Interesting discoveries today....

[64V-K7]

The first was when I was doing some (Edelbrock) carb work. I noticed the small rubber(?) vacuum caps stuck on the unused vac advance port was pretty badly cracked and probably leaking. These haven't been looked at for at least 2 years and the car has been running seemingly ok, but has some heat related issues, like starting when warm. This is a 6 volt car..

The second revelation was more significant. The weather being nice, I decided to look things over on the car, out in the driveway. So, reaching down the passenger side of the engine bay, I feel around for the heat riser to make sure it's still loose and turns free. All I feel is the spring and a stub.....
Apparently the weight for the heat riser, has departed the scene. I'm not certain how it acts without the counter weight, but it might explain a lot of things going on recently, like the hard starting. I'm wondering if the carb was being cooked dry, by all the heat being directed through the intake and down the drivers side exhaust, also probably doing a number on the starter motor.
Any thoughts?

[John Kirchhoff]

I don't know for sure how a Stude valve is made, but on some heat riser valves the shaft holding the plate is offset. That way the valve would be forced open when a lot of throttle was applied even if it was still closed. If yours is that way, the exhaust may have forced it open anyway. If the spring is still attached to everything like it's supposed to be, the spring will open it even without the weight (I've done that with one in a vise using a torch). However, if it's not attached, the valve may be rattling around. I have a couple of 232 valves in the shop but I don't know if yours is made different.

[DEEPNHOCK]

Probably didn't hurt anything.
You could 'read' your spark plugs and tell if there was a mixture problem caused by the valve being stuck closed.
I would do one of two things.
A) Replace the valve with a good one, especially if you drive it all year and it gets cold out.
B) Remove it and gut it. I try to save the old ones by removing the butterfly valve and shaft, and then drill and tap the shaft holes for some bolts (or set screws) to seal it up. A good modification for warm climates and fair weather only cars, especially with today's gas.
Jeff[8D]

quote:Originally posted by 55Prez
<snip>
The second revelation was more significant. The weather being nice, I decided to look things over on the car, out in the driveway. So, reaching down the passenger side of the engine bay, I feel around for the heat riser to make sure it's still loose and turns free. All I feel is the spring and a stub.....
Apparently the weight for the heat riser, has departed the scene. I'm not certain how it acts without the counter weight, but it might explain a lot of things going on recently, like the hard starting. I'm wondering if the carb was being cooked dry, by all the heat being directed through the intake and down the drivers side exhaust, also probably doing a number on the starter motor.
Any thoughts?

DEEPNHOCK at Gmail.com
Brooklet, Georgia
'37 Coupe Express (never ending project)
'37 Coupe Express Trailer (project)
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http://community.webshots.com/user/deepnhock

[64V-K7]

Thanks, I don't want to pull that one out yet, it's barely 4 years old. I might have some old ones around here to get a weight from. The car rarely gets driven in cold weather, so it's not really necessary.

[curt]

I had my heat riser cut out. It is a hard starter, no big problem. BUT it MUST be warmed up a few minutes after inital start, or it will stall upon moving out from a stop.