peeeot

Normal resistance about 1k to 2.5k PER FOOT of length.

If you have ZERO your multimeter is suspect.

I was going to suggest that you concentrate on the gen, the voltage regulator, the bat cables and the battery. As heat is generated by the engione, things in your ignition GO SOUTH. That has to be a clue. Forget the theory of multiple/simulanious failures. Get better test equipment and start over. Pete

Pete's description of wire resistance is for the resistance wires used for the past several years. Yours having no resistance tells me they are the old solid core wires of the '50s and '60s. If the insulation isn't breaking down, the lack of resistance is not a problem.

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"

peeeot,

At this point a very simple thing I suggest you try is to reverse the wires to the coil. Nothing terrible can happen and it might give you more information about the problem. Try it and tell us what happens. Pete

The old wires were non-suppression type with a copper stranded core. The new ones I put on are carbon-conductor suppression wires with resistance as you describe. The new wires made no difference.

I reversed the coil connections and there may have been very slight improvement but by no means night and day. Still intermittently missing, still stalls in gear with or without lights on.

Pulled carburetor air horn and rechecked float level, gas level, and booster assemblies for blockages; everything was happy.

I am going to replace the negative battery cable because I can't get it to clamp so tightly that I can't remove it without tools. I am probably going to try a new point set and possibly cap/rotor as well.

Noticed while cranking with cap off and ignition enabled that there was a tiny white-blue spark across the points. Normal, or trouble?

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

Maybe a nearly failing ignition switch contact(s)? I know on T'birds (not the same switch as car) this has happened to me twice with similar symptoms. Try jiggling the fey a bit when its running, just don't turn it too far towards start. That could explain the voltage drop you measured, so measure across the switch ( Bat to Ign terminal).

wlj1943, thanks for the suggestion. I just checked voltage drop through the switch at 0.035V. Drop from battery terminal to input side of resistor is .28V so the switch is a minor contributor. I tried jiggling the key while watching the meter and the voltage drop didn't change.

Removed distributor, swapped out condenser and brand new points, removed ground wire and checked all other distributor wiring for continuity while bending and twisting. Set up points at 27*, dwell variation not more than 1*, initial timing 8*. No change in symptoms.

At this point I believe the coil, points, and condenser have been thoroughly ruled out, as have the plug wires. It is also clear that the primary circuit is not breaking up as I have never once seen the voltage into nor out of the coil make sudden changes at the point of engine breakdown. I have been watching those voltages with an analog meter so that any change would be very easy to spot.

It seems unlikely that the cap and rotor could be at fault but I'm prepared to replace them as a pair rather than piecemeal.

Voltage drop on + side of primary circuit is .28; on - side, .158. I think those numbers are good enough not to be causing this trouble; what do you think?


1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

Just thought I'd mention that I discovered a bad miss above light throttle too. Drove to the gas station to fill up and on the way back any time I stabbed at the throttle (which I seldom do) it would respond instantly but nearly as instantly it would miss hard, definite lack of power. I have not observed this before today. Light throttle was ok but anything more than that, even after I held it for a while, would result in missing.

New cap and rotor and fixed the battery cable so it would tighten up snugly but no improvement.

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

peeeot

lets try a different way to approach this. If you start with a car just like yours and it is running perfectly what would you have to do to it to make it behave the way your car does.

Since we can`t experience how your car acts can you describe it as ignition related or fuel. Can you hook up your voltmeter to the bat and read gen voltage when this happens.

Are the motor mounts allowing thje engine to tilt when you drive and effecting an engine ground strap?

Can you leave the manifold vacuum gage connected and drive and observe?

If it was an ignition problem then unburned fuel will be passed through the engine and you should be getting afterfiring ( backfire out the muffler ) and you don`t mention that. If you can not provoke afterfiring then suspect a fuel problem.

I had a strange problem that turned out to be caused by a short length ( 8 inches ) of rubber gas line that connected the gas tank to the steel fuel line to the fuel pump. The rubber hose had cracks and after running would allow the fuel pump to draw air, the engine would miss under load then would pump enough gas to fill the carb at idle so by the time I checked the carb for fuel it was full. Keep plugging away. Pete

Pete, I think your strange problem might be very closely related to mine.

Had a breakthrough after my last post because I tried a different timing light. My dad has a very high-quality metal light with a metal-cased pickup coil; mine, which I've been using all this time, is all plastic.

Anyway, I put my dad's timing light on the coil wire like usual and lo and behold, the ignition signal looked perfect. No blink-outs whatsoever. I watched it while the engine shook and stumbled and died and there was never a hiccup.

So, all of my tests now point to this not being an ignition issue. That leaves mechanical and fuel.

Since the compression is excellent and I've been through the valve adjustment many times, AND last night I went over the manifold and carb with a propane can AND a water mister looking for vacuum leaks and found none, this looks like fuel and not mechanical.

As I've said the carb always has gas in it when I take the lid off and I set the float heights meticulously. Confirmed yesterday that all passages are clear. The fuel pump moves a good volume of fuel when I disconnect the line and spin the motor...

I raised the float height 1/64" to the upper limit of the spec, no difference. Then I took the bottom off the fuel pump to examine the little valves inside. There was a sort of skin of stuff in there. This pump was on the car when I bought it and the valves were sticking shut at initial startup. It has trouble drawing the tank down the rest of the way when it hits a quarter tank. Maybe it isn't delivering the necessary volume when I can't see, or the necessary pressure, which I can't test. Either way, I'm replacing it ASAP and we'll see what happens.

There are two plugs on the rear of the carb bowls labeled as "sight plugs", and though there is nothing in my info saying the fuel level should be close to or flush with those plugs, it appears to me to be considerably lower than them. Also if the fuel level in the carb is low it accounts for why I have to open the mixture screws out so far. Feeling optimistic

1954 Crestline Victoria 312 4-bbl, 3-speed overdrive

I was gonna ask about the pump a week ago, but I keep forgetting. Add a fuel filter to your list.

Frank/Rebop

Bristol, In ( by Elkhart)