Bloo

In the original setup, you need the spacer ring to hold the thermostat up in the housing. It isn't obvious when you are looking at it without the old parts, but that's how it works.

Yes you could test one if you had a capacitance bridge, but I don't know what the value is either. They vary by make and model. The way to tell if the value is wrong is that metal transfers from one point to another, making a "mountain" on the points. You go through a lot of points, but still have spark. In old MoTor manuals there are pictures. Which point the mountain is on tells you whether you have too much or too little capacitance. The change in uF needed to correct it is usually very small. You are correct that a bunch of spark at the points implies a bad condenser. When the points open, you get a little spark because you are breaking the circuit. But then, the magnetic field collapses in the coil, really fast, and the voltage goes sky high! But... nothing is grounded because the points are now open. The condenser can handle a pulse of current if it is there and good. If it is not there, the spark must jump at the spark plug AND the points. The spark at the plug will be weak. That really is how you tell. Good luck

You cant really test a condenser with an ohmmeter. It is supposed to be open. If it isn't open, its bad. With a good one, you might get a "kick" the first time you try it with an ohmmeter. Don't put too much stock in it. Ok so you have voltage on the positive side of the coil. Points open, you should have voltage on the negative side. points closed, you shouldn't. Since you are seeing a big spark (at the points ?) when you crank, you already have all that. If there is spark at the points, it is almost alive. Pull the coil wire out at the distributor end and put the end 1/8" or 1/4" from ground somewhere and crank. If you have a good spark, it is ready to run. If there is no spark, or super weak spark, replace the condenser and try again.

62-66 Chrysler product with the early style 318 and a 727 automatic. A stick would be good too if you could find one, but you won't. Completely rebuild the front suspension (a horrible job, but do it), sort it well and drive it daily for a while like you would any other antique when you first get it. Don't forget to fix the heat riser, kit the carb, and adjust the valves. Unplug the oil drains while the valve covers are off. Replace the fuel pump. Put in a timing chain. Replace the coolant bypass hose, and make sure it has tight clamps. Get some high-quality radial tires. Kit the brake cylinders and fill with fresh brake fluid. Pack the wheel bearings. Rear ones, too. Adjust the bands in the transmission, change the filter, and change all the transmission fluid, including the torgue converter. Inspect the cooling lines. If they have any thin spots or pieces of hose in them, replace them. There shouldn't be hose. It's just brake tubing. Keep the engine full of fresh 20w50, and change it regularly. Carry extra oil, and check the oil every time you stop for gas. You won't need speed dial, AAA, or anything else. You will ALWAYS get home. Things may fail, but nothing serious enough to stop you from moving. Fun fact: There are large sections of this country where your phone wont work, where it gets over 100F, and there is nothing around for miles. It is even true if you stay on the Interstates. Speed dial or AAA won't do you much good until you have taken a long walk.

That is normal. The condenser connected to the positive side of the coil is to kill radio noise caused by the ignition. That is normal. It goes to the points and condenser in the distributor. When everything works as it should, and the ignition is on, that terminal should be live with the points open, and dead with the points closed. That is a normal kill switch like you might have on a snowmobile or a lawnmower or something. When it is on, the engine will not have any spark. These are used to stop the engine on when the ignition is a magneto or something not battery powered that you cannot just turn off. It doesn't make a bit of sense on a Falcon unless he was using it as an anti-theft device. That is a good possibility for the reason he had it. I would get rid of it entirely, If you don't want to get rid of it, disconnect it at the coil end for now as part of the troubleshooting process. You can hook it up later if you want for old times sake after you have the car working right. The way you have described it, it was never necessary to make the car run, only make it not run if the switch was flipped. Now about the condensers..... I would ignore the radio condenser for now. The one in the distributor you should replace anyway. Here is how you can get started troubleshooting without buying any condensers. I am assuming you have already disconnected the kill switch from the coil, and have the charged battery in and hooked up. 1) Put a piece of paper between the ignition points to block them from touching each other. Turn key to "run" position. With a meter, or a test light, check for voltage on the "hot" side of the coil. Check the negative side too. Both should be hot. If not, post back what you find. Otherwise proceed. 2) Take the paper back out of the points. Scrape the points with something where they touch. Preferably not sandpaper as it gets embedded and causes short life. Alternatively, you could put in new points and condenser. If you do you must gap them. Put a tiny bit of grease up against the rubbing block (that touched the cam) of the new points. Pick a side depending on which way the distributor turns, Put the grease on the side where it will get pulled under the rubbing block as the distributor turns. Turn the engine by hand with a wrench, or the starter (stater is tougher) until the rubbing block is EXACTLY on top of one of the cam lobes (highest peaks). Set the gap with a feeler gauge according to the manual. You could also use a matchbook for now just to get it close enough to run. Whether the points are old or new, drag a piece of paper soaked in brake kleen through them where the contacts touch when you are done, to get rid of any grease or oil contamination. 3) Now put the distributor cap on, or get it out of the way. I might leave it off to make sure the distributor turns, unless you already know from changing the points. Pull the coil wire out at the distributor cap end and put it close to the block or something grounded. Get it about 1/8" or 1/4" inch away. Tape it if necessary. Don't hang on to it by hand. Crank the engine and see if you have spark. No spark? Weak spark? Post what you find. More to come when you get to this point if you don't already have it running. Good luck.

That may be, but always go for the "F" version battery on a 12 volt Ford if you want original cable routing. True through at least 1970 (and probably a decade or two longer).

I wouldn't go so far as to call a Delco 5-terminal 'unreliable". Yes, I know GM did. I have been driving around on one for almost 3 years and I don't see any reason to change it. I have a theory why they said that, but it isn't really relevant to the problem at hand. Set properly, the 5-terminal should have about 7.65 Volts running at something above idle, on a room-temperature day. It will overshoot that for the first block or two while the system catches up after starting. The regulator is overcompensated for temperature, so it will probably be somewhat less than 7.65 in hot weather or after the engine has been blowing hot air on it for a while. Below 7.2 would really raise my eyebrows, and I would expect something more like 7.4 even when hot. This is above idle or driving, with a charged battery, and accessories and lights off. I doubt the meter is going to work on this car with the engine running, but it's worth a try. It would be great information to have. If not, do you have a generator test set or some other analog meter that can tell the difference between about 6.3 volts and about 7.5 volts? Maybe an analog VOM? Check voltage at the battery with the engine revved up off idle. In the video, the gauge goes way to the discharge side. Does it center with the car off now? When does it go all the way to discharge? Does it do that when you first turn the ignition on, or does it discharge more after you start the engine? The fact that it doesn't go that far into "charge" could be normal since the battery is fully charged.

I had a bottom of the line 55 hardtop. In 55 they didn't call it a "Seville". It was a "Firedome Special", which just might be the best car name ever.... Fancy ones were called "Fireflite Sportsman". The 55 Firedome Special interior was all vinyl and even plainer than this 56. It was a combination of white and mouse gray.

Yeah. There just about HAS to be something wrong with the gauge. With the engine off and the battery disconnected, theres nothing to power it. Default is center.

The autostart wiring (small wiring) is not live with the ignition off. About the only thing left is the starter and the horn. That doesn't quite add up. Did it make the ammeter go to center when you disconnected? Did it go back to discharge when you hooked it back up?

Is this picture with the engine running or off? Is the ignition switch on or off?

Thats a late 35 or 36 Pontiac transmission. It may be original. Some of the last 35s had a transmission that looked like that. All 36's did. Most 35s have a Chevrolet-based transmission that looks nothing like this. Oldsmobiles have an open driveline. 1937 Pontiacs have an extremely long tailshaft and an open driveline. Buick Specials have a torque tube, but it is a different attachment style. All are similar 5-bolt transmissions to yours, but not a match. The rear housing gives it away as Pontiac. Changeover to the new transmission (like yours) happened at engine number engine number 8-27162 (Eights) and 6-46474 (Sixes). Transmission case numbers: 1935 second type 1395781 1936 all 1399802 Casting numbers do not always match part numbers. How bad is it? If it fits in the car properly. maybe it could be rebuilt. I seem to recall that the late 1935 transmission mount is in a different location than 1936. If so, thats a part-of-the-year transmission, and is going to be really hard to find.

Had to be a vacuum leak. It would really amaze you how tiny a leak can be and still kill a cylinder.

I don't have an overdrive anymore. I have had some in the past. My favorite was in a 51 Nash Statesman. I just left it in overdrive (cable in) most of the time. Drive like a normal stick, lift foot in high, clunk... its in overdrive. It had a switch on the throttle linkage. Now Nashes like mine had a cable-and-pulleys sort of throttle linkage, and the switch was a momentary thing with a cable hanging out of it connected to the throttle linkage. To the driver it was just like kickdown on an automatic transmission, you just might want to pay a little more attention to the speed you are going and the gear you might wind up in if you floor it. That switch with the pull cable had 2 sets of contacts, but I don't remember what the second one was for. Maybe it cut power to the solenoid. When you floored it, one set of contacts shorted the ignition points out. This would cut the engine, taking the mechanical load off of the overdrive solenoid, releasing it. When the solenoid released and bottomed out, it would hit another set of contacts in the back of the solenoid, removing the short and thereby turning the ignition back on. This all happened so fast as a driver you would never know it killed the engine for a split second.

Glad you got it sorted.

Check Timing and idle speed. The idle jet provides a mixture of air and fuel out the needle. Right above the hole the mixture screw sticks through is a "transfer slot" or "transfer port". it is fed from the same air/fuel that the idle jet needle is. Normally it would be above the throttle plate and not feed any air/fuel. If, due to tuning issues, like retarded timing, or a miss, or a vacuum leak, or whatever, the throttle is open further than it normally would be at idle, then part of the transfer port will be below the throttle plate and feeding air/fuel. You would be left with little to no control by the mixture screw. The throttle shaft could be worn out, causing the throttle plate to hang up on the bore. Idle would be too high, but otherwise the same situation as in the paragraph above. The float could be set too high, or sunk, or have a bad needle and seat causing the fuel level to be too high. Assuming that the throttle was found NOT to be too far open, If AND ONLY IF the engine has no tendency to backfire, you could do the following. Put on some safety glasses, get a bright flashlight, take the air cleaner off, and stare down the bore at idle. You should NOT see any fuel feeding anywhere. It should all be coming out the mixture screw, under the throttle plate, where you cant see it. If anything is coming out of the main discharge tube, the float is "running over", meaning the bowl is too full, probably for one of the reasons above. It works like a toilet. It fills to a specific level, then the float and valve shut it off. Check the tuneup issues first, and be sure the throttle is mostly shut. Its easier. You may need carburetor work.

The trouble with these GM cars with Fisher bodies is the mat was not originally glued or tacked down. There is always SOMTHING under the mat you need to get to. For instance, in a 37 Roadmaster, it's the brake fluid. In a 36 Pontiac, it's the battery. The mat was apparently supposed to stay put under it's own weight. There isn't even anything tying it down at the edge. Most of the ribbed flooring I have found is either Vinyl, or SBR Rubber. It looks like plastic, feels like plastic, and in the case of SBR rubber, doesn't weigh anything. It is also much more expensive than I was expecting. If you shop carefully at Restoration Supply or McMaster Carr you can get real rubber of some sort, likely neoprene or EPDM. It probably weighs more, but it also costs more than SBR. Then you have to fit it and probably glue it to itself. I doubt contact cement would hold up with people stomping on it. Maybe resorcinol? I'm trying to imagine how you would clamp it. I seem to recall when I priced some nice heavy mat, and jute, etc. I was about two thirds of the way to a Bob's mat. Bob's is out of the one I need, or I would have already bought it. If you find a cheap solution that actually works out, please post back here.

Are those refrigerator handles?

I used to use brake cleaner as well to get the crap out. Lines all disconnected and open, or at least having the pistons and cups out of the cylinders. You really should follow with alcohol (a hose and a small funnel will get it in). Today brake cleaner is different. It does not evaporate quickly. I would be hesitant to use the kind we have today at all. If I did, I would definitely follow with alcohol. I doubt there is a non-messy way. I probably had a shop rag tied loosely over the open end of the line, and a pan underneath. Brake fluid removes paint, so you must be extremely careful if the areas you are working around are painted.

In many cases they are not idiots. Often they are working with the same software that you would see if you were ordering from the same company online. You don't get anywhere until you put in a make, model and year. In my area I have seen experienced parts people I have known for years hobbled by this. The paper catalog rack no longer exists.

There is nothing cooler than a electric controlled Borg Warner overdrive with all it's electrical doodads working. It also makes an small engine much more usable than it would be otherwise. I would try some different oil in the trans before you condemn it. 90 weight is really balky when cold in anything. It is something people lived with back in the day, but today almost everything is multiviscosity. Maybe some Synchromesh oil or even some 10W30 or 20W50 motor oil. If it still crashes then you do indeed have a problem.

Or you could just run the original regulator. My truck has the GM/Delco external electromechanical regulator system that was used on 67 Rivieras. It has had the same NAPA electromechanical regulator since at least 1987 when it came into the family, and probably longer. The cover has never been off in that time. The original Delco regulators are of similar quality. Either of these old production regulators are adjustable and repairable (if necessary) practically forever. Good luck getting that kind of service out of ANY electronic regulator, internal or external. Electromechanical regulators can be intermittent if the points get dirty enough, or if a spider builds nests in there, blocking motion. I cannot imagine any way one could cause rough starts.

This is why it is ALWAYS better to rebuild/overhaul/adjust what you have rather than using exchange parts. Using exchange parts, best case, you wind up with someone else's problems. Worst case, you wind up with something that has been beat up or had unknown modifications done by the rebuilder to "prevent comebacks". This last situation is extremely common with carburetors. It leaves the car owner in a really bad situation because he (or some previous owner) probably turned in the old one for a "core charge". He must then locate one that has not been through the "exchange" program, and rebuild it or have it rebuilt by someone competent. In some cases it can drag out for years.

It looks a lot like the ones that were on my 51 Statesman, but I couldn't say for sure.

Have you checked the battery terminals? If not, I would take them off. scrape the outside of the post and the inside of the hole in the cable. Also, charge the battery and try again. Or, maybe it blew a fuselink, but try the easy stuff (battery terminals) first.