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« on: June 23, 2012, 04:37:18 PM »
Boatingbill--My dad's 1950s Fords always locked up as we were driving over McDonald Pass (US Highway 12 west of Helena, Montana). He was always able to stop near a water fountain, and pour cool mountain water under the hood somewhere (I was too young to really be aware of what he was doing). I'll try your suggestion before adding the electric fuel pump--something I had to add to my 1976 Triumph Spitfire because of the location of the mechanical fuel pump that just would get too hot.
I do think there's another issue as well. When the car died on Saturday, a old car guy driving by stopped and put his head under the Frazer's hood. He determined that the gas was, indeed, flowing, but there was no spark coming from the extremely hot ignition coil. I have since replaced the coil, and the car still dies on me after 1/2 hour or so of driving. It won't start up again for 2-2 1/2 hours, which is much too long to sit beside the road. On Wednesday when this happened, a friend from the local Rods and Customs club saw me stranded and he, too, stuck his head under the hood. He felt that there was a problem with the distributor--perhaps the capacitor inside had fried.
And finally, yes, I am aware that today's gas is much more volatile than the gas we used 60+ years ago. But until I determine that the problem is, indeed, vapor lock, I'm facing a conundrum. I really want to be driving the car on a daily basis, but I don't want to get stranded after driving 1/2 an hour. And since the car just dies while driving (usually after idling at a light), I have to wonder if it isn't something more than just vapor lock.
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