QuestionI bought a '50 chevrolet truck. I played with it and got it running. I changed plugs,wires,points and oil and now I can't get anything out of it. I get a really weak spark when I check the plug,but it won,t fire at all. should this thing have two condensers, one in the distributor and one on the coil? any suggestions? I got the wrong parts at first and didn't keep the old ones to compare
AnswerIf the truck has (or had) a radio, someone might have added another condenser to the coil + terminal to prevent ignition noise from bothering the AM reception. If that condenser is on the - terminal, though, that would keep the engine from running. Also, if it is bad, that would keep it from running, so take it off and set it aside until everything else is straightened out - you don't need it to make the engine run.
Now, a few questions for you:
1. How certain are you that you didn't mix up the plug wires? (Don't get mad now, I've done it myself!)
2. Did you pull the distributor out of the engine to work on it, or did you do the work without disturbing it.
3. When you installed the new points, did you also change the condenser? (the one in the distributor). If you didn't, you should have, they are always replaced at the same time.
4. Did you gap the points to 0.015" or so, and the plugs to 0.035 or so?
5. When you say you got a weak spark when you "check the plug", tell me what you are doing. If you are laying the plug against the engine block and watching it while you crank the engine, this is a good test, but I would expect a weak spark, assuming you are cranking it with the original 6 volt battery. It should start and run just fine that way, they all had weak spark under those conditions.
Two tips for the future, when working on old cars/trucks: always keep the old stuff until you are sure everything is OK after you fix something, in fact it is a good idea to keep the old set of points, condenser and plugs in the glovebox in case of emergency, and second, when you are just doing a tune-up like this, change one thing at a time, then test the engine before you change the next thing - then if you make a mistake or have a bad part, you will know exactly what to do over. Now, after all that has been done to it, we've got our work cut out for us tracking down what went wrong!
I drove a 1951 Chevy Pickup for over 25 years, until recently (same as the 50 with very minor differences) and they are great trucks - so hang in there, I'll help you get it going again. Just read through what I've said so far and get back to me with a "follow-up" question, and we'll go step by step until it is purring again.
Dick
