Some guys came over to work on the truck on Sunday and we checked the cylinders for compression along with checking out the carb. There was tons of crap in the float-bowl so we cleaned that out and cleaned out the glass filter. Also made sure the carb was getting fuel and it was, running out of ideas. I need to check out the timing I think and I'm gonna replace spark plugs and wires, any thought on best place to buy those at? What are some good online parts dealers? Any thoughts on why she won't start?

 

always the same three things..

spark
fuel
compression

so, if you have eliminated 2 of those, then the last is spark.. (at the right time too!)..

sam

 

You should be able to get everything you need at the local NAPA or good quality auto parts stores. Stay away from AutoZone or Advanced Auto, they'll just stare blankly at you, then check their computer, which will take ten minutes and then finally tell you they can order the parts for you. You'll save yourself a lot of time by going to a reputable parts store.

 

New plugs and wires are always a good idea, especially if the truck has not been started in a long time. However, before you go down the road of "what can I replace now?", try examining the ignition circuit. Are the points open? gap right? Is there fire from the coil? Is the ballast resistor cracked or shot? Is the dizzy intenal wire to the points shorted out (this is always a devil to find)?

A little examination will go a long way and save big bucks.

In case you don't have one, here is a Ford ignition schematic:

 

Napa is good quality. Kragen/Autozone your just saving money, but it's the labor you'll be putting in that costs you.

 

What he said!

 

So I worked on the truck for a good hour and a half tonight without much progress. Removed the carb and cleaned out the entire float bowl instead of just the short term fix like a couple of days ago. Might consider replacing seals and whatnot. Still won't start. The guy who's helping me said it couldn't be the starter because it's turning the engine over but I swear to god there's a funny noise coming from there. otherwise I think it's timing and I have a light I just have absolutely no idea on how to do it. does anyone have resouces online, books, I'm not asking you to explain it hardcore I just need a bit of direction. thanks for everything! Max!

 

1. Start truck.
2. Set timing.

 

That sure helps.

 

try to turn the dist by hand slowly while a buddy is cranking it and see if it tries to start. you can also try some speed start in the carb if your timming is close it will start and run on the speed start even if the carb is not suppling gas..........

 

Pull a sparkplug wire off a plug, pull the rubber boot back to expose the metal clip that would grasp the plug tip, place the metal tip 1/2 inch or so +/- to the head. Get some one to turn the motor over while you watch the plug wire for it to spark. You can hold the insulated part of the wire to keep it directly off the head but dont touch the tip while the motor is cranking, cause if you got spark, it will wake your a$% up with a nice jolt. You are looking for spark. You cant get it started with out spark and you can not tune it up till its started/running. You say you got fuel, you got compression. now you need spark. Its first things first trouble shooting.Buy a can of starter fluid and red the lable instructions
Do a couple searches here at FTE under spark or ignition or distributor, timing ,static timing, and read it till your blue in the face. Things will begin to make sense a little at a time. Get a shop manual for your model/year and read the trouble shooting sections.

 

Max,

If your truck is way out of time you can roughly set the timing by taking out the spark plug out of #1 cylinder and plug the hole with you thumb or finger and have someone turn the engine over by hand, make sure you disconnect the battery just to make sure the engine doesn't decide to fire. Turn the engine until you feel pressure on your finger then your #1 cylinder will be in the compression stroke. Check the timing mark on the damper pulley to see if its lined up with the pointer on the block, when it lines up you are at top dead center (TDC). Now look at the distributor cap and make a note of the position of the position of the #1 spark plug tower on the distributor cap, most caps I've had have had the #1 position marked. Take off the cap and check the position of rotor, it has to be at the same position as the #1 tower, if not turn the distributor until it is. This should get you in close to the correct position to start the engine and then set the timing with the light.

If you only have a 12 volt timing light and you have a 6 volt system in your truck you can power the light with the battery from a 12 volt car, I do this when I set the timing on my trucks.

I've had a problem on both my flat six in my F-2 and the flat eight in my panel truck. If you're not getting spark check out the wire going from your coil to the bottom of your distributor, which connects to an insulated stud. The problem I have found is the wire inside the distributor that goes from the insulated stud to the points either breaks or grounds out. It's a very simple fix that is overlooked.

Another question, are the guys helping you experienced in vintage engine repair? The reason I ask is these engine are pretty simple and are quite easy to get running but I'm talking from the point of an older person who has been working on these old trucks for most of my life, many of the younger guys who are mechanics today are used to the modern engine designs which are a lot more sophisticated and most of the problems are found through electronic diagnosis. I'm not saying the newer guys aren't good, I myself don't work on any of my newer cars because I don't have the foggiest idea of how to work on them, but I know a couple of younger guys who are whizzes with the newest stuff but are totally lost when I start talking flatheads with them. I guess there's nothing wrong with this, it's just different generations.

If you're getting help from a younger person maybe you could find a older guy with experience with the older engines. Again, I'm not degrading anyone's knowledge but maybe they are trying to over diagnose the problem and missing something simple.

Also, don't be afraid to come back and ask more questions. It may seem simple to some on the board but but very frustrating for a person new to the hobby. If we don't take the time to help out the younger members who are showing an interest in these old trucks we will doing all of us a disservice. We need to keep the hobby going and we need to make sure the younger members don't get discouraged.

 

I will give this a shot. To turn the engine by hand do you go through the small hole at the bottom of the radiator with a rachet wrench and extender?

I really appreciate all of your help and of course you are not degrading anyone's experience. These guys: one is in his 70's and used to own trucks/cars from this era, the other is around 40, very intelligent guy that works on trucks and cars and used to be a mechanic in the Air Force. The older gentleman knows a bit about these specific trucks but the younger gentleman is a bit less experienced. I'm most likely going to take the truck into another gentleman who is very experienced, owns a repair shop and a 42 (or thereabouts) Ford. Thanks again for the help, I'll try and work on the timing tonight! I give my presentation on electric cars and the truck tonight to my panel so that should be interesting. I'll let you all know how it goes!

 

The hole in the bottom grill rib is actually for a crank to connect into the damper pulley to hand crank the engine. I think you should be able to insert an extension in through the hole and connect it to a socket big enough to go on the damper pulley bolt.

BTW, the damper pulley bolt on some models had a few notches in the front to accept an engine crank, I think they only had them until maybe 1950, my '49 had it and the '50 engine I replaced it with has it but I've seen some that just had a plain bolt head.

Keep us informed.

 

If the diag/repair does not go as planned before the presentation, don't get discouraged...in fact, go to " Alternate Plan B".. Compression checked ok? Having verified you have fuel ( spraying starting fluid into the carb substitutes for lack of fuel).,and you pulled one sparkplug wire..held the plug connector to the engine block and either got spark (Two things down ..fuel and spark) or not ...now follow the ignition circuit thru from the key to the coil and thru the dizzy..this may take a more a bit of reading, as John Sith Jr says"reading untill your blue in the face", thats what it took for me LoL!..untill you understand what your looking for...voltage, resistance and current...use these skills and apply them to your "no-start" condition.

At this point you will have gained some very essential skills needed to repair/trobleshoot just about any engine ...and is where " Alternate Plan B " comes into play..."The Presentation"
Describe and explain what you had to work with from the begining, what your general evaluation of this old truck was, what information you required to determine what you needed to get the beast running, what resources you used( FTE), what skills you had to develop and utilize and...what the out come was..
Even if you don't get the beast started, look what you have learned, because of time constraints...what yet needs to be done, I'm sure your presentation will go fine...'I'ts not the journey but the adventure and the enjoyment you get along the way that counts! "..Have fun and Good Luck!