"It" being the '38 Commander sedan I dragged home a couple of weeks ago. I was able to get the engine unstuck, and wrote about that in the thread on that topic in the Tech Forum.
Today, I took off the starter, and polished up the commutator, freed up stuck brushes, and lubed the bushings. It cranks really well, although the starter drive kicks out a tad soon.
I cleaned the points, and installed a fresh set of spark plugs, and some wires. Took off the stock carb, which had the throttle plate rusted shut, and bolted on an old Carter AS off a Lark. Put a little funnel on the fuel inlet, and poured fuel into it. And primed it, too.
Try as I might, I could not get the darn thing to run, and stay running. It will fire on all, or nearly all, cylinders, but it just can't muster up the gumption to really run. Picks up revs cranking on the starter, but as soon as the starter kicks out, it spins to a stop. I thought the exhaust manifold might be clogged with a mouse nest, and took off the manifold and blew it out thoroughly. No joy.
I spent a lot of time trying to start it, and ran down 2 batteries. Best it would do is huff away softly for a half-second or so after the starter kicked out. I wouldn't call that "running". I'm pretty sure the problem is simply the rings are so bad, or so stuck, that it has next to no compression. Even when firing on all cylinders, the unmuffled exhaust is curiously quiet. It's just not sucking in the mixture, I guess.
I'm not going to waste any more time on this engine. It'll come out, and go into storage as a rebuildable core. One thing I didn't hear was any knocking from the bottom end. Not saying the bearings are perfect, but it wasn't apparently on the bitter edge of throwing a rod when it was put away. So chances are the crank and rods will be OK for overhaul.
Somebody here expressed interest in the transmission. It's available; won't know the condition of it yet. It appears to be an overdrive, as it has a control cable running to it, but I don't see any electrics. Was the '38 overdrive strictly mechanical?
I can see this car as a perfect candidate for a rod of some kind. It's a low-end Commander (W3 body), and is missing so much interior trim, etc., that a full-on restoration would leave you buried in it face down. Some pictures follow. I do have all four fenders, and the hood side panels, hood, and trunk lid. Bumpers are missing, I think. The grille is very nice; one or two slats are slightly bent, but not kinked, and should be easily fixed.
Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands
Today, I took off the starter, and polished up the commutator, freed up stuck brushes, and lubed the bushings. It cranks really well, although the starter drive kicks out a tad soon.
I cleaned the points, and installed a fresh set of spark plugs, and some wires. Took off the stock carb, which had the throttle plate rusted shut, and bolted on an old Carter AS off a Lark. Put a little funnel on the fuel inlet, and poured fuel into it. And primed it, too.
Try as I might, I could not get the darn thing to run, and stay running. It will fire on all, or nearly all, cylinders, but it just can't muster up the gumption to really run. Picks up revs cranking on the starter, but as soon as the starter kicks out, it spins to a stop. I thought the exhaust manifold might be clogged with a mouse nest, and took off the manifold and blew it out thoroughly. No joy.
I spent a lot of time trying to start it, and ran down 2 batteries. Best it would do is huff away softly for a half-second or so after the starter kicked out. I wouldn't call that "running". I'm pretty sure the problem is simply the rings are so bad, or so stuck, that it has next to no compression. Even when firing on all cylinders, the unmuffled exhaust is curiously quiet. It's just not sucking in the mixture, I guess.
I'm not going to waste any more time on this engine. It'll come out, and go into storage as a rebuildable core. One thing I didn't hear was any knocking from the bottom end. Not saying the bearings are perfect, but it wasn't apparently on the bitter edge of throwing a rod when it was put away. So chances are the crank and rods will be OK for overhaul.
Somebody here expressed interest in the transmission. It's available; won't know the condition of it yet. It appears to be an overdrive, as it has a control cable running to it, but I don't see any electrics. Was the '38 overdrive strictly mechanical?
I can see this car as a perfect candidate for a rod of some kind. It's a low-end Commander (W3 body), and is missing so much interior trim, etc., that a full-on restoration would leave you buried in it face down. Some pictures follow. I do have all four fenders, and the hood side panels, hood, and trunk lid. Bumpers are missing, I think. The grille is very nice; one or two slats are slightly bent, but not kinked, and should be easily fixed.
Gord Richmond, within Weasel range of the Alberta Badlands
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