Classic/Antique Car Repair: vaperlocking, battery cables, vapor lock

Question
Hi again Dick:

I hope you don't get tierd of me bugging you about my Kaiser.
After driving about 5 or 10 miles amd stop the car is very hard to start sometimes runs the batry down
Is there anything I can do to correct this
I am told it vaperlocks
Thanks

Bill
P.S Did you receive the pictures?

Answer
Yes, I did, Bill, but I left on vacation that same day and I forgot to thank you for them. Both cars are beautiful - I'd be very proud to own either of them!

Next time this happens, you can quickly rule out vapor lock by taking off the air cleaner, then looking down the top of the carburetor. Operate the accelerator linkage and look for a stream of liquid fuel squirting down the carburetor barrel.  If you see that, you know there is liquid fuel in the carburetor, so you don't have vapor lock.  

Vapor lock is usually indicated when the car will start OK when hot, but then stalls and won't restart after you've driven a block or two - and that doesn't seem to be your symptom.

I think your problem is more likely low compression, coupled with the usual 6 volt starting problem cause by high resistance battery cables and connections.  I've forgotten, but if you have not done a compression test, do one and see what your engine condition is - we already suspect that the bearings are loose, so it would not be surprising that the rings and cylinders are worn also.

If the compression checks good (say 120 PSI or higher on all 6 cylinders) then we need to investigate your battery cables and the connections at both ends of both battery cables, and also any ground straps that are in the circuit, such as from the engine block to the body or frame.

If the compression is below 100 PSI, you are about at the point of needing a complete engine rebuild soon. You can carry a spray can of "starting fluid" to help you get started when it acts up, but this is somewhat hard on the bearings, so use it sparingly.

If you conclude that you do have vapor lock (no squirt from the acclerator pump), try squirting a small amount of fuel from an oil can into the top of the carburetor, to see if the engine will start, even for a brief interval.  Just one healthy squirt is all you need - more than that may flood the engine.

Dick