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Problems while driving 1941 Cad. Coupe

Started by MikeGerman, April 30, 2019, 09:10:07 AM

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MikeGerman

Hey folks,
today I had my first official ride. Bought him in the States last year and now registered n good old Germany :)

BUT I had a problem on my way home. After ~20mls he started stuttering and slowing down. I switched on the electrical fuel pump and it worked for another 5mls. Then stuttering until engine died. After 15min with open hood he started again.
There was no heatjam when I opened the hood. Also no Vaporlock, I haven't seen any bubbles in the glas bulb.
Engine was overhauled like 300mls before.

What else could it be? Maybe some dirt in the carb which gives him problems when warmer?

Thanks for any advice!
Best
Mike
Mike German
CLC#29979
1936 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1940 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

C Gorgas

I gave my son my '41 coupe with frame off rebuild and he was driving it abt 500 miles to its new home. It made it approx. 100 miles and had to be trailered to a repair shop. They replaced the points and condenser and this time he made it approx. 20 miles and again was taken to repair shop. As long as the car was cold it ran but when engine heated up it shut down. What we finally found was the wire from distributor was leaking; that was discovered in the dark of night so that you could see electric leaks. The other problem was the condenser; went through 3 of them before one was good and would not break down. Maybe this information will help you. The car runs great now but sure provided a lot of worry. It is a 6 volt system. Chet   

35-709

#2
fuel filter, coil, condenser.  first areas i would check.  all can present problems in much the same fashion.
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

C Gorgas

And yes, I forgot to mention the other problem was in the ceramic top of coil which had a hairline crack and was discovered after dark of night; you could see the coil shorting out on the metal case. Hope this helps, Chet

MikeGerman

Thanks Chet,
thanks Mr. Newcombe
will check it out and inform you as soon as I have any updates.
Mike
Mike German
CLC#29979
1936 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1940 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

MikeGerman

Update:
He doesn't move anymore, standing in a parking lot.
Changed the fuel filer, checked the spark, it's all there.
Put some carburetor-cleaner in it. Running for a short time then stops after a few moments.
Distributor and Cables look brand new, so does the coil.

Maybe the carb? He does not look overhauled and clean...

Mike
Mike German
CLC#29979
1936 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1940 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

z3skybolt

Mike,

Folks here know a lot more than me. But on these simple engines it's "Air, Fuel, Spark".  If you have all three it will run. Maybe not real well...but it will run. Your problem is one of three.  Sounds like a fuel issue to me....but who knows? Try to find an "old mechanic" to help you sort it out. Hard for folks 4,000 miles away to to it by internet.

Best wishes.

Bob R.
1940 LaSalle 5227 Coupe(purchased May 2016)
1985 Lincoln Town Car Signature Series. Bought New.

Bill Ingler #7799

Mike: Sounds also like fuel starvation. It addition to making sure the tank plus all lines are clean and if your 41 has a Stromberg carb, then check the fuel strainer in the carb. Look at the lower left diagram on the enclosed PDF file. The strainer is BB. You need to disconnect the fuel line at the elbow BM and unscrew that elbow to remove the strainer. I had a similar problem on my 41 and found the strainer about 2/3 clogged up.   Bill

MikeGerman

Hey guys, Update:

first of all, thanks Bill, I checked that.

It seems like there are some issues with the carb. The carburetor flap (hope that's the right expression) is not opening when engine is warm. Ket it openmanually and thought this would help.

The running duration got shorter and shorter. Right now I could only move him a few feet before it is switching off.
We will check out the carb and see what is wrong there. The fuel line works good, there is a spark and the distributor is also not leaking sparks.
There are not many things left...
Will keep you guys updated.

Thank you all for your help.
Mike
Mike German
CLC#29979
1936 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1940 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

Roger Zimmermann

Maybe it's the carb, maybe not. You may have a restriction somewhere between gas tank and carb. I remember somebody owning a '56 Cad; he ordered a fuel pump because he has a symptoms similar to yours. He got the fuel pump, installed it, same result! Finally, it was the fuel filter element which was clogged.
1956 Sedan de Ville (sold)
1956 Eldorado Biarritz
1957 Eldorado Brougham (sold)
1972 Coupe de Ville
2011 DTS
CLCMRC benefactor #101

35-709

I agree, I don't think a carb overhaul is going to solve the problem.  Fuel blockage somewhere (probably a filter) is the most likely culprit in my opinion.  That car has an electric fuel pump added and should have an added filter before the elec. pump, that filter would be first in line to get whatever crap may have come out of the tank.  A clogged filter has already been suggested to Mr. Mustermann, as well as the screen at the carb evident when the fuel line is removed, so have to assume this has already been thoroughly checked out.  Be interested in the final outcome.
1935 Cadillac Sedan resto-mod "Big Red"
1973 Cadillac Caribou - Sold - but still in the family
1950 Jaguar Mark V Saloon resto-mod - Sold
1942 Cadillac 6269 - Sold
1968 Pontiac Bonneville Convertible - Sold
1950 Packard 2dr. Club Sedan
1935 Glenn Pray - Auburn Boattail Speedster, Gen. 2

Bill Ingler #7799

Mike: Have you tried the following ? Disconnect the fuel line from the tank at the engine fuel pump and put end of that fuel line in a clear bottle. Turn on the aux pump to see what kind of flow you have from the tank. The pick up tube for the tank is on the bottom of the tank. Now any crud in the tank will be on the bottom of the tank and might be partly plugging the opening of the pick up tube. If that checks OK then connect back the line to the inlet side of the engine fuel pump and then disconnect the fuel line at the carb and again turn on the aux pump to see what kind of flow you have from the tank thru the engine pump to the carb.    Bill

harvey b

Check your gas cap,maybe its not venting like it should,try loosening the cap to its first detent and see if that helps,might be no air left in tank for the fuel to flow like it should. Harveyb
Harvey Bowness

oldcarguy

Hi Mike,
New condenser fixed my very similar problem...after being sure it was fuel related!
Good luck, beautiful car...
Don
Don Ford

1941 SERIES 6219D
2017 XTS
Others:
1949 Mercury coupe
1964 Pontiac LeMans
1959 Chevy Impala

MikeGerman

Hey guys,
update!

We changed the condenser but still no improvement.
After this, we cleaned the gas tank. See the attached picture.
We found a couple of those chips in the tank. I think they repaired the tank once and this was still left.
After that I drove almost 30mls with no (stuttering-)problems.

The radiator cap made some strange noises, think I will change this next because it looks very old.
Also the car is leaking from the rear engine end/gasket. (Is it called the crankshaft gasket).
When I'm driving back into the garage I have a line of oil and a small oil leak beneath the car. (2nd pic)

The engine might have now around 200mls since it got overhauled. Maybe things will settle, otherwise I'll have a lot to do....

Best
Mike
Mike German
CLC#29979
1936 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1940 LaSalle Series 50 Coupe
1941 Cadillac Series 62 Coupe

Jeff Rosansky CLC #28373

Good job on the find, and thanks for the update.
Replace the radiator cap as you indicated. They can be bad and look just fine. As for the leaks, I agree with you. Drive it for a bit and see what happens.
Have fun,
Jeff
Jeff Rosansky
CLC #28373
1970 Coupe DeVille (Big Red)
1955 Series 62 (Baby Blue)
Dad's new 1979 Coupe DeVille