'59 Plymouth Forum

Hey guys,

it's me again I wasn't able to log in the forum for a while and now I'm back with a question which might again be difficult to answer without looking at it.
I had my car out for some rides this year and didn't have big problems (except I broke the trunk key but with new blanks from the US the problem was solved very quickly).

Today I drove from Muenster (where I live) to the garage where the car is parked to get it, because we are invited to a wedding of good friends this upcoming Saturday and I wanted to give the newlyweds a ride on Saturday after church. I started the engine and it was running for like 30 secs then it drowned. After that - like always - I had a hard time starting it again. Usually it takes some 20 minutes or so, if it drowned before. Well, this time it took me 3 hours to start it again. The battery was down pretty soon, so I had to try to jump start it.

Once it was running I drove a couple of miles, filled up the tank and then drove the highway (50-60 miles/hour) to Muenster which is a ride of approx 80 miles. In neutral, the engine runs what I would call 'normal' - in D it is almost drowns once the car comes close to stopping. It's not running very well in D though. I usually switch to N because I don't want to risk, that the car drowns in the middle of an intersection etc.

Well, my guess is that there's something wrong with the carburator but I'm more or less desperate what is is. And always switching to D is one the one hand not very good for the transmission and on the other hand not a constant condition I want.

So, again a very specific question. Thanks for answers in advance. Tomorrow I'll also ask the mechanic who is my neighbour, but I'm not very confident he knows what to do with such an old car...

Sebastian

Is your choke doing it's job??
Can also be a vacuum leak.

I would almost say that i'm on my way but it's a pretty long drive

I agree with Matthew on this..your car has a vacuum leak.
Check to see that the carburetor is screwed together well.
Check to see that the carburetor is bolted tight to the manifold.
Check the vacuum hose from the distributor to carburetor.

If an engine gets "flooded" (drowned), there are several steps you can take:
1) hold the gas pedal to the floor while cranking the starter. Do not pump the pedal!
If this doesnt clear it, go to step 2)
2) With ignition off, remove air cleaner, take a pencil and prop open the butterfly valve in the throat of the carb. Leave it there while air circulates and evaporates the fuel.
If that doesnt work, try step 3)
3) Take the rotor out of the distributor, put the cap back on, take out all the sparkplugs, and crank the engine. This will dry out the cylinders.
Would I be right to assume this is a high-miles engine, with low compression?

Thanks Matthew and Roger. Well, let's see what happens today. I talked to the mechanic yesterday and he said he had worked with US classic cars previously so maybe he can fix the problem. I forgot to say that the oil lamp on the tachometer is flickering, too when the engine runs uneasy while standing in D. I don't know if that's important...So, I'll check the choke today. Maybe I'll post some pictures if we can't figure it out.

@ Matthew: yeah, it's a pretty long drive But thanks for at least thinking about it *lol*
@ Roger: well, I can't tak too much about the mileage but I guess it went around at least one time, probably two. Right now I'm at 17800...but we had the complete engine overhauled a couple of years ago. And thank you for the tips regarding the drowning of an engine - that was very helpful!

Sebastian,

You might want to have him check the intake manifold -- mine had been giving me a lot of problems. Here's an old thread about it, when my car was running rough too:

https://59plymouth.net/59forum/view ... 4717#p4717

There's also a thread in the "How To" section about replacing intake manifold gaskets.

Good luck finding the source of the vacuum leak.

Dan

Thank you Dan! I'll check that, too. We just checked the vacuum hose from the distributor to the carb and it was not really tight - it wasn't loose though but I guess it might have been the cause for the uneasy running. We also increased the revolution speed by about half a turn. I started the engine after that and it ran smoothly even after switching to D and pushing the breakes down.

I didn't drive yet, so I'm not 100% sure it's gone but I am confident (think positive) I will let you guys know...have a nice day!

If the Generator light was flickering, the idle was definitely too low.
An easy fix.

Let us know how it's doing now when you drove it!

Are you coming to the Jukebox fair in Rosmalen next month? Bet you can use the guestroom here and do the whole weekend here

As you said...an easy fix. With the higher revolutiuon speed and after adjusting the vacuum hose the engine now runs almost as smoothly as ever.
I'm excited... We drove the whole afternoon and it was totally fine. So thanks to all of you for your help and advice. I appreciate that.

@ Matthew: Is the jukebox fair from the 17-18th October this year. That's the date I found. I might come visit - that's a good time for me. And we wanted to take pictures anyway on the 50th birthday of our cars...

Attached a picture I took this afternoon...

WOW! I somehow missed your car back when you joined. You are still a student? You had a Sport Fury convertible at age 24, as a student?! I'd love to see more pictures of your car...is it in the Showcase section of this site? ( I will look now!)

Nope, it's not in the Showcase, Roger -- but it will be tomorrow! I'm off from work, but Marie's not

Stay tuned...

Dan

You got the correct dates! I'd love to see your car and i always make pics so that's not a problem at all!

Eddie, From your discription of your problem; I think your float level needs to be checked and make sure the needle seat or seats are tight against the gasket rings and that they do seal the fuel. There are two floats inthe AFB carburetor. I believe you will find this to be the cause of your driveability problem. When everything is correct, chances are the engine will idle fine in drive and not require any major readjustments.