Getting my 1953 Kaiser Manhattan started.

[Robert Wadman]

I have tried several times to get my 1953 Kaiser Manhattan started.  My Kaiser has not been started in over 10 years. I have taken the following steps - new starter motor, new 6 volt battery, new regulator, new spark plugs, cleaned ground wires, and replaced the distributor.  The motor turns over freely, but will not start.  A KF Club member suggested putting oil in each cylinder to improve or create compression.  I placed a small amount of 30 weight oil in each cylinder with no luck.  Is the oil too thin?  I have spark to the spark plugs, but it will not fire up.  I have tried to set the timing, but I can't find the timing mark on the crankshaft pulley.  Is the timing mark difficult to find on the pulley?  Any ideas will be appreciated.  I'm trying to get the car up and running before I start a full restoration.  Thanks Bob (10479)

[boatingbill]

Pull the plugs and spray sea foam into each cylinder. This is available at all marine supply stores.
Turn the engine over to restore compression and put the plugs back in. Spray a little gas from a
squirt bottle into the carb throat and then try to start. If it fires up at all, spray more gas and try
again. Clean the front pully (vibration damper) with a degreaser such as paint thinner and look for the
timing marks. If you rotate the nut on the front of the pulley until the rotor is pointing at the number
one plug, look at the timing marks. On my '51 it is 4 degrees before top dead center as the time for
the plug to fire. You say you have spark, so your problem may be fuel. I mounted a Napa 3002
fuel filter between the fuel pump and the carb to see if the fuel pump is working because this is a
see through plastic filter.

[superk226]

Did you check the compression on the engine? It needs to be at least 50 psi in order for the engine to start. If three or four of the cylinders have at least 50 psi it should start. Some of the valves may be stuck open causing the lack of compression. Can you hear it puffing back through the carburetor or out of the tail pipe when the engine is being cranked over? Adding the Sea Foam to the cylinders is a good idea as one of the previous posters suggested.

[Robert Wadman]

I will look for the sea foam and give it a try.  I think it is the compression.  The engine turns freely - almost too freely.
Bob

[joefrazer]

Do a compression check before you spray the seafoam in the cylinders. You'll need at least 90 lbs to get the car to start....120 lbs is ideal. Anything less than 90 indicates poorly seated valves or worn rings.

[Benji]

Years ago I had an old flathead Ford V8 in a Model A that refused to start using all the normal avenues so I had a buddy bring his pick up and a long nylon tow strap over to my farm.  We threw the strap around the front bumper of the A model and the rear bumper of the truck and took off down the road. When he hit about 35mph and with the ignition key on and the tranny in second gear I gently let off the clutch and the engine began to turn over.  I pulled the choke out and pumped the gas pedal and we went about a mile or so but the engine still refused to start, so I just kept into it.  After about another 1/2 mile or so the engine began sputtering and then it fired on all 8 and it took off.  We stopped, removed the strap and I drove it home!

Never figured out why it was so hard to start that one time but it started easily after that!

Ben

[boatingbill]

I would say that towing the car got the engine oil on the cylinder walls and brought the compression
back. My dad once flooded his 53 kaiser so bad, we had to tow it about a mile before it fired up. His
idea for the time was to pump the gas and crank the engine over to get it to start. He used to shut
the engine off at night and then pump the pedal twice saying that gas would be in the cylinders in
the morning to assure a start. I told him that pumping raw gas into the cylinders and leaving it
overnight was lowering his odds of getting it started. There were lots of weird ideas about
getting a 6v car to start. Old habits die hard.

[Orphanauto]

When I bought my 58 Studebaker, it wouldn't start for nothing, finally, I found out that mice had a home built in the exhaust, so it wasn't getting air thru, and thats why it wouldn't start. Funny things like that happen when  a car sits for years. I think the other post are more likely, but blow some air thru the exhaust and make sure it is open. On this i=one, I just drilled a few holes in the pipes ( they needed replaced anyway), and then it started right up, hehe. Please let us know what the problem was, I'm still learning too.