1960 Ford Thunderbird wont start

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Chad_M
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Dec 11, 2015 9:28 pm

1960 Ford Thunderbird wont start

Post by Chad_M »

Hi, i have a 1960 Thunderbird 352 V8 here that was running fine then one day while driving kept cutting out. Carb was wet, float most likely stuck so it was rebuilt. Car sat for a few mo while carb was restored, now car starts and stalls constntly, wont stay running, if you pump the gas while trying to start it back fires from exhaust. Tired another carb same issue. Iv checked compression, compression was abit low but engine was stone cold, normaly check compression on warm engines, all cylinders where about 110 psi +/- 5 psi. Checked mechanical timing cyl 1 tdc valves closed distributor pointing to fire cyl 1. Points reset to gap in service manual. Coil, cap, rotor, points and condenser, wires and plugs changed only a few hundred miles ago. Previous to this car ran strong, no smoke or oil consumption, anyone have an idea where i can start trouble shooting?

Thanks,
Chad
Ken Harkema
Posts: 28
Joined: Tue Sep 09, 2003 11:18 am
Location: San Diego

Re: 1960 Ford Thunderbird wont start

Post by Ken Harkema »

Sounds like you have an ignition problem. You mention that the distributor parts were replaced recently including the points and condenser. First advice is don't assume a new part is good. I have had many failures of new parts. I would check the points for gap as the block that runs on the distributor cam wears down to a point where you have no point gap. If that is OK then I would replace the condenser. If that fails to fix the problem then I would replace the coil. If that fails then as a troubleshooting method I would run a wire from the positive side of the battery directly to the positive connection on the coil basically 'hot wiring' the ignition. If the motor runs with this wire then you either have a bad ignition switch or the resistance wire that runs from the ignition switch to the coil.
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