Classic/Antique Car Repair: 1950 Chevy PU, wd 40, detective work

Question
I have a 1950 Chevy PU in original stock condition. It starts OK in the morning but chugs a couple of times and shuts off after 1 to 5 miles. Then restarts OK and goes for another 5 miles. New - Ign wires & plugs, coil, points, condenser, fuel pump, carb. Any suggestions on where to look next.

Thanks,
Bob

Answer
I'm sorry you've replaced so many parts, it is hard to track down problems when things have been changed.  When multiple things have been changed, it gets almost impossible to guess at the causes.  I'm assuming in the following that these problems were there before all the changes - if I've guessed wrong, tell me what was done just before the problem started, it may help to track it down.

Let's go back to square one and figure out what is missing, preventing the engine from running.

You'll have to do the detective work for me.  Next time it dies on you, immediately squirt a puff of WD-40 into the air intake on the top of the carburetor to see if that makes the engine start, even if only for a second or so.  If it does, we know your problem is related to fuel.  If it doesn't, try the same trick with some spray starting fluid (ether).  If that starts it, again we know the fuel system was the problem.

If it still doesn't start, we need to investigate the ignition system.

The first step is to pull the high voltage wire (the one from the center of the distributor) out of the distributor cap, and put it right next to the block or head (some grounded metal part), with the center of the wire as close to the metal as you can get it - 1/8 of an inch or closer.  Then have someone crank the engine as if to start it (key on) and watch the end of the wire. If the ignition is working OK, you will see a rapid sparking from the end of the wire to the grounded metal surface.  If you see that, you have ignition and the truck should run.   Since it recovers by itself, you won't know if it has done that while we were fiddling around, unless you plug the wire back in and try to start it - if it starts, we haven't learned anything - you'll have to repeat these tests every time until you see what is missing, then we can proceed to guess at what is causing the problem.

If you have both fuel and ignition present, the only other possibilities are low compression or exhaust blockage - but I think we'll stop here and see what you find out from the above tests.

Dick