mrcvs

Okay, I tried again today, and first time, it runs 5 - 10 seconds and quits. Then it wants to run, but sputters a second or so and dies. I will try to figure out how to get air in the screw hole without a compressor and see if that works. BTW, I, on a microcosm level, am a good example of why this country is falling apart. I was born in 1970, struggle with fixing things like this, and waste my day with a job in front of a stupid computer half of the day. We need people who can fix things and make things run, not folks with useless skills who waste time answering dumb and pointless e-mails from upper management. Don't produce anything in this country anymore, folks who cannot fix things...and waste their formative years in useless liberal arts courses when they should be avoiding college (and debt) completely and learning a skill. My 2 cents worth. If anyone with Model A skills lives nearby, I would love to learn from you. I live in Macungie, PA, not far from Route 100. I saw one recently (running!!) on Spring Creek Road, I think it was a 1930, blue in colour...if you read this, where are you?

I don't have an air compressor. I know, I should have one, but the wife complains about the car itself being in the garage and it makes the option of having lots of other toys in there difficult. Any ideas? I did mess around with the screw already, but I think it is where it always was before. This was what I thought might be the problem reading the Jim Schild book.

No, that's not it. I pulled the carburetor yesterday and forgot to turn off the gas when I did it...and gas came pouring out.

What do I do to fix that?

Okay, so I pulled the carburetor and sprayed Carb Cleaner in it. I am charging the battery now as the charge was low, but, again, it starts, runs 10 seconds, and stalls. Now what?

My 1917 Maxwell has a gauge that assesses the oil. No dipstick needed!

THAT is the reason I, and many others, don't have a lot of free cash. The ONLY real tax break for the middle class is to put money into an IRA, and not pay taxes on it. It sucks saving for one's own retirement, but employers are too cheap or greedy to do otherwise. So, I eat dirt most of the time in order to put the maximum of $17,500 away so I don't have to pay taxes on it. Money that could go towards stimulating the economy by spending it instead.

I always shut off by closing the gas valve and letting run until gas is gone, so there was not gas in the fuel line for any long period of time. Don't know why this is happening now???

I am in Eastern Pennsylvania. I live three miles from the Das Aught Fest this weekend and, despite this, I feel remote and STRANDED. A few old timers like to talk about their early stuff, at the show, but that is about it. I think what I meant to say is that when it comes time to sell this early stuff in a generation or so, and there are no buyers, the sellers have no one to blame but themselves. It is SAD that this hobby is dying, and yet there is no one to encourage interest... No surprise here.

1930 Model A Ford. Was sitting about 3 weeks, and I started it yesterday, maybe didn't let it warm up enough, and went to put it in gear, and it stalled. Could not get it started again. Cleaned out fuel bowl (white sludge in bottom), and it started and idled for 10 min, and then staled (I did not attempt to drive it). Now, it cycles a few times and then stalls. I start by advancing the spark, then retarding, a few sputters, then nothing. Pulled carburetor and removed same sludge, and still won't start. What do you think the problem is? Okay, now I am going to vent a little here. I am starting to get really frustrated, and just want to maybe get out of this hobby, as nothing ever seems to run. It would be nice if a neighbor a few homes down has a Model A, and someone else has maybe another classic car, and then there is help. But, I am in my mid-40's, and interested in earlier cars, and there seems to be no support, no big group of like-minded individuals around. If I CAN find help, it is a garage that knows this sort of stuff to the tune of about $100 an hour. No wonder why the interest in early cars is dying. If there is no one else interested in these early cars in 25 or 50 years, it is the lack of support to younger generations now.

Good for you! None of their business, really, what the car looks like. I had difficulty registering my 1917 Maxwell as it is 90% + original, and looks like a 97 year old car. They rejected it the first time because it did not look showroom new. I had to doctor up the photos to get it through the second time around.

It looks like, as of July 2014, that all is needed now to get antique plates for a car is the title, completed application, and a check for $75.00. (Photos no longer needed). Is this correct? I have a car I have been meaning to register for some time but the inability to print out photos has prevented this from happening. Please confirm or refute. Thanks!

I will have to look and see what material is used to brace the doors. The good news is that I actually never used 90 W oil. Just 10 W 30. I was told to use 90 W next time but obviously will not do this!

Shifting pattern: Reverse, upper left First gear, lower left Second gear, upper right Third gear, lower right

What should I be using, then? This is what an old-timer told me to use. Thanks!

Here is a photo of mine.

Here is where to go for your fan belt: http://leatherdrivebelts.com/ John Knox is a pleasure to work with. Engine oil, use 90 W oil. Capacity is 4 or 5 quarts, I believe. There is a gauge for this in my 1917 Maxwell. No oil filter on these. Let's see pictures of yours.

Wow, I really like the 1913 Overland. What do you all think of a price of $29,700 for this one? For what it is, it seems like a really good price.

Well, took it for a second spin and lights and horn are working! Must be a short somewhere. Will check this out on another day.

Okay, sorry for the level of frustration...but I was frustrated! One of you suggested taking a knife to the positive ground battery clamp and I did this. MAGIC. She wanted to turn over, but wouldn't quite do so! Okay, so I checked the fuel tank, and it was empty despite the gauge saying it was full. Added some gas and just took her for a spin. Still no lights or horn, and I had these before, but I can live without those, as long as she runs. So, I feel really STUPID right now. I guess I figured if it worked in contact with the old battery, the clamp would work just fine with the new battery. By the way, when I say I scraped it out with a knife, I mean I really scraped it! So hard, a small piece of metal flaked off! I do get aggravated sometimes with the junk I took to get a degree. Would rather have had Fixing your Model A 101 instead of English 101. Something I can use in life. By the way, I DO use my hands in my real job. I am actually a veterinarian so I can fix animals. Seems like I should be able to fix cars, too! Thanks ALL of YOU. Makes this forum truly GREAT!

If that were the case, wouldn't you at least get some sort of response from the starter?

Okay, I tried again, just touching the negative (black) connector to the brass button (key off on car) and ... Nothing.

Yes, Macungie is between Hershey and Clarks Summit...however, I didn't buy the battery until yesterday afternoon and charged it for awhile and figured the car would fire up last evening...and no such luck!

jpage, I did take apart the starter switch again, and hooked up the negative (black) cable to the starter button and the positive to the housing of the starter. When I plugged in the battery charger, no response in the starter, but, no matter what I did, I still could not get the starter to show anything other than check battery, as opposed to battery charging. Any ideas? It seems odd that the starter (or anything else) would fail EXACTLY when I put the new battery in, but then again, nothing seems to be working, either.

Okay, I took apart the starter switch, and now that I know how this works, I put it back together again, and can hear a 'click' as the starter shaft makes contact with the brass button beneath. So this isn't the problem! I had put it back together again before I read the comment about connecting the battery charger directly to it. When you think about it, I did at least get something with the old battery. The new battery - nothing. Shows up fully charged on the battery charger and my connections 'look' good. It has to be something with replacing the battery, as simple as that sounds??? On another note, this just demonstrates how impractical the high school and/or college system really is. You would not believe the junk I had to take to get a rather useless college degree. The essential courses are not all the junk I had to take, but rather, they need to be teaching you how to fix things in high school/college instead of the theoretical bull****. Now, maybe they teach you these things if you major in engineering, but I made the mistake of not doing this. I regret this every day. Had I done so, not only would I be more practical at digging myself out of holes such as these (can't get car to run), but also I would have better employment opportunities, too. I guess the moral behind this is if you are young and wondering what to do, study engineering, or at least something where you can fix things and make them work better.