1938 Hudson 112

[Deleted User]

I have a 1938 112 6 cyl engine that does not want to run past a 1,000 R.P.M. It has a carb that was rebuilt so i put a kit in another carb same trouble, had an extra distr. with cond. attached same trouble. had a new fuel pump from Dave K. put it on same trouble. Also had cylinder head off for a new head gasket and checked all the valves checked adjustment all OK. As long as you dont want to accelerate the car your ok get much over fast idle and it bogs out and quits, you can idle around the block and shift gears as long as you dont step on the gas. Any ideas? Something i forgot to check? Chuck G

Jon B

Could the fuel line from the tank be clogged with junk from the tank, or pulling air?

[Deleted User]

Chuck G wrote:

I have a 1938 112 6 cyl engine that does not want to run past a 1,000 R.P.M. It has a carb that was rebuilt so i put a kit in another carb same trouble, had an extra distr. with cond. attached same trouble. had a new fuel pump from Dave K. put it on same trouble. Also had cylinder head off for a new head gasket and checked all the valves checked adjustment all OK. As long as you dont want to accelerate the car your ok get much over fast idle and it bogs out and quits, you can idle around the block and shift gears as long as you dont step on the gas. Any ideas? Something i forgot to check? Chuck G

Set points at 0.020, timing on long mark on flywheel. This engine takes champion spark plugs, J-8 or the equivalent set at 0.032. Install a vacuum gauge on the intake manifold, at idle should read 17 to 20 inches of vacuum, if not look for a vacuum leak. Must have the correct carburetor, and correct main jet and metering rod. If wrong and on the lean side, or wrong and on the rich side this will act as you described. Give me the number on the tag and I can help you with size for jet and metering jet. This metering rod has to be set with the correct tool. Walt.

[Deleted User]

I am out of time until Friday I will try pulling gas from a small gas can instead of the tank also points are new set at .020 and new J-8 Champions set at .032 The carb is a 438s Carter with kit put in. metering rod and jet original to carb I will also check vacum at idle it would have to be a major vacum leak for it not to run past idle, I was not sure if metering rod would cause that much trouble I also have the correct Carter metering rod gage to check it I find it hard to believe both carbs would act the same way? But as we all know anything is possible will keep you posted any ideas welcome. Thanks Chuck G

terraplane8

This happened on my '36T. It was one of the carb link rods that had come off meaning that only the idle circuit worked not the main jet.

[Deleted User]

Chuck G wrote:

I am out of time until Friday I will try pulling gas from a small gas can instead of the tank also points are new set at .020 and new J-8 Champions set at .032 The carb is a 438s Carter with kit put in. metering rod and jet original to carb I will also check vacum at idle it would have to be a major vacum leak for it not to run past idle, I was not sure if metering rod would cause that much trouble I also have the correct Carter metering rod gage to check it I find it hard to believe both carbs would act the same way? But as we all know anything is possible will keep you posted any ideas welcome. Thanks Chuck G

If all checked out as I listed, then you have a blocked EXHAUST SYSTEM. Try this, install a vacuum gauge to your intake manifold then bring your engine up slowly as you watch the vacuum reading and when you get to 1,000, if the reading starts to go down to zero, your exhaust is blocked. A good muffler shop have a tool to check this. They drill a hole in the front exhaust pipe, install a gauge and bring up the RPM's. We had this unit back in our days because Chevy's and Caddies had exhaust systems with a pipe within a pipe and the inner pipe would collapse and cause the trouble you are having. Also make sure your heat riser is not stuck closed. Walt

Park_W

Try putting a known to be new condenser on it. The symptoms match bad condenser behavior pretty closely.

[Deleted User]

I tried another distr. with new points a nd cond. same thing, I could probably pull the muffler off and see if there is any restriction. I thought i would run the engine from idle up to the point it bogs out and then squirt gas into the carb and see what happens and it took off running with gas squirted directly into the carb? Chuck G

Geoff

You may need to check the valve timing, in case the centre of the timing gear has shifted. Otherwise, if the spark is okay and not retarded, it sounds like you have blocked jet in the carby.

Uncle Josh

This sounds exactly like the eight I put in the Hornadore.



I finally pulled the distributor and put it on the bench.



Someone had replaced the ground wire from the points to the case with an aftermarket one. The crimp near the case was too big and rubbed the base plate when it turned as it got up to speed, thus shorting the ignition and limiting the rpm. Base plate had arc marks on it too.



A short operation with the Dremel tool and it was fixed.



There has to be a lot of those wires out there someplace doing the same thing. Hope it's your problem.

[Deleted User]

Thanks for all the great ideas of things to look at and i am following each one up but i have one problem that keeps getting in my way and thats a job! I think it will be Thurs before i get back to it but keep any ideas comming and i will let you know what happens. Thanks Chuck G.

[Deleted User]

I got it to run again at all speeds this time . Thanks to everyone on the forum for their help. I had put two different carbs both with rebuild kits in them with still the same problem and finally took the carb off the 37 Terraplane just to try it since i new it worked and that was the trouble i have power at all speeds now. Now i need to figure out what is the matter with the other carbs Chuck G.