hchris

As Keiser says and you will probably find a wiring diagram on ebay, as did I for my 34 Chrysler, got it on a disc. Put a search in ebay for 1931 cf desoto and a whole raft of things come up.

Not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs, but the technical reason for a carb fire is an already burning mixture seeking oxygen as an inlet valve opens. The most common causes are either bad ignition or valve timing; or an inlet valve leak. Not knowing anything about early Buick V8s I would be concentrating on valves/mechanisms, induction manifolding or perhaps a random spark cross firing etc.

Float mechanism for sure but dont whack it too hard as the casting is likely to crack. Cant help with a Johnson carb, but disassembly and careful attention to the float valve mechanism may prove worthwhile.

T5 - ....... would be a truck engine for that period, which may well be correct if your woody is based on commercial chassis

These are common across a broad range of Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth vehicles, often seen on ebay. But as mentioned by idrjoe there are better options, usually a small mechanical switch on the brake pedal linkage as in your daily driver.

Dont get too fixated on plug gap, being out .005 or so will not be significant at idle. Install the new plugs, run it and post the results. Working progressively through the information provided will ultimately solve the problem.

OK my first reaction is that the plug in right hand picture is black and sooty compared with the other, to me this indicates that plug is not firing or has been exposed to an excessively rich mixture. If more than one plug is like that then I would lean towards a mixture problem, if only one plug is like that then I would think the plug, the plug lead or distributor cap have a problem. The easiest way forward is to change all the plugs, particularly if they are old. Remember which cylinder the black sooty plug came from so as to investigate further if the problem still exists after installing new plugs. Keep us posted

Could be an number of things, as keiser31 says plugs or wires could give you an ignition fault; bad carb idle mixture settings will also do it; and then there is the more expensive, sticky valve, due to sitting around which will do it. Best start with spark plugs, remove them one at a time and see if they are clean or gummed up, does one have more deposits or different color deposits than the others? if so you have at least identified the problem area. If the plug(s) are black and sooty this usually points to a carb mixture problem, if they are oily then you may have an issue with rings or valve guides. Wtih the engine running, put your head under the hood at night, or find a dark corner of the shed, and look for blue flashes from the ignition wires or plugs, this is an indication of ignition component breakdown; replace wires or plugs as appropriate ( if you are in the shed keep proper ventilation in the area) If no faults are found with the above, perhaps a cylinder compression test is required to establish the leaky / stuck valve issue.

Further to the above, the Clum (trade name) switch is for lighting and horn controls. The horn cable goes from the horn button, down the centre of the steering column, to the switch.

Relax; you are have the pre syncro straight cut gear transmission and from here it looks ok, the gears are supposed to look like that. Your illustration is of a later helical geared trans.

As you say there is no fuel coming from the pump whilst the engine is cranking, there are obviuously two possibilities: 1. the pump has failed, or 2. there is a blockage between tank and pump Before removing the pump, disconnect the tank to pump feed line and try and establish this is clear. Normally fuel should gravity feed from the tank if there is sufficient fuel in it, you may need some compressed air to blow back through the line if this is not the case. If you find this line is blocked, you probably should consider removing the tank and having it properly cleaned out. As to the pump, there is not much of an option here other than changing it.

Good compression and smooth idle does not necessarily mean smooth running is going to occur at higher power settings, the mode of operation for fuel and ignition systems is quite different at higher speeds. The problem is how to analyze which system is playing up; the fact that the fuel tank has been disturbed would cause me to check that there are no fuel blockages all the way between the tank and the carb. If no faults are found there I would be looking inside the carb to see if there is debris floating around inside. As far as ignition goes it might be worth your while to stick your head under the hood with the engine running in the dark; rev the engine up and if there are any ignition breakdowns they are quite visible as blue flashes along the wires or around the plugs.

For what its worth and not knowing your vehicle, if access is an issue and presuming we are talking of plugs in the side of the block; have you considered gaining access through the wheel arch ? Many vehicles have removable splash shields fitted to the inner guard panelling; perhaps jack the car up remove a front wheel to see if you can get a better go at it.

Any of the early Chrysler 4s, 58 series etc. are basically the same engine; even the first Plymouths. But I agree with MochetVelo there is something really basic at fault here, by the sounds of it ignition or valve timing.

looks like its just you and me

Sure sounds like a problem with the float or needle and seat mechanisms. Referring to your carb pic 1; where your filter fitting screws into the carb a needle valve sits, which should stop the flow of fuel from the pump when the float rises as the bowl fills up. Before you pull anything apart give that area of the carb a gentle tap with a small hammer, or perhaps a screwdriver handle, and run the pump to see if that cures the problem, persist with the tapping for a short (10-15 seconds) period if its not immediately effective - caution here as we playing with fuel and electrics !! If it does stop flooding then you have provided a temporary fix and at least established that this is the problem area; a proper fix will involve taking the top off the carb and establishing the precise nature of the problem. On no account try to start the engine if you have fuel on the outside of the carb, mop it up or let it evaporate first. It would help if we knew whether the problem arose as a result of fitting an electric pump or not, as someone else has stated it may simply be that the pump is putting out too much pressure, which forces fuel past the needle valve and float mechanism.

Something else you may like to consider is a vac tank with a larger storage capacity, they were an option back in the day on some vehicles. In other words look for something to increase your holding capacity during those lengthy large throttle drive situations; come to think of it it might be just as easy to increase the capacity of your existing vac tank.

Just a word of caution where vacuum wipers and fuel systems are concerned. As vacuum is dependent on the throttle position, it stands to reason that vacuum will be at its highest when the throttle is closed, such as at idle, or when coasting with foot off the pedal. It will be at its weakest when you are pulling up hill or with the engine under load, say into a headwind. If you strike a situation where both wipers and fuel are sucking hard and your engine is under load, say a long climb or stiff headwind you may well find that the wipers at best will be working very slowly and at worst the carb may run out of fuel, because their is not enough vacuum to lift sufficient fuel up out of the tank and keep a head of fuel in the vac tank. It pays to be aware of this if you are on tour and mixing it out there with all of the other traffic.

I second the above, looks like vacuum draws the oil to the window on pressing the button, condition is probably based on oil color. Electrics are for illumination for the guage.

Quite often see them on ebay, search parts for dodge 1936. Just done mine on a 1934 Chrysler, originally stepped bore as you described, had them sleeved straight through as others here have done without problems. Bit over engineered in the first place we think. Power Brakes SA here are good to work with, advertise in Just Cars etc. Jim Robinson in Vic. has a lot of Dodge stuff, not sure if he goes back that far.

If you are doing this with 6 volt, let us know how you get on. I have yet to find suitable suitable 6v LEDS and flasher can down here.

And Greetings from downunder, sun has just risen here on Christmas Morning and we are looking at a glorious 34°C day. Peace and Goodwill to you All

Yes, an aftermarket air cleaner where the impeller was designed to seperate the solids in the air flow with centrifugal force and eject them to through the outer casing rather than flow into the manifold and cylinders. How effective they were is anybodys guess, often found on tractors and the like which obviously moved through dirty/dusty environments at slow speed and were more prone to ingesting dirty air.

Depends how long you want to wait, the fuel will eventually evaporate and given that its probably not a big volume maybe an hour or two. If you need to get it out sooner take out the spark plugs and motor the engine over with the starter this clear it out of the cylinders.

Not sure I would write the coil off, blue spark is good, particularly at starter cranking speeds,nothing to say it wont fail when hot however,oh and how good is the fuel? Nevertheless with good spark and fuel something should be happening, at least a kick from the engine, did you flood it? perhaps remove the plugs wind it over on the starter a few turns with the throttle wide open,reinstall the plugs and see what happens. If this fails, then as above, a check of the timing would be in order;next thing would be a compression check.