dizzys, and since the fuel pump is the only old component left. The elctronic ignition idea sound good but the $$$ I spent on this is adding up
With this positive ground set up, the + terminal on the coil is going to the dizzy and the - is going to ignition. Could this be backwards?
I really dont understand vacuum enough to know what to be looking or thinking about. I dont have a vaccum gauge but I can get one easy. What would cause low Vac in a Flattie,?..... could it be strong enough to run my Vac wipers (and it is ) but be too weak to work the dizzy Vac advance. I have plugged the vac port for the wipers lookin for a change,... but nothing. One time I forgot to hook up vac line after tune in it up and it sputtered right away as it got a little load on.
With this newer dizzy, I set the gap on the bench, put it in, hooked up the vac to the pump, and barely had to adjust the timing. Did I miss something??
If it wasn't so d%^%$ cold in my garage I would crawl all over this thing.
I bet its a ,a,a loose dipstick converter fusathon or something.....

 

Please explain this statement: "With this newer dizzy, I set the gap on the bench, put it in, hooked up the vac to the pump, and barely had to adjust the timing. Did I miss something?? "

Are you running the vacuum advance off the vacuum pump on the fuel pump? (Some old engines had a vac pump on top of the fuel pump) It should be connected to a port on the back side of the carburetor. Or are you talking about a Mighty vac pump?

 

Sorry Ross,... I just attatched the vac line that runs from theport on the carb to the vac advance.
Dont know what a Mighty Vac is.

 

Too bad, that would have explained a lot!

I wouldn't expect the timing to move at all at idle just from connecting the vac up.

A MightyVac is a hand-operated vacuum pump, very useful for checking things like vac advance.

 

In no particular order;

The fuel pump might have a leaking diaphragm.

If you have power brakes, it might have a leaking diaphragm.

To the person who suggested using a 12v coil; a 6 volt coil is a hotter coil than a 12 volt coil.

Make completely sure you have the coil wired the right way. It's opposite how you wire a 12 volt coil; the + terminal on the coil goes to the distributor on the 6 volt positive ground coil.

Do not use 12 volt battery cables and ground straps on a 6 volt system. 6 volt systems carry more current and need much bigger wires. Use 0 gauge battery cables, make sure you have a good, clean ground strap between the chassis and the engine block (usually a large, braided strap), and make sure you have a good sized ground between the engine and the firewall. Make sure all grounds are clean, not rusted or corroded.

Finally, (put your beer down for this one because it's scary) you might have a oil system issue that's causing the oil pan to run dry. If the bearings dry out, the engine will grab the crank momentarily.

Edit: D'oh! If you're running a Holley 94 or a Stromberg 97 carb, I don't think they have the right kind of vacuum port for a vacuum advance on the distributor. You have have to go with a full centrifugal distributor, or locate a load-o-matic dual-diaphragm distributor.

Good luck.

 

I did some process of elimination/voodoo diagnostics this morning. The eazyest thing to get to was the in-line fuel filter so I took it out of the line and ran fuel line direct. I had it right off the pump wih 6 inches of hose between the filter and the pump. not much slack in the fuel line but nothing close to a kink now. The glass bowl on the pump and the in-line looked pretty darn clean. ( it should since everything is new back to and including the tank )
I took it up the road and it started to sputter a the first sign or load. It barely made it up the lightest grade part of the road. I didnt bother taking it up the stiffer grades,.......Fuel Pump ???????? Talk about second guessin yourself,......My mind is racing like,..."maybe its because I got a 1/4 tank of gas and not a half,... Would the fuel filter, when on,... take stress off the fuel pump or add stress to it/require more vac. Yesterday, it ran everywere great except the stiff grade.
One item the PO said was replaced was the pump arm in the fuel pump. He stated a lot of things as being replaced,.......what he didnt tell me was that one thing was replaced 10 years ago and the other thing 15.
I should have the the new pump by Wednesday.
Any thought DR's ???

 

John
Any possibility of a slight leak in your fuel system allowing your pump to suck air under an increased load? If your pump is picking up air it could run out of fuel on a load. Since you changed the fuel system by removing the filters and the trouble got worse. Perhaps is not enough of a leak to leak fuel but when the pump sucks it is pulling in some air, mixing with fuel. If your truck has a braided type hose running from the tank line to the pump they can deteriorate inside causing lack of fuel issues. You might recheck all connections in your fuel system.
Good luck
Larry

 

May be on to something here with the fuel pump. I came home from church and put the In-line filter on again. I started it up went in the house while it warmed up and when I came back out ( to run it up the road again ) it had stalled out. The glass bowl was full of fuel and the in-line filter( not full but )had gas in it. I started it up and it ran for approx 20 secs. and konked out,.....still a full glass bowl and fuel in the filter. Tried to start it up again,....nada,......pumped the petal a 4-5 times and it started but konked out in 10 secs,......pumped throttle more and cranked it,....nada.Still has a full bowl. I shot some starter fluid in the carb, and it fired up but died in 10 secs.
I got up on it with my nose on the carb and hit the throttle and could see fuel sprits out of the nozzels. I tried to fire it up again and it fired up for maybe 5 secs. I jumped back up on it and put my nose back on the carb, manually hit the throttle and nothing came out the nozzels,....still got a full glass bowl.
Whatcha thinkin,????