As I mentioned in a previous post, I ran into some trouble with Mabel. First thought it may have been the idle shut off valve and that still could’ve been part of the problem due to a loose connection, but it had nothing to do with the issue of the carb freezing and the car not idling after the motor was hot. Cold, the car would start right up, run fine for about 10 minutes or until hot, then it would not idle at all. I could hear a percolating sound coming from the carb and the base of the carb was freezing cold. That made me take a long look at the intake. Though the intake looks fine (fresh coat of paint when I bought it), it does appear to be the original intake and it is possible that the intake tubes are clogged with carbon. So, I decided to go ahead and order a new intake from CIP1.com. And while I’m at it, I thought I’d go ahead and order some new points, rotor, condenser and distributor cap from JBugs.com. As I began to dismantle the top end to replace the intake, I pulled the distributor, removed the cap and rotor button and proceeded to put the points. That’s when things when down hill. Unlike newer distributors and models, these points slid down on a shaft that was part of the VAC plate. Long story short, the shaft that the points sit on, pulled out of the plate. Hey, it’s almost 50 years old, but still a bummer. So the search began for a replacement distributor. Luckily, I found the same exact distributor on a forum and had it in hand in just a couple of days. So all the new distro gadgets that I ordered from JBugs.com, went on that distributor. I’m going to sell my original distributor, somebody with the know how can rebuild it or use it for parts. The intake I ordered from CIP1 shipped with that God awful metal protecting black paint. I spent a good 3 hours stripping it down and painting it with gray engine paint. Looks so much better. So that’s where I’m at currently. I still need to strip down enough of the top end to remove the intake which is just sitting on the motor, bolts have already been removed. Once that’s done, I’m go ahead and put in new plugs and wires and adjust the valves while I’m at it. Hope to get a lot done Friday after work. I plan on keeping the original intake, cleaning it out and eventually using it again.
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