'59 Plymouth Forum

It seems that only Dick Koch is going to car shows as none of the other members post his pictures in this topic

Sunday we went to the Spring Jukebox Fair in Rosmalen and had a long but wonderful day. We met our friend Andre halfway and drove up to Rosmalen together. Unfortunately Andre had car trouble on our way there, he was losing power and had to make a stop We were able to get the car to the exit and checked under the hood, everything looks brand new and we couldn't find a thing wrong. After 15 minutes we decided to try again and the car ran strong as ever although Andre was a little worried and did not drive very fast, but I was able to stay awake.

We arrived early enough to get a good parking spot and reserved some extra space for our visitors. Marjo's oldest son Robin and his girlfriend Marjan were coming to visit us there, Marjan's brother and his girlfriend came with them. We had a wonderful day with lots of fun and lots of car talk. We did not buy anything at the fair (for the first time in 12 years) but really enjoyed it. Around 5 PM we decided to say goodbye to our visitors and drive home.
And again we had to stop, Andre's engine lost power again. We got to the exit and found a safe place to park and he called the AAA. After waiting for a very long time help arrived but he couldn't find anything wrong and the car was running fine again. We agreed that he would follow Andre for at least 10 miles to see if it would happen again. After 5 miles we saw a bit of black smoke coming from the exhaust and he lost speed again Then the AAA guy told Andre to find a safe place and wait for a tow truck. We had to wait for a very long time until the truck arrived and we were cold and hungry by then. Andre drove his Desoto on the truck and got in the truck himself, I gave Matthew the keys and let him drive the last part of the trip. It got dark and it started to rain but we got home safe at 11:30 PM.

We are lost about the problem with Andre's car so if anybody has suggestions please let us know! He has a 383 with a 4 barrel carb and a electric fuel pump. He had this problem before (and more than once) and he tried almost everything: rebuilt carb (2x), new cables, all distributor parts were replaced at least once and he added a second fuel filter between the tank and the pump. Some times he has no problem at all and then it just happens after an hour of driving at a regular cruise speed. He loses power and there is some black smoke from the exhaust but the engine keeps running. Mayby to much fuel or maybe not enough ??? But why is it only happening now and then

Ron

Ron, this sounds to me like an intermittent electrical problem. That black smoke is unignited gas.

I once had a Duster that had a coil wire brushing against the valve cover. The insulation had worn, and when the exposed part of the wire would bounce into metal contact, the engine would die. It took forever for me to find it.

As the engine cools, wires that are shorting could be shifted out of contact due to contraction. I dunno; I think it's plausible.

Dan

I agree with Dan...an intermittent electrical failure, very possibly a frayed wire, but maybe even a coil going bad. My brother had a set of points in his distributor which was located too close to the distributor housing and the lead wire was shorting to the housing, every so often.

It's possible that the electric fuel pump is creating too much pressure, and unseating the needle from its seat in the carburetor. Many new electric pumps are not designed to be used with carbureted cars.

Black smoke is a sign of an overly rich mixture in most cases, although unburnt fuel can sometimes ignite in the exhaust causing backfiring and black smoke from an ignition problem.

Have the fuel pressure checked, it should be between 3 and 4 PSI with the car running, If it is too high, I'd recommend replacing the pump with a mechanical unit.

---John

Thanks for all your suggestions! I doubt that the problem is electrical, he has had these issues ever since he owns the car and he replaced everthing electrical, from wires to a complete new distributer. He put in new points and coils several times. And for the electric fuel pump, he started using it last year after he had a lot of problems two years ago. We thought it was a fuel issue and that the mechanical pump was not up to the task so he added the electrical one.
And if the pressure is too high shouldn't it be a problem whenever he is driving? Recently we went to a show with him and drove about 200 miles without any issues.

I thought it was the valve in the exhaust manifold for a while but it moves so smooth that it can't get stuck I guess. Just wished that we would find out what is wrong with that car so he can drive up with us without a lot of stress

Ron

Hmm, that is a puzzler. Black smoke is unburned fuel. Loss of power. Let it sit for a while and the problem goes away.
The Service Manual lists manypossibilities. One that sounds interesting is
Sticky valves,
caused by bad fuel, bad crankcase oil, valve stem(s) worn, improper cooling of block, sludge in engine, worn valve guides, improper lubrication of valve stems, excessive idling, rich carb setting.
According to the Manual, sticky valves happen while the engine is hot and under power, but still gives good idle when cool.
Other possibles...
worn camshaft
Worn distributor cam lobe
weak valve springs
Sounds like you've eliminated any electrical problems.