Rough Running Engine

[stevehuckss396]

Hmmmm, barbed wire for sparkplug wires?

Chuck

Were the original wires insulated?

Mine (1928 "A") are uninsulated pieces of copper strip.

Get stuck on a deserted rural road and I could see a piece of barbed wire becoming a temporary ignition wire.

 

[Jack]

This old Ford is exactly the way that I found it out in Western Oklahoma about ten years ago. The engine, transmission, and rear end have been rebuilt, but I decided not to touch the lovely old patina beside I also have a 24 touring car that was all restored including all the shiny black paint, so I wanted something different, beside I get quite a bit of attention at car shows. Yes the original wires were orange cloth covered wire with a black tracer, but wire is wire, all metal conducts electricity, with a hot magneto like is in a T it's about 40,000 volts.

 

[chuck foster]

very nice car jack............i like the "as found look myself "

chuck

 

[rake60]

Beautiful automobile Jack!
I wouldn't touch a thing on the outside looks.

I know they didn't seat belts back then.
Based on the look in the eyes of that chauffeur, you might what to
consider adding them!

Great Picture!

Rick

 

[Jack]

Hi All

Rick I also have a 1931 Ford Tudor sedan which does have seat belts installed. That car was my vacation car which my wife and drove all over the USA and even Canada near Dearborn, Mi one summer while attending the Model A Restorer's National Convention.
My Granddaughter is not allowed to even be in any of my cars when they leave the driveway, not even in the subdivision that I live in. My daughters rules not mine.
I played with old cars for almost 30 years before getting involved with making miniature engines and models. I have other cars but I don't get them out much anymore since my copilot passed away.

Jack :-*

 

[Rustkolector]

I started this thread originally with a rough running little throttle governed engine running on propane. I am pleased to say that I have solved the problem and it is now running nicely. Thanks for those who contributed. Now to improve the cooling situation.
Jeff

 

[cfellows]

Jeff,

What did the problem turn out to be?

Thx...
Chuck

 

[Rustkolector]

Chuck,
After trying about everything else I could think of, I went back and looked at valve spring tension again. I had made a few rather coarse valve spring tension changes earlier in an effort to find a clue to the problem. Those changes proved to have been much too extreme. This time, I tried Richard Williams suggestion of inserting a small screwdriver blade in the valve spring coils with the engine running. Twisting the screwdriver increases tension. Pushing down reduces tension. The engine speed changed a little as I increased and decreased the intake valve spring tension, but the engine did not run a bit better. When I twisted the screwdriver on the exhaust valve spring a relatively small amount, the engine immediately smoothed out. Voila!..It was just a matter of making another exhaust valve spring that would work. Using the screwdriver, I was able to get a feel for the relatively small change in tension that was required to fix the problem. The engine has run now for over 2 hours at a fairly smooth 1200 RPM. The carb adjustment is a little coarse, so a better needle valve might be in order, and the cooling system has proved inadequate for more than 45 minutes run time. So, I have more work to do, but at least I am in more familiar territory.
Jeff

 

[cfellows]

Jeff,

Good information! So I guess the engine was sucking air through the exhaust valve? These little engines can be exasperating, but also rewarding once they run right. Thanks for the followup.

Chuck