TerryB

Do you have a standard mechanical fuel pump or has an electric fuel pump been added? Electric fuel pumps can sometimes overpower the floats in a carb if the fuel pressure is too high.

Dr. James, we will continue to need updates from you as we attempt to help. Is the carb a 2 barrel or 4? Is it a replacement or aftermarket carb or original. Has there been a time when you did not have the problem?

Hey, I thought you got lost! First car show post from you in a while. Note the moderators are moving posts like this to the meets and shows section. I posted some car show pics from CA and that’s where they went. Pittston is a great place for pizza too!

Recently in the technical section there was a car with a similar problem. Disconnecting the distributor vacuum advance made it run better. You may want to try that too. The modified ignition is another place to look. Do you know if the plugs were fuel fouled as in black sooty appearance?

He may be doing his own on-line auction as that is what most of his auction offerings have been lately. I’m about 5 miles from Manheim but these items are out of my knowledge base.

Looks like Tim Keller’s auction company in Manheim PA will be the auctioneer based on Tim’s post.

Agreed, you only want the fuel gage ON when the key is on.

So you have a Battery terminal on the switch that can have the battery voltage wire or wires connected to it from the car’s harness. When the key is in the OFF position no battery voltage will be present on the other two terminals. When the key is ON, those two terminals will have battery voltage. You should be able to choose one of those two ON terminals to send power to the coil. The other terminal should have a cover over it if it’s not used so you don’t accidentally touch it and make sparks. If you do choose to power something else from the second ON terminal, you may want to use an in-line fuse with it to protect the item receiving power and to protect your wiring harness. Terry

Wow! Great cars. Thank you for the photos.

First rule of collecting is buy what you enjoy. Second is to shop around a little for best value unless the item is so rare that it does not often come up for sale. Third rule (my rule) is not be concerned with resale value. If you are a dealer, rule three does not count but for the rest of us I believe it mirrors our enjoyment of any kind of antique. We are the caretakers of history when we own these items.

Early to mid 1950s?

Glass jar batteries were also part of the Delco Light system of rural electrification for farms and places that were not served by conventional AC power. I have a few items from this era with the glass jar as one of the stand out items. The Federal government’s rural electrification act provided the funding necessary to extend power to rural customers where it had not been financially worthwhile to run power lines. The glass jars are a neat piece of history.

Can you measure continuity from Batt terminal (as the reference terminal) to the other two first with key off, then with the key on? It seems from what you have said so far that with the switch in OFF, Batt to Starter is open and Batt to Ignition is open as in no continuity. With key ON you have continuity to both Starter and Ignition. Just want to make sure that is the case. With the new harness I suspect there is a battery wire (or two) that wii connect to your Batt terminal of your key and with the present connection of the green wire the car will start. The ignition connection may have been al electric pump power point. With a footswitch starter there is no need for a spring loaded ignition switch. Both my 37 Dodge and 1951 Pontiac, which had a starter button on the dash, only had off and on settings.

Gas fouling or oil? Do you get black smoke out the exhaust? How long does it take to foul the plugs? All plugs fouled? Lots of info needed to attempt a diagnostic.

I had a 1937 Dodge 1/2 ton, green with black fenders so I’m partial to old Dodge truck pics!

Neat old truck! I like your photo style without color.

Fuel filter need replacing? I suspect the car’s owner rarely if ever does the same test you are doing. I would be looking at both fuel and ignition as the source of the problem.

Local news channels are showing PADoT working to repair and open Rt 39 by tonight. Yes, this is far from any distorted news and way too real for those affected. Two deaths from flooding, both young people.

Should have a part number on the back that will id what it fits.

I’ve never encountered that situation so I can’t reply with any useful info. Terry

AC spark plugs became AC Delco many years later. The pictures I posted are from an original 1927 catalog I have. The asterisk next to the auto brand indicates it was what the factory installed. As stated above, old AC plugs are out there, you just have to look hard for good useable ones.

I’m thinking it’s the brushes in the starter not making good contact. Water can be an insulator in low voltage circuits. Most time we think of it as a conductor but that only happens in high voltage like coils and spark plug wires. In low voltage, water can make corrosion that impedes the flow of electricity. Your comment about the light bulb near the starter is what led me to this thought. The brushes and their contact area on the starter armature are suspect.

From a 1927 auto parts supply catalog, Maxwell is AC type A

Battery ground good? Is there a ground strap from body to frame? Is the ground of the solinoid clean and tight?

For the early EV fans