Folks -
Well, more progress on the '47! I've had a bugger of a time with low power, hesitation off idle and a top speed of about 20 MPH.
I put a set of plugs in, points, cond, cap and rotor were new. It does need wires, but none of the parts houses had 'em this weekend. The truck came with a 216; someone put a full pressure 235 in it at one point. I think it's a ~1960 engine.
I also drained and flushed out the oil - ran a couple of quarts of oil with a quart of kerosene; what MUCK! I did that 3 times, and cleaned the black snot out of the oil filter sump - boy! Anyway, that's all honey and light now; I'll change the oil and filter in a few weeks just on GP.
I thought the point gap was fine, but when I put a dwell meter on it, it only had 20 degrees. Spec is 28 to 36, I think.... So I reset things to 30 degrees and set the timing. Getting to the distributor clamp and getting a good view of the ball in the flywheel is a real trick! I set the timing a bit on the fast side...
So, after this, it's time for a road test. Woohoo! I had the wife come in a separate car as my "wingman" and we took a short trip of about 8 miles. The truck's speedo is kaput, but the missus said I was going about 45. Above that speed I get a very good reminder that front end work will be one of the next things on the list.
Got a few glances and a thumbs up while we were out on maneuvers. What a gas!
John
47 3800 "Waltzing Matilda"
