Thread: 47 ford pickup flathead 6

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can anyone help me with a no start condition? 47 ford truck with a flathead 6. truck completely restored to original. 6 volt system. this is my friends truck.
i was schooled on fuel injected computer controlled vehicles. i have no clue. he said to spray a shot of ether in the carb to start it. against my better judgement and training, i did just that. it started, surprisingly on the first crank. wow, almost quicker than computerized fuel injection! i slapped the tags on and went for a spin. it runs very quiet with no vibration. i stopped at the store and left it running with the e-brake on. (yes the e-brake works great). upon my departure, i forgot to release the e-brake and of course it stalled. it hasn't started since. i don't know why this story is so long except i was always told to get as much info as possible.
i've never seen, much less worked on a 6 volt system. can i jump this battery with a 12 volt vehicle? the battery is dead. i was told no. why? the fuel system is operating...that is to say the carb is getting fuel via an electric fuel pump. there is a clear fuel filter connected inches from the carb and fills with fuel. single barrel carb. the accelerator pump does spray a good stream of fuel when the throttle is opened. this is why i don't understand the need for ether.
the spark is present although faint. after noticing the s-plugs were rusted on the exterior i decided to replace them. i'm wondering if the points might be in the same condition. that is the only thing i haven't checked. the distributor is mounted to the block at the end of the camshaft. (strange). not much room between the dist. cap and the fan and radiator. i don't remember the last time i installed points. on this model do i remove the distributor? it's mounted horizontally and i can't see inside. also, there's a small bolt attached to the dist. housing. i'm guessing it's an adjustment screw for the points. the condenser is mounted outside the distributor. i think that's about all. HELP!!!
i told my friend i didn't feel comfortable working on it from here but he wouldn't take no for an answer. he's selling it and it won't sell very quick if it's not running. plus i'll get to drive it around until it sell's!!! any and all reply's are appreciated. if you can't help maybe you can lead me to someone who can. thanks in advance. bob

6 volts die a lot faster than 12 volts, get a cheap tricle charger that does 6 volts and charge the battery like denny said, I'v experienced much the same thing with my '51 Chevy, I couldn't get it started, it cranked over but wouldn't start ( normally starts 3rd crank ), I charged the battery and it fired right off.

thanks for the reply's. the battery wasn't dead when i checked the spark. it's dead now. and it is charging. when the engine initially stalled, it cranked over fine after. until, of course, i drained the battery in the process of trying to start it again. i put the battery on a 6 volt trickle charge for a day and a half. when i put it back in it was like new. i don't want to continue this process because the battery will eventually go into sulfation and not recharge.
so that pretty much answer's dennyw's suggestion about charging the battery and trying it again. also, i didn't mention anything about not understanding ignition systems. i asked if i should remove the distributor to service it. i guess you'd need to have experience with this particular type of vehicle. if you've actually seen the engine i'm talking about then you'd understand my concern.
also, the reason i asked about the weak spark is because d.i.s. will put out sometimes up to 100,000 volts. much more than the output of a distributor ignition on a 47 flathead. that means if a late model camaro or taurus or sebring has a weak spark, it will still start every time. i'm versed in that theory and have experienced it to be true. that is the reason i'm second guessing myself. because i work on d.i.s. mostly, and certainly don't work on breaker point ignition systems. i guess i needed someone to confirm my idea that this flathead with a good battery and a good coil output and good air and fuel systems, still won't start with a weak spark. i'm guessing this ignition probably put's out 20,000 to 40,000. just guessing though.
i guess i was hoping to get a reply from somebody who has actually serviced this particular model.
that does however leave me with one unanswered question. if you could answer this one question i'd be greatful. can i or can't i jump this battery with a 12 volt system? if not why? thanks very much for the responses. i do appreciate it. bob

Originally posted by DennyW
As far as jumping a 6 volt with a 12 volt system. That's a do it at your own risk. You are doubling the speed through a 6 volt. Could blow up on you if you aren't careful.

i really dout u'll blow anything up jumping it w/a 12volt battery. just jump it & remove the 12v battery as soon as u can & as for the starter, it'll last forever as long as u dont crank it forever. i ran a 6v starter on my 12volt system (65 VW)for almost 10yrs b4 i had to replace it....joe

Bin ther done that got a holey pair of jeans and a ruined club jacket. If you do jump them make sure you dont cross polarity or the 6 can blow

thanks very much for your reply's folks!! i forgot to mention i've never seen this type of reverse polarity/charging system. the positive cable is connected to the block and the negative cable is connected to the starter relay. i don't understand this setup. different huh? i'll tell you this....i don't think i have a future in antique vehicles!!!
also, i had another guy tell me to jump it the same way as you suggested Joe. he said he did it before and the cables got so hot that the insulation started melting and he burned his hands removing the cables!!!! i don't understand why but it motivates me to find the answer. so you can see why i'm a little reserved. i'm not interested in pyrotechnics....know what i mean??
kaboom!!!!!
i'll keep you updated on the outcome. thanks again.

Originally posted by autofixer2
thanks very much for your reply's folks!! i forgot to mention i've never seen this type of reverse polarity/charging system. the positive cable is connected to the block and the negative cable is connected to the starter relay. i don't understand this setup. different huh? i'll tell you this....i don't think i have a future in antique vehicles!!!
also, i had another guy tell me to jump it the same way as you suggested Joe. he said he did it before and the cables got so hot that the insulation started melting and he burned his hands removing the cables!!!! i don't understand why but it motivates me to find the answer. so you can see why i'm a little reserved. i'm not interested in pyrotechnics....know what i mean??
kaboom!!!!!
i'll keep you updated on the outcome. thanks again.

That type of wiring is a positive ground system, it was used on some 6 volt and a lot of european sports cars, like Austin Healy's

Hook up the negative booster cable to the starter side of the solenoid and ground the positive cable to the frame. The starter will spin the motor over without affecting the 6v system. No BOOM! You can do it the regular way,too, but if you're worried about blowing up a freshly-charged 6v, this way is foolproof.

Forgot something! The distributor on the old flathead six is set up the same as the V8, it will only go on one way. Go ahead and remove it to replace the points, make sure you have the rotor pointing the same way when reinstalling or it won't go together.

thanks for the reply. i'll remember to connect the cables via the relay next time. i did remove the distributor and found that the points weren't bad. the dist. cap however was worn badly. i suspect the last tune up didn't include a cap. probably because the cap and wires are a one piece unit. they look expensive and i'm betting they'll be hard to find. i haven't had a chance to call ford yet. i'm open to suggestions. the best i could do for now was clean the dist. cap contacts with emory cloth which looks like what they did last time. i also reset the point gap which was .009 and the info that i have says it should be .014-.016. after reassembly it started right up. (after a 12 volt jump which made the cables almost melt????) it has started every time since. i can feel the vibration and hesitation though which i'm sure is due to the excessively worn cap.
the battery, as it turns out is fine.
now tell me this.....how the heck do you shift this thing w/o grinding the gears.? i've driven many different standards over the years and never once had trouble. i was warned by the owner to double clutch. that's useless. the only way i've figured is to let the rpm's return to idle between shifts and then it slides right in. of course i lose speed when i do that. which brings me to my next question. how high can i rev this engine? it sounds like a diesel when i crannk it up between shifts. i'm guessing this is how the flatheads are suppose to sound.
so now i have to get the taillights and horn working so i can get an inspection sticker. i'll keep you updated. thanks for the help. bob

Double clutching works if you do it right. Coming out of gear, let the clutch out in neutral while the engine windmills down, then press the clutch and go to the next gear. It's a skill that demands timing and practice. When you learn the RPM's in all the gears, you can shift without the clutch better than with it.
As for rev's, don't go over about 3000 if you want it to last.

Just reread your first post. The cap and wires are separate, thet just look like a single unit. The wires are in a conduit that holds them in place, but new wires can be threaded through it, or it can be discarded and more modern looms substituted. The cap may be hard to find, but Echlin still builds them.

thanks a lot r pope. i'll give it a go on the shifting. i probably will still replace the cap with the wires. good to know though. thanks again. bob