hotrodron
Drives the Batmobile... er... Ratmobile!
I just bought a 1950 Chrysler Windsor and it hasn't been converted to 12 volts. When I bought it, it was very hard to start, but finally did. Now it won't start at all. The engine turns over, but seems to be a little sluggish. The original battery (the one in it when I bought it) tested fine, but the problem seemed like a dead battery. I put in a new battery today, and still have the same problem. I was getting spark on all but the last plug and the plugs were in awful shape. I got new plugs and replaced them all. I am now getting spark on all plugs. I am getting fuel, because I can smell it and see it in the fuel bowl when trying to start it. I had been using starting fluid to start it the first few times when it was still at the previous owner's home, but I am not now. Now the previous owner had the battery on a constant charge while we were working on it, and the only way we could start it was by using a 100 amp boost from the charger. Is it possible that it was over charged and the excessive voltage caused the distributor points to burn? If so would I see this effect? My next move is to replace the points and distibutor cap and try that. Also I am unsure of the condition of the coil. I have never owned a vehicle that was still running a 6 volt system, but I can't imagine there would be that big a difference in how things work. I was told by someone that this car runs a "positive ground" system and I am unsure what this is also... If anyone has any idea what my problem may be, I could really use the help. Again this is a 1950 Chrysler Windsor with the "spitfire" 6 cylinder. Thanks