This is my first ever YouTube video! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYTd-MXJs2k
This is my 1964 Hawk with 70,xxx miles and I finally got the thing running this afternoon but it doesnt sound very good to me yet. The following are things I had to do to get it running.
First off, I put the battery charger on the brand new looking dead battery that came with the car on the low charger setting (10 amp) but it was still dead after 90 minutes. So I then set the charger on high (40 amp) and after half an hour of this, the battery began to take a charge! I then put it back to 10 amp charge and it continued to respond. I think the battery froze while in cold storage this winter but it seems fine now.
The fuel tank was disconnected from the fuel pump when I bought the car so I bypassed it and connected a riding lawnmower gas tank to supply gasoline to the fuel pump. I then got the engine to fire once or twice but the clear fuel filter wasnt filling up with gas so I replaced the fuel pump. Another reason for replacing the fuel pump was that I detected a large amount of gasoline in the crankcase and I thought gas may be leaking through the fuel pump. I replaced it with a known working used fuel pump that I had on the shelf. With that done, it still wasnt getting fuel. The lawnmower tank has a filter sock inside the tank and it was getting plugged with sediment and water. I cleaned out the tank but then the fitting began to leak so I found a gas can and converted it into a gas tank by inserting a gasline hose down the spout. Now it got fuel and it fired up but ran really terrible.
I then checked the plug wires for correct placement and found two wires on the wrong posts. I then fired up the engine and it still ran terrible. I then pulled off the cap and rotor (the previous owner installed new plugs, wires, cap, rotor and points) and was about to inspect the point contacts when I realized the points lacked spring tension. There was apparently a helper spring missing as the points had very little closing pressure. I just happened to have a new set of points on the shelf which I then installed. I fired up the engine again, and it still ran terrible.
I then loosened the lock bolt on the distributor and began to adjust it and found it ran best with it rotated counterclockwise as far as it would go (the vacuum advance hit the intake manifold so I couldnt rotate it any further). At this point, the engine sort of galloped up and down. I determined that the wires were on the cap correctly, but the distributor must be a cog or two off. So, I removed each wire from the cap and moved them counterclockwise one hole. Started the engine up and it ran much better, and I then fine tuned the orientation while it ran. However, it still doesnt sound great.
I then adjusted the automatic choke (which helped) and adjusted the mixture screws at the front base of the carburetor but I couldnt improve it any. The carb was wet on the outside leading me to believe the float was stuck open too far so I tapped the side of it, but nothing changed. I'm suspicious of this carb anyway being that the accelerator pump doesnt work at all. It appears to have been refurbished in recent years but I think I will install a new kit soon.
In conclusion, it runs but not great, and the water pump leaks like a canoe made of swiss cheese. While recording the video, I attempted to drive the car outside but the engine stalled each time I moved the auto transmission selector. Next week a rebuilt water pump should be here and I will do more to it then.
Please watch and listen to the video and give me any suggestions as to how I might get the engine to run better. The exhaust heat riser was rusted stuck, but I freed it up when I was under the car replacing the freeze plugs so I know thats open now. Might it still be ignition issues or is it more likely to be the carburetor? I havent checked compression yet, perhaps it has some stuck valves? After typing all of this, I realize I should have posted this under the Tech section. Sorry.
[img]http://far
This is my 1964 Hawk with 70,xxx miles and I finally got the thing running this afternoon but it doesnt sound very good to me yet. The following are things I had to do to get it running.
First off, I put the battery charger on the brand new looking dead battery that came with the car on the low charger setting (10 amp) but it was still dead after 90 minutes. So I then set the charger on high (40 amp) and after half an hour of this, the battery began to take a charge! I then put it back to 10 amp charge and it continued to respond. I think the battery froze while in cold storage this winter but it seems fine now.
The fuel tank was disconnected from the fuel pump when I bought the car so I bypassed it and connected a riding lawnmower gas tank to supply gasoline to the fuel pump. I then got the engine to fire once or twice but the clear fuel filter wasnt filling up with gas so I replaced the fuel pump. Another reason for replacing the fuel pump was that I detected a large amount of gasoline in the crankcase and I thought gas may be leaking through the fuel pump. I replaced it with a known working used fuel pump that I had on the shelf. With that done, it still wasnt getting fuel. The lawnmower tank has a filter sock inside the tank and it was getting plugged with sediment and water. I cleaned out the tank but then the fitting began to leak so I found a gas can and converted it into a gas tank by inserting a gasline hose down the spout. Now it got fuel and it fired up but ran really terrible.
I then checked the plug wires for correct placement and found two wires on the wrong posts. I then fired up the engine and it still ran terrible. I then pulled off the cap and rotor (the previous owner installed new plugs, wires, cap, rotor and points) and was about to inspect the point contacts when I realized the points lacked spring tension. There was apparently a helper spring missing as the points had very little closing pressure. I just happened to have a new set of points on the shelf which I then installed. I fired up the engine again, and it still ran terrible.
I then loosened the lock bolt on the distributor and began to adjust it and found it ran best with it rotated counterclockwise as far as it would go (the vacuum advance hit the intake manifold so I couldnt rotate it any further). At this point, the engine sort of galloped up and down. I determined that the wires were on the cap correctly, but the distributor must be a cog or two off. So, I removed each wire from the cap and moved them counterclockwise one hole. Started the engine up and it ran much better, and I then fine tuned the orientation while it ran. However, it still doesnt sound great.
I then adjusted the automatic choke (which helped) and adjusted the mixture screws at the front base of the carburetor but I couldnt improve it any. The carb was wet on the outside leading me to believe the float was stuck open too far so I tapped the side of it, but nothing changed. I'm suspicious of this carb anyway being that the accelerator pump doesnt work at all. It appears to have been refurbished in recent years but I think I will install a new kit soon.
In conclusion, it runs but not great, and the water pump leaks like a canoe made of swiss cheese. While recording the video, I attempted to drive the car outside but the engine stalled each time I moved the auto transmission selector. Next week a rebuilt water pump should be here and I will do more to it then.
Please watch and listen to the video and give me any suggestions as to how I might get the engine to run better. The exhaust heat riser was rusted stuck, but I freed it up when I was under the car replacing the freeze plugs so I know thats open now. Might it still be ignition issues or is it more likely to be the carburetor? I havent checked compression yet, perhaps it has some stuck valves? After typing all of this, I realize I should have posted this under the Tech section. Sorry.
[img]http://far
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