Re: [HSS] "New" 26 Motor Has Arrived But . . .

Unknown

Hudson29@aol.com wrote:

>

> This last October the time had come at long last to go and claim the new

> motor for the '26 Hudson Coupe project that I had been

> searching/negotiating/making payments on for something like four years. This

> is the right motor for the project (from a late '26 hearse) for my car and it

> was to be rebuilt as new by Jack Smith, the well known Hudson Guru some 2000

> miles distant in Manitoba Canada.

> We further negotiated for an 8' utility trailer to which is bolted a

> Super Six test stand and all accessories required to run a motor; radiator,

> exhaust system, gas tank, etc. The meeting point we agreed on was Salt Lake

> City where Jack had some business with Chris & Kelly Purdum of '28 and '29

> Hudson fame.

> My father and I turned the trip into a mini vacation and stopped to see

> some of the sights along the way. When we pulled into Custom and Classics,

> the Purdam's high quality restoration shop, Jack was already there with his

> sweetie and the Purdums produced some cold beer and a very pleasant tire

> kicking session resulted. After a brew or three, we hooked up the trailer to

> the pickup and sorted out the inevitable wiring problems and went out to a

> chew on a steak. For whatever reason, cocktails are rare in Salt Lake but we

> lucked into one of the few places that served them. I'm OK with beer once in

> a while, but good cocktails are the true mark of a civilization.

> The trip home went uneventfully and the trailer (which has no suspension)

> pulled straight and true. I did see some daylight under those trailer tires

> on big bumps, however! As you might guess, I was very keen to run the motor

> at home just to make sure that all was well, and accordingly fired it up

> shortly after arriving.

> It ran for 15 minutes or so and then quit dead. A quick restart resulted

> in another sudden stop. Darkness and the press of urgently postponed business

> prevented further investigation, but the next day resulted in a brief run

> then nothing. The motor cranked but had no spark.

> It turned out to be a couple of weeks before I could get back to the proje

> ct, but the problem seems to be in two areas. First, the secondary coil wire

> running to the distributor had VERY cheesy ends and had ceased making any

> contact whatever. New Beldon ends remedied this. The second quandary is still

> unresolved. With a fresh charge on the battery, the motor fires and runs, but

> when the battery drops a volt or two, the ignition will not fire. This seems

> paradoxical, but with a partially depleted battery, the starter motor spins

> the engine fine, but the ignition fails to produce a good fat spark.

> From my experience with these old Hudsons, if there is a ghost of a volt

> left in the battery, the motor WILL start. Starting cranks were provided

> partly for the occasions when the battery was a trifle too flat to spin the

> starter motor, but up enough to fire the coil. Heck, I've parked on hills

> lots of times when I knew the battery was too old to start the car later on.

> Has anybody got any ideas about this?

> While looking into the ignition problem, I noticed that this "new" motor

> has an Autolight distributor with centrifical advance off a '29 Hudson. The

> '26 should have an American Bosch with mechanical advance. Somebody switched

> them! I will be looking for the correct unit.

> Just last Sunday, after getting the motor running again at long last,

> another more serious problem arose. THE HEAD GASKET IS LEAKING! On the left

> side back near cylinders 5 and 6 the gap between the block and the head has a

> portion a couple of inches long that is black, very slightly wet and if you

> look closely even bubbles once in a while.

> A few questions: Is this something that can be completely cured with

> another head torqing or does it need to come apart? Should I reuse the same

> gasket with Copper Coat or some similar gasket compound on it or just replace

> it? This motor has never run under load, and it is even still in it's test

> stand. How could this gasket leak anyway?

> This long delayed project will be delayed again, but maybe it can still

> be finished for Spring tours. I would like to hear your opinions.

>

> Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com

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> 1926 Hudson Anderson Bodied Coupe

> 1926 Hudson Parts Car "The Grapes Of Wrath"

> 1928 Hudson Roadster Project

> 1929 Hudson Town Sedan

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Paul, sounds like the head was not machined, or else a new gasket was

not fitted. I'd try torquing it down forst, but make sure the engine

is hot when you do it, and torque down to 6o lbs first, making sure you

do it from the centre outwards. Re the spark problem, is there a

resistor in there somewhere between the coil and distributor? If so,

chuck it, and see what happens. if not, then either coil or condensor

must be faulty, but get a voltmeter on the distributor terminal and see

how many volts there are at the primary terminal. New head gaskets can

be got at Olsons, or I can get some for you here at $75 each plus

postage if they are too pricey. Good luck,

Geoff