Randalll

SOLVED: First, many thanks to all who participated in helping me through this issue, especially RivNut, a plethora of information. I am writing to say that I have solved this issue. I read many articles from other people that described my exact issue but many of those post had no final answer or solution, this was a bit frustrating and I know what works for me may not work for everyone but hopefully this will help narrow down your specific issue. If your issue sounds anything like this one, it may be one or a combination of these three things: 1. My coil was arcing on a steel braided line that was running across the back of the Intake Manifold-(Check at night to look for spark arcing across anything) 2. Freeze plug under intake manifold is rotted or completely blown out. (easy to replace) 3. Bad points and condenser- This was caused by the coil arcing so could have just replaced P/C but I switched to Petronix and the consistency makes world of difference. This car went from running ok to not running at all to running better than I ever expected. In between all of this I had mechanics tell me everything from it could be a single bad wire- to -my motor was no good and needed a complete rebuild. My advice is to take the time to actually correctly diagnose the problem and do some simple test to narrow down the culprit before tearing the who;e engine back out. I hope this helps the next guy who's as frustrated as I was. Good luck. Randall

Hello Guy's, So one thing I found is that I only have about 5 volts going to my coil. Do I need to hook up a resister wire? Are 63's 12v systems

OK, here's an update... I found and installed the plate under carb and gasket, new points, condenser, rotor, cap, wires, and coil. Now I can't even get it to start. I have spark coming out of the coil but not out of the plug wires. I do have sufficient fuel going into the rebuilt Carter and coming out/ into the manifold. I do not have a heat valve on passenger exhaust so I know its not closed or the problem. STUMPED! As always I really appreciate your and any input at all. Randall

Thank you

Quick question guy's, I have two ground straps coming off the firewall. The one on the passenger side goes to either the exhaust manifold or engine head(Can't remember), and the one on the drivers side firewall is not connected to anything. Where does it attach? the engine or chassis? Would that cause a short? Also these are very thin/small ground straps, so my question is are there only two small ground straps for the entire car besides the battery cable (which is actually attached to the power steering bracket, not sure if that's right either)? And finally would it just be smarter to run a new ground strap from the negative battery post to the body so I know it's grounded? I still can't get this car to run well, in fact the problem is getting worse and I can't tell if it's Fuel, Vacuum, or Electrical that's causing this. As always, thank you in advance.

Thank you I will try your suggestions and keep you all posted. Thank you.

Did the 425's come with this plate as well?

And thank you all for your help.

I see. Thank you for the information. Just had carb rebuilt. Used the fiber gasket. Do you know where a man could find such plate? Could the motor run fine in park but not in drive because of this plate? Would it also cause the power brakes to go out? Sorry I know its a lot of questions, I just don't want to keep throwing money at it to see what sticks. I have replaced the points, condenser, rotor, cap, and plugs.

Could it be the Coil?

There is no steel plate under carb. Never has been.

Ok so I thought it was problem solved, however it's not. It's doing the same thjing it did before replacing the exhaust crossover plug (which had completly blown out) on the bottom of the intake manifold. So you would think that would at least help but no it doesn't. It runs fine in park, revs nice, no sign of hesitation whatsoever. Then the minute you put it in gear and drive away it falls on it's face, spudering. If it is a long road I can feather my way through it and once I get up to 35 40mph its fine and runs good. Also this and loss of power brakes happened at the same time. Any help is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Problem solved! I pulled the intake manifold and replaced the exhaust crossover plug and car is running great again. Next issue: I seem to still have an issue with the power brake booster, I thought that replacing the crossover plug was causing the loss in vacuum to the booster, but as Tom said, it's not a vacuum problem its an exhaust leak. So why is my pedal still hard as a rock and hard to stop. These issue's seemed to have happened at the same time. Could my booster have failed coincidentally at the same time? And thank you all for your help!

Thank you for the quick response.

Ok, so a family friend and mechanic told me that its a vacuum leak and its probably coming from under the intake manifold, that there is a "freeze plug" on the bottom of the intake that will rust out and cause a vacuum leak. Has anyone heard of this?

Great feedback Mitch. Thank you very much. I will keep you all posted

Thank you Sir. I will keep you posted. There have been no electronic conversions on this car, however I am considering HEI Ignition. Any opinion's?

Thanks Tom, I really appreciate the help. The reason I am asking is that after about 20 mins of driving my 63 Riv starts cutting out at low speeds like driving around town, almost or exactly like its vapor locking. I was wondering if that port NOT being hooked up to my exhaust manifold could be causing this. Thanks again!

Hey Guy's I have a question that most may think is stupid but please help if you can and I apologize in advance. I have attached a picture of a carb thats just like the one on m y 63 Riv. What is the port that I have circled do? I have read a few post that say not to plug it but I wanted a second opinion and some understanding as to what it does and why or why not I should plug it. Again thank you in advance for all your help. Randall

And yes it is at a good home. for the rest of it's life and mine.

Thanks man...I really appreciate the help. I will give him a call tomorrow.

Did you actually drive it? How did you know it had the knock? Just curious.

Thank you Sir.

Thank you so much for your help and time. I will definitely give them a call. Thank you again.