1952 M35 Gasser repair and build

[Kaiser67M715]

Thanks, I saw that, missed the. Section on pages 155-157 though.

I did however get it to run, was probably 90% wires. That is probably caused the resistor to fail.

But between pulling the cover so many times, I was leaving the rubber boots off, and I saw it was actually arcing in the cover. The metal ends on the wires were sticking out of the cap, thus causing it to arc to the cover. Some of them(3 total) actually weren't seated to the bottom, and thus weren't sparking...go figure

Anways, used a short screw, threaded it into the end of the now cut wire, inserted that into the cap, worked fine, had nice bright blue spark. So did up the rest of them, cranked it for maybe 10 seconds, attempted to fire. Paused cranked again fired in like 2 seconds, little burbling(most likely because I might have flooded cylinders before) but then nice and smooth. Took it for a spin(dark, directional still messed up) so just up the dead end and back, but no hesitation, much smoother on the clutch operation

Will post a short pre-run video in a few(still no muffler)

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Video

https://youtu.be/Wzo7sv88nYU

little short walk-around...in the dark cause it was now 9pm

also shot with the phone, so the video doesn't sound great(at least it didn't to me)

I'll drive it a wee bit tomorrow, but I should be fine to go to Weare, doesn't look like any of the capacitors were bad(maybe the resistor is fine too, but the old one is in, so there it stays, going in the box of spares to stay with the truck)

so few minor things to finish up(muffler, turn signal wire swap, license plate light) everything else appears to check out, my dad says it should be fine with those three things(he''s a mechanic, and does inspections himself as well)

 

[Katahdin]

Not to Jynx you, but I hope to see this classic at Weare!

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Not to Jynx you, but I hope to see this classic at Weare!

You Jinxed me!,

probably not, but first insurance didn't go through because I am not the holder of the primary insurance on my Cherokee, minor set back, was pretty ready to get that pushed through this morning.

second, I have two oil leaks, one for the oil filter, top gasket weeping just a tiny bit, second is near the rear of the engine, hard to tell if it is the pan or maybe the rear main seal? either way something minor that could be major, so not gonna try the 50 mile trip, especially for its first trip of more then 2 miles.

figure another half an hour we'll be on the way with my dads CJ2A though

 

[Kaiser67M715]

well, got it inspected

my dad brought it in to his work(he does inspections and all) said it drove in all right, little low on power when cold-probably rings are a little stuck, did sit for a while.

Well he drove it all the way back (25ish miles) got to the end of the road, had to downshift, stuttered on him, but he drove it the last mile to the house no issues. pulled in and promptly died, he couldn't start it.

Got no spark again, gonna go through it all again, but I wouldn't be surprised the condenser went again, I threw in one that was for M715 before.

leak at gasket for filter is fixed, just tightened the cap a little more. still got the oil pan leak to fix, but that is minor so far.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

so yeah, just 'nother condenser. I threw in a parts one I picked up(well I picked up a 135/211 distributor, not knowing the application initially) and it started, but literally 5 minutes back to sputtering and missing, no power, had to put it in low and let it idle around the yard to park it, couldn't touch the gas.

So 5 condensers in less then 50 miles! course, three were probably bad to begin with, funny the wrong condenser lasted the longest

could my alternator output be too high? it is in the green on the gauge, but never checked at alternator.

what else could I check? I did replace the on/off switch just for fun, no change. Got 24.7...or maybe it was 25.7V at the distributor input, nah, definitely 24.7V.

and I guess, maybe someone has the part number for pertronix ignition? if condensers need to be changed every 500 yards, pertronix should pay for itself in less then 5 miles!!

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Go to this link, open the TM and go to pages 155-157. This will tell you how to test the distributor. Page 222 shows how things are supposed to be hooked up in the distributor. Keep in mind this is for the M135 but the distributor may be similar or the same. I am just not sure though.

http://www.steelsoldiers.com/showthread.php?106483-More-M135-TM-s

I did follow this test, everything still pointed to condenser...well almost everything I did not test the mFd of all the capacitors and condensers

 

[5ivepenny]

Copied this from a service manual for an antique motorcycle I used to work on. It was along time ago but I remember playing around with the points and condenser assembly quite abit, getting a good ground on parts to be grounded and getting good insulation on the parts that weren't was the trouble with that one. Also getting the point gap just right made a difference in run quality. I also wonder if the problems you were having with your plug wires were sending too much electricity back through ground some how cooking the capacitor?? Well hope this helps you chase your gremlin down, good luck.
"Most condenser failures are caused by poor grounding, which does not allow a condenser to bleed down properly. It holds part of its charge instead of fully discharging, therefor overheating. Worn plate assemblies are a HUGE factor, with moderate to poor to nonexistent grounds. Using 40+ year old engine ground straps is yet another problem. Engine grounding is a game of volume, like a garden hose. If you pump voltage into your ignition, coolant temp and oil pressure sensors, etc... you need an equal flow of electrons out that ground strap. Internal corrosion (not visible) is a HUGE problem and everyone ignores it...

Then there are improperly made condensers. Lots on the market. No matter what you do they may fail. There are at least 5 legitimate manufacturers who make good condensers, at least 7 bad ones."

 

[rustystud]

I'm wondering if your suppose to have a voltage reducer to your distributer ? A lot of old time units had them.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

I'm wondering if your suppose to have a voltage reducer to your distributer ? A lot of old time units had them.

I don't think so, because when testing, I am supposed to get battery voltage to input capacitor, at resister and both sides of coil. And if I don't then one of those parts is shorting; but so far, have had battery voltage up to negative terminal. I did try two-spare coils, one was bad, the other seemed to test fine but made the truck run worse

 

[Kaiser67M715]

well, I was moving tools around, found the original condensor, and just cause I could, I put it in. idles fine, goes down the road fine, I did have some issues with finding the gears, kept slipping into fourth or fifth when trying to get to second or third...and still no video, sometimes the camera man(me) is just to busy working/driving/having fun

only went about 8 miles, so while it could be the one that works, it could also fail just like all the rest...but it did have "Made in USA" stamped right on it.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Drove her into work yesterday, drove alright, been getting more power, I think the rings had to free up, only had 90lbs oil free, jumped up to 110lbs with oil on compression when we initially tested, I keep getting into 4th when shooting for second, but she does alright, even on a slight hill. my dad said he was in second going up the hill to get to the gas station, I was able to go along in fourth yesterday.

I got the video uploading to YouTube, so I'll link that in a bit, its only about 15 minutes, with some editing. My dash cam died(no power outlet installed yet), and the view is limited out of the dash, got to make a mount or something to get a better angle.

have to check thermostat, rarely gets above 170, mainly only when I am moving it slowly around the yard. otherwise she stays at 150/160 going down the road,

Also valve cover leak, and definitely the oil pan gasket-this only leaks when I shut off the truck, I have gasket and seals coming from White Owl

 

[cattlerepairman]

Glad to see that things smoothen out for you! It is nice that you make the effort to keep an original gasser an original gasser and not do a swap of some sort. I think that they are not outright rare, yet, but they sure seem to become rare-ish, especially sound trucks with strong running engines. Good on you. Preserves a piece of history.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Video,

https://youtu.be/ZKmvBVI0cT0

....Might be my computer, but if it isn't; sorry about the blurriness, looked fine before the upload

 

[USMC 00-08]

That is awesome! Your truck sounds really good.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

Does anyone know if the m35 and m715 seat covers, drivers bottom half, are the same?

I have been staring at mine, and thinking it's a little thread bare, plus all the cushion material has found its way out to the bottom of the storage bin

 

[Kaiser67M715]

so haven't done much, drove it to work a few times, need to add the 12 volt converter so I can get the dash cam to work more then 15 minutes.

anyways, I did the oil pan gasket(PITA) hopefully it is fine-might have over-torqued the front bolts. I also tackled the valve cover gasket, figure a valve job is in order so, I was like lets do the thermostat....got sent the wrong thermostat, diameter is to small so it would fall into the jacket if I tried to put it in. So have to get that fixed before moving on.

 

[Kaiser67M715]

well, my dad had a guy looking through boxes of thermostats for a match, but through another 2 hours of searching on my part I found a few part numbers to give so they can get me one.

I tested the old thermostat, put it in a tin can stuck the thermostat in and a thermometer, heated it up, well the thermostat clearly started to open at least 10 degrees early(right around 150), and was fully open at 170, so definitely the cause of my running cool, I haven't been able to get the engine up to 180 since I've gotten it, so hopefully these part numbers yeild something I can get

 

[Kaiser67M715]

New thermostat in.

I am wondering about valves? TM states normalize engine temp, so run for up to two hours. I was going to do valve cover gasket as the old one is leaking pretty bad. Would it be fine to adjust valves cold at .020, put in New gasket and run it for a bit? Then do proper adjustment and reuse gasket? Current valves are pretty tight, tighter then .015 cold.

Thanks

 

[m1010plowboy]

I wish I could help with this but only have a wee bit experience with the 50's GMC. The GMC tech manual says to do this with a hot engine and if the valves are too tight a 'lash' will cause the valves to burn, especially on the exhaust.

Valve lash on the 302 GMC is 0.012 for the intake....and 0.020 for exhaust.

I've got to hear that truck run after you do the valves, it already sounds good.

All the motorheads must be in the garage but I'm sure they'll be checking in and giving us some Kaiser valve setting tips....

Did you find your seat cover sources?