1932 Buick Series 57 won't idle

[kps529]

Hi all, its been a while since I posted about my father's 1932 Buick. Moving, life, etc got in the way.

 

It was running well, and now siddenly it will not idle unless the choke is pulled all of the way out. As soon as he pushes it back in it dies unless the gas is floored. So basicaly its undrivable.

 

Any thoughts from the group here? He wants to buy a replacement carb to see if that is the issue so I have posted asking for one in the parts forum. 

 

Many thanks,

 

Kevin

 

[32buick67]

Hi Kevin,

What setup do you currently have for carb, heat riser, Wizard valve and piping?

Original equipment or mods?

Can you post a few pics to show the drivers side engine bay area?

 

Could be a few different things, but without learning more about your setup, its difficult to troubleshoot.

 

Prelim thought - the idle screw on the heat riser mechanism can back out if the counterscrew isn't installed, and the engine will stall.

Can you confirm if you have the idle screw properly adjusted?

 

We can start to dig deeper once we get more info.

 

Mario

[kps529]

Hi Mario, I am going to head over there tomorrow, so will get more details. It is all original equipment, with the original  Marvel carb, however the heat riser has been partially  elimiated (There is no longet a horizontal pipe, and the "T" part towards front of engine has been removed.. I'll take photos to show how. 

 

Not sure if idle screw is properly adjusted. We did have work done to it recently, and it was running great after, so maybe something wasn't set right or the idle screw backed out. 

 

K

[edinmass]

Keep it stock……..if it was running great it will again. Diagnose the problem, don’t guess. 

[kps529]

3 minutes ago, edinmass said:

Keep it stock……..if it was running great it will again. Diagnose the problem, don’t guess. 

Yeah Dad is the second owner, bought it in the early 1960s. Mostly unrestored. He doesn't want to modify it.  He and his father removed some things when they bought it (Wizard Control, the heat riser, and auto thermostat I think??) 

 

It wasn't running well for the past 10 years, then we had some work done about 1 1/2 ago, including front end and brake work and carb work, and it was better then its been in decades. Then stopped idling. The mechanic that worked on it retired in the meantime and its hard to find someone to look at it. I may be able to have the mechanic do a house call, but was hoping it might be something we could diagnose and resolve ourselves....

 

Kevin 

[nat]

     Your brief description of the symptoms points toward lack of fuel.

     A gravity feed to the carburetor will rule out clogged fuel filter, faulty fuel pump, crusty fuel lines and a tank full of crud.

[edinmass]

 

This is a typical old car issue that occurs when the car sits. Problem is it is beyond most shady tree mechanics. The carb on your car is known for being difficult. I have done them multiple times with no problems, but I have 50 years of shop experience. Most likely you have several issues.......so the entire car should be gone through. 

[Robert Engle]

I've been facing the same issue on my 32 58.  First, remove the fuel bowl cover, hook up a  vacuum gauge at the wiper connection.  With engine running, observe the fuel level in the bowl.  The fuel level needs to be about 9/16 inch below the the top of the fuel bowl.  vacuum should be close to 15 inches.  Low vacuum will not pick up fuel from the idle jet.  Low fuel level will cause the same problem.  Crude in the fuel system can flood the fuel bowl and won't maintain the correct level in the bowl.  An old cork float can become saturated and mess up the fuel level.

 

Bob Engle

[Robert Engle]

If the engine runs  at high rpms, it is not a fuel pump problem.  There is a hex fitting on the bottom of the fuel bowl 3/4" hex.  Remove this and check the screen for dirt.

 

Bob Engle

[Str8-8-Dave]

Kevin- I answered your PM.  Don't know if you saw that.

Dave

[kps529]

On 11/20/2023 at 12:03 PM, Robert Engle said:

If the engine runs  at high rpms, it is not a fuel pump problem.  There is a hex fitting on the bottom of the fuel bowl 3/4" hex.  Remove this and check the screen for dirt.

 

Bob Engle

Thanks Bob, did that looked clean but gave it a cleaning. Didn't improve

 

[kps529]

On 11/20/2023 at 9:10 AM, Robert Engle said:

I've been facing the same issue on my 32 58.  First, remove the fuel bowl cover, hook up a  vacuum gauge at the wiper connection.  With engine running, observe the fuel level in the bowl.  The fuel level needs to be about 9/16 inch below the the top of the fuel bowl.  vacuum should be close to 15 inches.  Low vacuum will not pick up fuel from the idle jet.  Low fuel level will cause the same problem.  Crude in the fuel system can flood the fuel bowl and won't maintain the correct level in the bowl.  An old cork float can become saturated and mess up the fuel level.

 

Bob Engle

Thanks Bob, wasn't there long enough to try that yesterday. Do you have a tip for removing the screw cloesest to the engine block towards front of car? I couldn't get to it. Also see my follow up post below I thing its a vacuum issue in heat riser?

 

[kps529]

UPDATE:

 

Hi all, first of all thank you all for the thoughtful replies!! this group is so great.

 

I was there for a little bit with the car yesterday. I removed the nut on the bottom of the carb bowl, the screen on it looked clean, but cleaned it anyway. While nut was off had dad crank the car, fuel flowed well, so not concerned with fuel pump.

 

I tried to remove the top of the carb bowl, but couldn't get to the front screw closest to engine block. Need a bent screwdriver i guess.

 

ALSO: noticed that with the choke out, when my dad pressed the accelerator, and about halfway the engine screeched REALLY LOUD like a loose or wet fan belt. It sounds like its the heat riser (which has been disconnected for 55 years). So I am leaning towards that as my primary thought. And of course I cant run to NAPA to go buy a new one....

 

HOWEVER: I called the mechanic who last worked on it. Although he is retired he is willing to come over after Thanksgiving to the house to look at it, which is great, as I think this is above my skill level at this point..

 

Will keep you posted as thinks progress!

 

And again THANK YOU!

[Robert Engle]

I use a screw driver blade that comes from a set of screw driver blades from a hex rachet set.

 

There are tubes pressed into the heat riser that are a common problem from heat and corrosion eating holes in the tubes.  They are a pain to replace.   Be verry careful with the heat riser as they are prone to cracking and there is no supply of good ones for replacement.

 

Bob

[Ben Bruce aka First Born]

14 hours ago, kps529 said:

UPDATE:

 

Hi all, first of all thank you all for the thoughtful replies!! this group is so great.

 

I was there for a little bit with the car yesterday. I removed the nut on the bottom of the carb bowl, the screen on it looked clean, but cleaned it anyway. While nut was off had dad crank the car, fuel flowed well, so not concerned with fuel pump.

 

I tried to remove the top of the carb bowl, but couldn't get to the front screw closest to engine block. Need a bent screwdriver i guess.

 

ALSO: noticed that with the choke out, when my dad pressed the accelerator, and about halfway the engine screeched REALLY LOUD like a loose or wet fan belt. It sounds like its the heat riser (which has been disconnected for 55 years). So I am leaning towards that as my primary thought. And of course I cant run to NAPA to go buy a new one....

 

HOWEVER: I called the mechanic who last worked on it. Although he is retired he is willing to come over after Thanksgiving to the house to look at it, which is great, as I think this is above my skill level at this point..

 

Will keep you posted as thinks progress!

 

And again THANK YOU!

  "Also"    Bet the screech is a vacuum leak.  

 

  Ben