49 commodore 8 woes

harry54

My 49 commodore 8 runs and idles great. Breaks up @ higher rpm. Doesnt ping. just doesn't have the umph as you look to accelerate hard. I don't have a fuel issue. Points and timing are on. It almost seems like ignition is intermitent at higher rpm... Any ideas ? thanks

[Deleted User]

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[Deleted User]

Weak coil or bad condenser can also cause such issues. If your spark is yellow instead of blue this is likely the cause.

Clutchguy

Please define "higher"rpm?. Are you sure that the spring,and not just the strap is on the points?. Have you ran a compression test?. As a few have posted,coil,condenser,secondary ignition?.

super651

Harry,We just found our problem with a locals 48 commodore 8-cyl. Someone had installed a Chev. V8 dist. cap and the center electrode was not long enough so the spark jump between it and the rotor burned the electrode down so far that the jump spark caused the spark plugs to run so hot that all 8 of them would brake down at about 1200 rpm. It would idle ok.
We installed a Hudson 8 cap and a new Hudson rotor and power is restored at all RPM.
Hope this is of Help. Rudy .

harry54

I havent changed the cap and or wires in a while ... It sounds like from what i'm hearing , my problem may lie somewhere within... ( higher RPM ) seems to accelerate on a flat surface ok, poorly up a hill... and if you give it to much pedal, it boogs down.....

Jon B

Could the problem lie in the vacuum advance? Have you inspected it (and the operation of the advance within the distributor)?

[Deleted User]

Check to make sure the linkage to the main jets has not fallen apart??

Geoff

Could be fuel starvation.

Trevor J

Try running it without the air cleaner.
It could be blocked

Park_W

Has the car previously run OK? Did this problem evolve over time, or start suddenly, or after sitting for a long while, etc.?

harry54

Actually the car started doing this before it was stored about 1 yr ago... I also used to notice that it would act worse if the temp was warm....

Uncle Josh

I had this problem on the 'Hornadore' Traced it to an aftermarket wire from the points to the distrubutor case having too big a connector which rubbed the breaker plate when it turned. I ground some off the connector which fixed it.

SuperDave

It all boils down to one or two things Weak spark and/or lean mixture. A process of elimination. Do the easy and cheap things first. Like maybe some oxide buildup on the points? Do one thing at a time, so you will know what fixed it.

Park_W

Agree with Dave on the careful process, and would add the possibility of restricted fuel flow, though it's not clear how that would develop. Symptoms are exactly like those of my '47 C8 a while back . . . I finally found that the float level was too high, keeping the float from dropping far enough to fully open the needle valve and permit full flow.

Nevada Hudson

I think Ken has this right on.

harry54

Will the heat riser effect the performance of the engine after it warms up ? I'm wondering if that might be my problem ... I think in might be stuck in a closed position... When the car is cold.... it runs awesome....acceleration is awesome... but when it warms up.... that's when the problems start.....