GLong

You will need to pressure check the system. you might get lucky and only have cracked the head, but it's likely that the freezing damaged a lot more Next time, if the car is inside out of the wind, just a 100w light bulb [incandescent] or 100-150w incandecent flood light next to the engine or pointed at the engine water jacket will provide enough heat to keep the engine above freezing. toss a furniture or moving blanket over the hood and radiator. or drain the engine and make sure it drains fully. GregL

I'm with mastertech'. Put a good digital voltmeter on the relays, ignition switch, basicly test every part that is acting weird. I'd ADD a good ground from the battery to the engine block, ADD one from the battery to the chassis and ADD one to the body/firewall. If you put a voltmeter between the battery ground and the engine block then turn on the key, if you show voltage you have a bad or corroded ground. AS simple as it sounds, have you removed the battery terminals and cleaned them to clean, shiny metal and reinstalled? I've seen similar weird gremlins caused by a normal looking battery terminal that was dirty between the battery post and the cable end. I've also found cables that no longer make good connection inside the cable end, still looks properly attached to the lead battery clamp, but has a bad connection inside.. Greg L

Hi, nice car. You want the butterfly to be in the 'streamlined, no exhaust deflected' position when your button on the dash is in the full forward positon, which would be the 'cold' position in my thinking. I can's quite see enough to get the geometry right in my head, but if you use a piece of cardboard and a clip to hold it to the shaft, have someone operate the dashboard button, you will see what needs to be done.. I have no personal experience with this engine or car. But with our modern fuel, with or without ethanol, the engines do not need as much manifold heat as the old gasoline required. Many, if not most people will put a solid piece of 16 or 14 gauge stainless steel over the exhaust opening, between two gaskets and let only the amount of heat that is conducted by contact between the manifolds be the source of intake manifold heat. This keeps the carb cooler, and a denser charge of air/fuel to the engine. I have done this to several cars over the years. and the only difference I've noticed is the engine likes to run with a bit of choke for about one or two minutes longer than without the exhaust-heat blocking plate. The engine runs better warm, and carb fuel bowl boiling is reduced or eliminated. Greg L

The question of WHY it doesn't run is the most important. Did a head gasket leak and rust a cylinder solid? Or does it only need a bit of fuel in a carburetor, and a good battery and a mechanic to push the starter button ?? Or, was it put away with only water in it, and a surprise freeze crack the block? Or, was it put away with fuel in the tank, no stabilizer in the fuel, and the whole fuel system is a mess? From less than $100 to get it running, to ?? what does a good rebuilt engine cost for this car? Plus R&R and sorting ?? Edit: I see the OP states the engine rotates, but an engine that sat for a long time can have stuck rings, no compression and a lot of other potentially expensive problems Greg L

There usually would be a 'butterfly plate' on the shaft going across the opening, and some form of lever on the external part of the shaft to control the position of the butterfly plate. A position of 'hot' would have the plate partially blocking the passageway, forcing exhaust gasses against the intake manifold surface. An opposite position of 'cold' would have the butterfly plate blocking the intake from receiving hot exhaust and streamlining the passageway for the exhaust flow. What car is this for ?? can you post a photos of the intake/exhaust together on the engine ? Is there a dashboard control for manifold heat ? Greg L.

Hi rampage fan, there are several piston makers that can make just about anything you need or want. There is one for sure right in the Detroit area, but the name of the company escapes me right now. Depending on the engine, I think reducing the reciprocating weight would be an advantage towards getting a bit more performance, due to less energy being used to accelerate the pistons back and forth in the cylinders. Modern pistons with the smaller, shorter skirt will work in place of the longer full-cylindrical piston in older engines. As long as the piston/cylinder wall clearances are correct. What year and type of engine are you referring to? or is this just a general question ?? I know that Pierce Arrow's S80 engine used steel connecting rods and iron pistons for '25,'26,'27. Then for '28, the S81 engines were fitted with aluminum connecting rods and pistons, the crankshaft was changed to have a larger main bearing, but the vibration dampener was eliminated. The bore and stroke were identical. Reduced reciprocating weight was mentioned in some advertising for '28 All later Pierce engines used aluminum pistons and steel connecting rods. GregL

Hi David, sorry, I was visualizing more of a rolled ring like a clincher rim, open towards the tire's bead. On your rims, where the bead rolls around and comes against the itself, is there any hint of rust from that joint ? I would think that moisture would have created some rust over the years. Have you tried to determine if the rolled rim is not corroded thin from the inside in any spots ? Have you contacted Kelsey Hayes, or Coker Tire to see what they might recommend? I'm thinking maybe metal prep or some other type of solution that would react with any rust, and also coat any metal. I'll look to see if I have any photos of the rolled rims I've seen, and look where the 'weep-hole' was located. I still think that whatever you use must either dry, or be compatible with the tire's rubber, because some could still seep out of the gap and contact the tire. Greg L

Some of the rolled-edge rims had a drain hole or two when they were made. The only problem I see with your idea, is will what every you put inside the rolled edge will have to be compatible with the rubber in the tire. Otherwise while you are trying to preserve the wheel, your tire's beads will be come dangerously soft and deteriorated. The best procedure, but a lot of work, would be to demount the tires, properly clean and inspect the inside of the rolled edge rim, and use a two-part epoxy paint to seal the surface of the metal. Greg L

If the timing is not advancing it will not cause a stumble or stall, it will cause just low power and possible overheating. The suggestions mentioned above are all good for seeing if the spark is advancing.. but I might be easier to see the front crankshaft pulley or vibration dampener if your engine has one.. Just put a chalk mark on the pulley or dampener where you can see it when #1 spark plug or which over plug you choose fires. look at the chalk mark at idle speed, then speed up the engine and see that the mark moves in the opposite direction of engine rotation. A stumble or stall is 99% of the time a carburetor problem. I don't know the carb on your car, but when an engine is accelerated, it needs more fuel from an accelerator pump or power valve, or both. The only time I've seen a stumble or stall when accelerating that was caused by the distributor, the condenser wire was flexing as the point plate moved from the advance mechanism, the flexing condenser wire was touching the distributor body and shorting/grounding the points. A rather odd and rare situation. Greg L

Hands on experience is 100x more valuable than book learning.. In fact a lot of book learning won't make any sense at all unless you have hands-on experience on the subject of the book's lessons or information. Keep an eye on the forums. See if you can find someone near you who could use some help. Volunteer to help. I know in my area, there are several guys who don't get around as well as they used to, and would welcome a few hours of help every now and then, and some who could employ someone for a whole summer, finishing the reassembly of a car or truck.. I learned starting at about 8 years old by helping my father put wrecked cars back together. He'd buy insurance totals, we'd do the work, paint and regular maintenance. Then drive 'em for a year or two, then buy another, sell the old one. From this hands on experience, I learned a lifetime skill and basis for automobile collecting. When I wanted to take auto shop in High school, they required starting with the first in the series of classes, this was small engine repair.. like Briggs and Stratton's, etc.. When I was 12, I had an at home extension of the local lawnmower repair shop. I asked the shop teacher if I could just take the final exam for the small engine class. I did, and passed, but he still wouldn't let me start with a more advanced class.. I took chemistry and biology instead.. As mentioned by others. use google, check into local car clubs, find one or two that you like, and volunteer to help.. Soon you will have more offers to learn than you can handle.. Greg L.

Rusty: you forgot another plus: go to any car swap meet and at least 30-40% of the parts for sale will fit your car ! :-) BigSam, did you check it out and buy it?? Greg L

Where is the leak? Did you ask some radiator shops for a quote for a repair? Might not be all that much money. Greg L

Rusty-O'toole, that was hilarious.. thanks for the laughs, and some reality-check. Bigsam: any update ? Greg L

Hello bigsam, can you provide a bit more information about the car? How many miles on the car? Is the engine the original engine to the car? A list of recent maintenance work is always a help with making a decision about a car. As far a dependable transportation, the engine, the transmission and the rest of the drivetrain are very well known and are very reliable, as long as the car was not abused.. Is there a trailer hitch on the car? That can be a way a car can be abused. The rest of the car, like mentioned already, the suspension, steering, brakes, A/C and possible power options, are 45 years old, but if they have had light, but regular use, may not be in terrible shape. Many things in cars wear out for different reasons. An example is door hinges and door latch mechanisms. A car could have 100's of thousands of miles on it, and have very good door hinges and latches.. if it was used for freeway transportation. But the flip side is also true: a very low miles car could have worn out door hinges and latches because, like you will be doing, it drove short distances but had high frequency of door openings for the miles. Do you know any more history about the car? Has it been in Florida all it's life ?? if so, salt air can cause different areas of corrosion than those experienced in the northern states. Some light rust could be the tip of the iceberg, or just the result of years of salt air exposure. I completely agree that you should pay to have the car put on a lift, and very carefully looked over.. If the car is not a bondo-bucket, and you like the big-car ride and driving experience, you really can't go wrong.. Make sure you have a compression test done on the engine, it is the easiest test for engine condition. I like to pull a valve cover off, and look to see if the engine is loaded with sludge from infrequent oil changes and short distance driving, or clean, showing proper maintenance. What rough value are you giving the car, is it a direct trade for the 4runner? Good luck with the possible purchase / trade. Let us know any additional info you have on the car. Greg L

A vacuum leak lets air into the intake system, this would make an engine run lean, not rich. A choke sticking closed or very slow to open could be the cause and certainly would be the first thing to check, maybe something as simple as the wire to the electric choke element is loose or fell off. Greg L Hey Billy, any update ??

to the original poster: Hey Billy, did you find out what is wrong with the engine or carburetor ?? My last comment on carb rebuilding vs testing, rejuvenating and buying parts for EFI systems. The only special tool I have for a carb overhaul is a #2 straight blade screwdriver and a pair of needle-nose pliers. Gaskets-only carb kits are dirt cheap. Recently, for a '64 TBird, 390v8, the gaskets were $8, The whole kit $45. The carb that you couldn't get the accelerator pump to work on seems like it still needed more work.. not the carb's fault. I'm sure that those with a love of electronics will always love electronics. But all the specialized test equipment for the various injection systems I've worked on over the years now sit collecting dust.. maybe there is a market for the stuff in Arizona and California, plenty of old injection vehicles out there. Personally, i've never worked on an intact carb that I couldn't get to work right, some had worn out throttle shafts and had to be rebushed. Some very early carbs come under the 'driven over by a truck' , they had potmetal bodies and fell apart. But I've had many EFI computers fail, many injector bodies go bad electrically, bad MAP sensors, bad temp sensors, bad grounds. Alternators putting out too high voltage, erratic throttle position sensors. And the winter salt environment makes it all worse. I'll keep my #2 straight blade screwdriver handy.. And pray that my late model truck doesn't start to have any electrical problems with the injection system. Greg L

Could it be some sort of a timing advance-defeat switch so that the timing can be set without a computer moving the timing around? Pretty much just guessing here, but I see a distributor in the background, and no linkage anywhere near the switch. The switch looks like it's meant to be actuated by a person's finger, not by linkage. Most throttle activated switches I'm familiar with have a hinged metal lever over the actuation button of the switch, for both wear resistance and to allow a lot of linkage movement without damaging the fairly fragile microswitch.. Greg L

Since a modern cooling system uses a 'pressure-suction' cap, and an early car is not a pressure system, it seems at first glance, that a coolant reservoir will not work. but, if done properly it should.. Here's why: A modern cooling system has a radiator cap that releases pressure at usually 15psi, and since modern cooling systems don't have any air space in them, the cap releases coolant as the engine warms up, [the coolant expands] the coolant is captured in the reservoir. When the car is parked when hot, the additional heat-soak will often push even more coolant into the reservoir due to coolant expansion.. But, once the engine starts to cool, the coolant contracts, and the radiator cap is designed to allow the system to suck back the coolant from the reservoir.. Most caps will start to recover coolant at about 1-3PSI of vacuum. The coolant reservoir usually has a built in tube in the plastic bottle that goes to the bottom of the tank, so that the coolant that is recovered is drawn from the bottom of the tank, and most of the coolant in the reservoir is recoverable. With an early car, the cooling system is not sealed or pressurized, but has an overflow tube up near the top of the expansion tank of the radiator, or in most radiators I've looked in, the overflow tube comes up into the radiator neck and ends just short of the bottom of the screw-on radiator cap. This keeps most of the coolant and any foam from being expelled with any air that is leaving the radiator due to expansion from heat. If the radiator cap is tight and has a good gasket, the only way for coolant to get out is through the overflow tube. If you are using an antifreeze mix in the summer, antifreeze likes to foam in unpressurized cooling systems, so the foam and coolant that the foam displaces gets pushed out the overflow tube, to be dumped on the ground.. [i use pure water in the summer, with No-Rosion, or similar additive] So, if an unpressurized cooling system is tight, and the overflow is hooked to a reservoir that has it's connection at the bottom of the tank,and is an sealed tank with a vented cap, then the same scenario will occur: as the engine heats up, or as coolant foams or boils a bit and causes the system to push coolant out the overflow, the coolant will be captured in the tank, and then as the engine cools down, it will be drawn back into the radiator. Many old cooling systems have a powerful water pump, and a partially clogged radiator, due to rust flakes from the inside of the engine, and old congealed waterpump grease, and some calcium and other mineral deposits. So a strong water pump is trying to pull coolant through a restricted radiator, and can't. so it tends to draw air in past 'only snug, not tight' radiator hoses and clamps and in past the packing on the waterpump. This air, when mixed with the water or coolant takes up more space than the cooling system's normal capacity, so coolant is pushed out the overflow tube.. IF all this air was able to get to the top of the radiator it would be pushed out, but the air is pumped into the cooling jacket and expands rapidly from the heat, and creates hot spots the will quickly create steam when coolant comes in contact with the hot spots.. The steam does the same as the air, it takes up large amounts of the volume of the cooling system, and the coolant is pushed out through the overflow. Obviously air and steam will also be pushed out the overflow tube, but often these bubbles of air and steam push a lot of coolant ahead of them in the flow of coolant, so the radiator upper tank fills with coolant as well as steam and hot air. So, A recovery tank will work, and you must keep lower radiator hoses and hose clamps tight, and have a good seal and packing on the waterpump. If your car has a long rubber radiator hose on the suction side of the pump, it should have a coil spring inside the hose to prevent the pump from sucking the hose flat, and further restricting coolant flow. Greg L

I guess I should say that you can resurrect a carburetor that actually has a mechanical or contamination problem without having to buy a new carb. With EFI, which I've had plenty of experience with, If the computer is messed up, sure, you can reset, reprogram etc etc. But my question here is, why does it need resetting, or reprogramming?? Some mystery electron run rampant through the circuit boards ? But if you have an EFI with contaminated fuel, water in fuel etc and it sat for several months.. Well, get out your credit card, it's gonna hurt! I've resurrected many carbs that looked like junk.. but I've never resurrected a bad injector, corroded connector, or trashed fuel pump.. and if the computer gets wet, especially in salt water, get out your Credit Card,, How many EFI cars survived submersion in Hurricane Sandy without buying new computers etc?? And how many '60's and earlier cars submerged in salt water can be made to run again without buying more than a gasket set?? At least until the body rots off the frame.. Greg L

To continue, or go online and find an expanded view of your carb and figure out how it works. Carbs can be fixed, unless they get run over by a truck, burnt and melted or beaten with a hammer. They were designed to be repaired and rebuilt.. Unlike fuel injection parts and pieces. Post a few photos, or some carb info. Greg L

It's a bit of a pain to figure out, but take and post a photo of the carb, so we can figure out what flavor/make/model of carb you have. Carbs are fairly easy to work on. and the problem can be as simple as a 1/16" piece of grit lodged in the rubber tip of the needle/seat and letting fuel leak past the seat. With these older cars with carburetors, points and condenser etc. It rarely is a good idea to just start putting new parts on it to try to fix it. it is MUCH better to learn how it works and fix it.. For example, if you put another carb on it, then another piece of grit messes up the second carb's needle and seat, then you have wasted the money on a carb and the problem is still there: a contaminated fuel system or a bad fuel filter that is letting grit [rust flakes?] get to the carb . So I'd recommend finding the make/model of your carb, find a good carb kit, mainly for the directions. and look into the carb, find what the problem is.. Example: I had a '64 TBird that sat for several years. when I started it up about a year ago, the carb was leaking and flooding.. This model carb, has a removable float bowl with a thin paper gasket to seal the bowl against the carb body, the paper had shrunk over the years and pulled in, leaving a big gap for gas to pour out of.. BY THE WAY: ALWAYS have a good fire extinguisher nearby when messing with the fuel system! Nothing like a surprise fire to ruin your day ! ​

If the car ran good and reasonably smooth when the engine was first installed, and you believe the engine ran rich causing the current rough running, then the problem is most likely a problem with the carburetor. probably a float is filling with gas and getting heavy, or there is something stuck in a float needle and seat causing the float bowl to over flow and flood the engine. I'd take it back to whoever did the engine work and let them sort out the problem. I also would not drive it at all until you get it sorted out. An over-rich mixture will wash all the oil off the cylinder walls, and get past the rings. The un-lubricated cylinder walls will wear quickly and the new rings will not seat.. AND the extra fuel will wash down the cylinder walls, past the rings, and dilute the engine oil.. making the oil contaminated and not able to properly lubricate the engine. Either problem will mean either a very short life for the new engine, or worse a destroyed engine. Greg L

Forget overhauling the ignition system.. Pull the spark plugs, lay each spark plug on the cylinder head so the metal base is touching the head, and hook up each spark plug wire.. have someone turn on the ignition, and crank the motor. you will see if there is spark at each spark plug.. Since the engine went through a lot of work before being parked, and it was running then, I doubt that the ignition system is in need of much, if any work. If you don't have spark, then we can trouble-shoot that issue. Now, for the fuel.. most early cars have fuel shut off valves somewhere in the system.. I'd get under the car, and follow the fuel lines from the fuel tank all the way forward to the fuel bowl/sediment bowl. Often there is a needle valve/shutoff valve on the sediment bowl.. The suggestion of pressurising the fuel tank is a good one, but be careful, as mentioned, only a little pressure is needed, you don't want to swell the weak tank, and cause a rusty spot to start leaking. Often, when an electric pump is added to a system, a modern inline fuel filter is also added, look for that and change it, it might be restricting the flow. I'd be more concerned about the carb once it's running, float needles stick, both open and closed, varnish from dried gasoline clogs jets, and makes check-balls for accelerator pumps stick etc. But we'll get to those issues if they show up. Keep us informed. It is a lot of fun to bring a car back to life. Greg L

Well Barry, when irrational overblown fears lead to government regulation and oversight that results in this example not having the correct tools [brake shoe arcing machine] to do a SAFE brake job. Like I said in an above post, common sense and mechanical skill is needed for most repairs. I don't think it's inappropriate to bash the government when it's overzealous use of regulation and enforcement CREATES an unsafe situation. A mechanic who knows what he's doing and needs to arc a set of brake shoes to the drums on an early car that new, standard size drums are not available for, is stuck with doing something, somehow, to make the shoes fit the drums, and have good contact. without good contact, the brakes are unsafe until the shoe wears to fit the drum. i worked for decades in the auto repair business, and the Bureau of Automotive Repair did NOT care about the real problems with a car, or the legitimacy of a customer complaint, or how exemplary a business is or how well the car was repaired.. it only wanted to enforce silly regulations.. and because of that, many very good shops shut down because of a few 't's not crossed and 'i's' not dotted.. truly a sad situation. Greg L.

Another filter one Ebay: http://www.ebay.com/itm/110940262019?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649 I don't understand why Ebay sellers won't measure old, orphan items so we can see if something is close to what we need by measurment. But this might work for you in your application. The filter element probably will outlast your car, if it isn't abused when washed.. Soak it in diesel fuel or gasoline to soften any hard sludge it might have adhering to the cloth. then just rinse and gently squeeze it out untill it rinses clean. Soak in fresh oil, and reinstall. I've used several cloth based filters, and they seem to work very well. Greg L