1937 Buick No Start problem

[John Jacques]

I'm attempting to start (for the first time) a 1937 Buick Opera Coupe that I recently purchased from an estate. The vehicle had been in a 20 year restoration project by the previous owner (now deceased). The engine was professionally rebuilt and has not been fired up. The engine does turn over very easily, but does not start. It has new plug wires, points, cap, rotor, condenser, coil, and a rebuilt carb. My problem is that I do not have spark. The timing has been set, and am getting power to the new coil. With an ohm meter check the points (when opened) and there isn't any continuity, so that's OK. The distributor does have good ground. I'm pulling my hair out, can anybody help me out.

Thanks, Jakes

[raydurr]

You may need to slightly file the points. I have had to scuff brand new points to get them to work.

[michealbernal]

New points?  New 20 years ago or new last week?  Frequently points that have sat unused for a time will develope a thin layer of oxide on them that acts as an insulator.  That can be corrected by lite fileing or by pulling a clean piece of heavy paper thru them when they are closed.

[MCHinson]

If it is not the points, I would substitute a known good condensor for the one that is in the car now. I have seen a number of new condensors that were bad right out of the box in the past few years. 

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

Engine turns slowly? Why?  I have seen when the starter was pulling too many amps or the battery is not up to snuff , there is not enough power to fire the plugs.  Does it have proper[  large ] cables.? Is the battery fully charged?

 

  Ben

[John Jacques]

Thanks for all of your replies. The points looked like they were new, but I did clean them up by sanding and filing very lightly. Looks like I will probably get new ones anyway, and try again. I am aware that even new condensers can be bad, that is why I installed a new one. So, what is the best way to make sure you have a good condenser??? As mentioned in my original entry, the engine turns over very easily, so I do not believe that a starter draw is a factor.

For some reason I neglected to send the above reply. After reading all of your replies, I located an old set of points that came with the car when I purchased it, I cleaned them and installed. BINGO, I had excellent spark, now I can break the engine in. WRONG!  After turning the engine over a few extra times to make sure I still had a good spark, it failed again. Back to scratching my head.  I'll head out now to the auto parts store and get a new set of points. After the new points are installed, I will respond,  hopefully a positive reply.

Thanks again, Jakes

[Marty Roth]

Try reinstalling the "OLD" condenser prior to making any other changes.

My experience is that the oldest of these tend to last almost indefinitely, while new ones frequently fail almost right out of the box, or shortly thereafter

Edited June 8, 2020 by Marty Roth (see edit history)

[John Jacques]

Well, I purchased a new set of points and installed them. To my surprise the engine fired right up. Thanks again to all of your suggestions. I'm sure that I'll be using this forum again, and again, Jakes out.

Marty I agree with you, if the old one can be fixed, fix it.

[neil morse]

Great news, Jakes.  How about some pics of your car.  We love pics!