Ray500

I am redoing my fuel system on my '41 Zephyr coupe, and I purchased 1/4 inch stainless steel tubing from a hydraulic supplier along with a new Carter electric fuel pump back by the tank. Aldo I did have a new stainless steel gas tank made by a company who does that over in Illinois. Pricey but great for no more rust and junk in the tank. Have an inline filter just in case any junk does get into the fuel system. The original fuel lines were copper plated steel, but not that great as they would corrode and rust in time. They look fine and you never have to replace them!

It sounds promising Dave! However the real test is on the vehicle firing 12 cylinders. If it stays cool that's good as the heat is a problem with those old coils. Hopefully your spark plug wires are good, hard to tell if they arching inside the conduits. They should be soft and pliable anyway with less tendencies to crack and leak sparks! Good luck with it!

If Boos Harrel doesn't have one you might try the old Ford suppliers as they were similar! Ford Barn, Dennis Carpenter and such! You might need to do some fabrication to make it work, but it's simple stuff!

The whole problem with these old coils is that the copper wire of which they are made deteriorates as time passes. Understand that the wire of which they are made being copper and highly conductive has to have an insulating property in order to function as a transformer which it is. That insulation is a lacquer coating of the copper wire that is used to form the transformer. It has what is known as a high 'turns ratio' between the primary and secondary to give it the boosting effects to 'light up your engine' in operation! What deteriorates the insulation is the heat generated by it's operation and the heat from the engine which will cause it to eventually fail. Heat will melt the lacquer exposing the copper wiring that then can short out in a high voltage setting. That's it pure an simple! So at least they still make the Ford coils that work quite well to keep you rolling down the road!

Once again I highly recommend you send your distributor and coil to Skip Haney in Florida as he will rebuild the coil with new wire since you can't buy any new ones! And any old ones you find will probably need rewinding too! He will provide new brushes and springs too. Then he will repair/calibrate the distributor and with new capacitors you'll be back in business. You might need new spark plug wiring, that needs to be verified. I would replace them anyway as they can crack in the conduits and leak sparks! Spark plugs are a good thing to replace every so often too! This isn't very expensive but it's the best way to get back on the road! You can find Skip's contact information on the LZOC website if you don't have it. Skip also does a great job on the water pumps if you then them!

I bought my Optima batter cover box a few years ago when Vintage Auto Warehouse was in business. Check with Chris Harrel @ Boos Harrel Lincoln as he might have one or know who sells them. It's an empty battery case and some post extensions with the Lincoln label on the side. That way you can use the original hold down bracket to keep it in place!

You need to send that coil and distributor to Skip Haney in Florida for rebuilding if you want to get it running again! Looks like you're missing one of the carbon contacts. The distributor needs rebuilding along with the coil to get it running. You need a distributor tester to set it up also. You probably should replace the spark plug wires too as they do deteriorate over time and of course new spark plugs! It should run after that. Skip also rebuilds your water pumps if they need it.

One other consideration when it comes to battery cables, new fresh ones are the recommendation with the largest you can get in cable size. Remember, you're dealing with 6 volts and higher amperage than the newer 12 volt systems in today's vehicles. So minimum resistance is the key to effective operations. Wires are gauged to be of sufficient size to handle the maximum current/voltage you are dealing with in your system. And as to the termination on the connectors, you might have to solder the connector to the wire, no matter how well it looks just crimped ! Electrically if the connection of the connector to the cable is solid, then you will be able to pass the current you need for the operations. Even in crimped connectors can have corrosion that creates resistance to voltage and current from the battery. Easiest way to determine that is to use a simple voltmeter and follow the battery voltage through the solenoid to the starter while activating the starter solenoid to see if you're getting full 6 volts from the battery to the starter. If at the battery during starting if the voltage is low, either charge up the battery if it's good or replace it. I use an Optima 6 volt battery on my '41 Zephyr. Mainly because it has gel in it and no liquid acid to lead and corrode the areas around it! I have a battery case to cover the Optima which makes it look like a regular battery. (Has terminal extensions too. Not sure who has those, but Chris Harrel of Boos Harrel Lincoln can help you with that one. In the past mechanics have also put a fine layer of grease on the battery terminals to keep the corrosion minimized! Happy cranking!

The terminals are getting hot because there is resistance internally. Probably corrosion in the contacts. If you put a voltmeter on the output and compare it to the input of the solenoid you probably see a voltage drop which means there is resistance in the device! Time to replace it, you can get the from Boos Harell Lincoln on line or any old Ford parts place as don't forget Ford was once 6 volts too! Also replace the cables with 000 or what ever the heaviest gauge you can get to keep the resistance low! You shouldn't have over a .5 volt or so drop during the starting cycle. Your starter could be also drawing too much current. You'll need a clamp on amp meter for that one. I think mine I checked on time drew about 225 amps!

I would think since you just overhauled the engine, you'd want to keep it totally stock, especially on the intake. Adding modified carbs and intake manifolds and such can alter it's performance. Being stock you could get a better reading on the other aspects of the engine without inducing other elements that could be problematic. And if it doesn't perform with stock items, then there might be a problem with the way the engine was rebuilt. If I were going to rebuild my V12 I'd first of all send it to H & H in California for a total rebuild including hot tanking and total rebuild with testing of all phases of the engine for all operations. If it didn't perform properly. then find out what is wrong with the basics. Things do happen in major rebuilds. Once I get it running then I'd consider the modifications that can get a little more performance out of it! Ignition is so critical for it's performance and all that entails! Good luck with it!

Check with Chris Harrel @ Boos Harrel Lincoln on line. Also check with the automotive product companies on line like JEGS or Summit racing as they probably have something that will work. Even the old Ford parts houses probably have some stuff as they did use such in some of their cars. Originally some of those earlier air cleaners used motor oil bath inside the filter, but that is messy. As long as it's not a paper product you're probably good. If you get a lot of backfires that might be a problem with the misfires blowing back through the carb!

If you can do it without having to remove the entire steering column, that would be a lot better. Yours looks like a 36 or 37. My 41 I had to remove the entire steering gearbox to repair it as the main shaft that goes up to steering wheel is part of the gearbox. You need to car raised up very high to get it out and back in again from under the chassis. I had purchased a 'rebuilt' one from a supplier that is now out of business, but they didn't do it correctly. Once I got it out of the vehicle I had to do some special shimming to get the proper 'play' in the gearbox under the car. It might be a Saginaw unit, not sure. There is a company I think it's name is Lores that advertises in Hemmings and on line too that rebuilds them too. I would try to fix it in your case in the car without removing the steering column!

If you look at the setup from the supplier, you can see there are 2 hoses for the dual master cylinder, single on single M/C. The hose was quite large I thought, and there's a small tank that is mounted under the hook on the firewall that you keep filled with brake fluid. But it is all plastic! They do that mainly on the dual cylinder M/C units as when you mount it the hole in the floor of the driver's side won't line up! So you can only fill it from the remote reservoir. There are kits to mount the M/C on the firewall under the hood, but that now requires a lot of mods so your brake pedal can operate the M/C now on the firewall. Then you could put a power assist unit on the M/C for better braking. Or get Toyota! Smile!

I was tempted to when I redid the brakes on my '41, but you have to run plastic hoses/reservoir from the master cylinder to the engine compartment and it doesn't line up with the hole in the floor for refilling the reservoir for the updated master cylinders. It's strictly aftermarket and not sure how well it works. Keeping things original is by far the best way to hold the value of the vehicles. Also tempting was to install a Mustang dual master cylinder, but in the long run probably not a good idea unless the brake system has issues and one is afraid of losing the entire hydraulic braking limited to one chamber. Then there's the new disc brake system (Mustang) and power booster provided you have enough vacuum on the engine. This just goes on and on!