Stumped

[tpls63]

I've been having trouble with my Amphicar running well for very long.
Here's what happens: It starts and runs like new until I drive it around 15-18 miles and then it starts to bog down, loose power and generally run very rough. It did this when it was 90 degrees outside and today when it was around 52 and cloudy so that pretty much rules out vapor lock. I've rebuilt the original carburetor, replaced the fuel pump, checked and double checked the fuel filter on the bottom of the gas tank and it's never been dirty. I made sure the gas tank vent line is open and venting properly. The fuel pump pumps plenty of fuel as I've had the line off at the carb and turned it over. The timing is right on the marks and that's where it runs the best and the points are set at 15 thou. Plugs are new as is the coil, points and condensor. Engine is completely rebuilt to original specs.
I've tried a different coil with no improvement and will install new points and condensor tomorrow and try that too but I don't really expect that to be the problem.

Has anyone had this type of problem and if so what did you find wrong?

BTW it does it in the water or on land so the brakes are not dragging causing the loos of power.

I've talked to Scott and Bob at Gordons and they are stumped too.

I really would like to get this figured out before I put it away for the winter.


Thanks for any help!!

 

[Ken Chambers]

The scenario sounds similar to what Larry Solheim experienced earlier this year that kept the group stumped for months. (BTW Larry, how's the trip going?) Culprit ended up being a cheapie battery post cut off switch that flaked out after things warmed up.

Good luck,
Ken Chambers, CA
'64 Red


On Sep 20, 2010, at 2:23 PM, tpls63 wrote:

> I've been having trouble with my Amphicar running well for very long.
> Here's what happens: It starts and runs like new until I drive it around 15-18 miles and then it starts to bog down, loose power and generally run very rough. It did this when it was 90 degrees outside and today when it was around 52 and cloudy so that pretty much rules out vapor lock. I've rebuilt the original carburetor, replaced the fuel pump, checked and double checked the fuel filter on the bottom of the gas tank and it's never been dirty. I made sure the gas tank vent line is open and venting properly. The fuel pump pumps plenty of fuel as I've had the line off at the carb and turned it over. The timing is right on the marks and that's where it runs the best and the points are set at 15 thou. Plugs are new as is the coil, points and condensor. Engine is completely rebuilt to original specs.
> I've tried a different coil with no improvement and will install new points and condensor tomorrow and try that too but I don't really expect that to be the problem.
>
> Has anyone had this type of problem and if so what did you find wrong?
>
> BTW it does it in the water or on land so the brakes are not dragging causing the loos of power.
>
> I've talked to Scott and Bob at Gordons and they are stumped too.
>
> I really would like to get this figured out before I put it away for the winter.
>
>
> Thanks for any help!!

 

[SNOWBIRD]

This happened top John H. last year at Boston swin in.
Finally I took a good rotor of my own car, put in his and away he went.
My jeepster did it to me yesterday. 10 miles from home.
no glasses, only screw driver,, played with points and made it home.
still not realy fixed eather....
GORD S.

 

[amphicarowner]

Hello Gord: This has nothing to do with this topic, but I just put a deposit on another 67 amphi that was hit in the front? I can not discribe the
whole car because it was put under a metal garage and there is 43 years of wood and junk covering it! He said Right after he bought it he only put 1600 miles on it and hit a tree and just let it set. My question is How far back should i cut the car to replace the nose??
Thanks Paul from Albany NY 67 blue and now 67 red



To: pvcj@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Re: Stumped
Date: Tue, 21 Sep 2010 09:51:19 -0400
From:





This happened top John H. last year at Boston swin in.
Finally I took a good rotor of my own car, put in his and away he went.
My jeepster did it to me yesterday. 10 miles from home.
no glasses, only screw driver,, played with points and made it home.
still not realy fixed eather....
GORD S.

 

[tpls63]

I don't have a battery post shut off switch on mine but I will try cleaning and tightening the the terminals. I didn't get to the points/condenser today but hopefully I can try this tomorrow. Weather is supposed to be good. I don't have another rotor but this one looks better than any of my other cars.

 

[mike_israel]

At one point my Amphi would cut out and die for no apparent rhyme or reason.*
Turns out that the terminal had a crack in it.* Visually you would not notice
but when I went to tighten the terminal it became apparent.* Replaced the cable
and all was well.**


Rotor may look visibly perfect but still cause problems.* Rotor issues have been
the cause of many mysterious Amphi behaviors.

 

[canitfloat]

Yes, agree with Gord and Mike. My rotor was new, looked perfect, but car ran like crap. Put in an old original looking one and it ran perfectly. Moral of story...Dont throw out those old parts, lots of times they are better than new ones! John H.

 

[bkahler]

A lot of the new ones have rivets in them holding the finger on. Those are
cheap replacements that aren't worth a dime. Been there done that...

Brad
1964 Amphicar 101232

On Tue, Sep 21, 2010 at 7:13 PM, canitfloat
<>wrote:

> Yes, agree with Gord and Mike. My rotor was new, looked perfect, but car
> ran like crap. Put in an old original looking one and it ran perfectly.
> Moral of story...Dont throw out those old parts, lots of times they are
> better than new ones! John H.
>
>
>

 

[tpls63]

But would it run like new for 20-30 minutes and then start acting up? And then after it cools down it runs like new again?

I'll get a new rotor too just for kicks and try that too, I've tried everything else, who knows, it may be the answer.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I was even told a bigger hammer might do the trick. ...been thinking about it

At one point my Amphi would cut out and die for no apparent rhyme or reason.*
Turns out that the terminal had a crack in it.* Visually you would not notice
but when I went to tighten the terminal it became apparent.* Replaced the cable
and all was well.**


Rotor may look visibly perfect but still cause problems.* Rotor issues have been
the cause of many mysterious Amphi behaviors.

 

[chasgould]

See if the coil is very hot to the touch when it starts acting up. If so, determine whether it is still a positive ground car, and whether the coil could be wired backwards. They will run this way, but they will oveheat the coil and it will cause these symptoms. If not that, then the coil or condenser could be to blame. I would start with an old rotor as suggested by many others. There was a huge batch of bad rotors that was circulated for many years on a number of British cars, including Triumphs, and some of these may have found their way into Amphicar supplies. Then I would try a new condenser just because they are so cheap, and then a new coil.
Chas

But would it run like new for 20-30 minutes and then start acting up? And then after it cools down it runs like new again?

I'll get a new rotor too just for kicks and try that too, I've tried everything else, who knows, it may be the answer.
Thanks for all the suggestions. I was even told a bigger hammer might do the trick. ...been thinking about it

 

[Larry DePasquale]

I had a problem with the car running and found that the positive & Negitive
wires on the coil were on the wrong side along with bad contact of the main coil
wire. I don't know if that is your problem, but my carb was gone through also
with no improvement until we found the pos/ neg problem.


Larry D.


________________________________
From: tpls63 <>
To: larrydepasquale@yahoo.com
Sent: Mon, September 20, 2010 5:23:28 PM
Subject: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Stumped


I've been having trouble with my Amphicar running well for very long.
Here's what happens: It starts and runs like new until I drive it around 15-18
miles and then it starts to bog down, loose power and generally run very rough.
It did this when it was 90 degrees outside and today when it was around 52 and
cloudy so that pretty much rules out vapor lock. I've rebuilt the original
carburetor, replaced the fuel pump, checked and double checked the fuel filter
on the bottom of the gas tank and it's never been dirty. I made sure the gas
tank vent line is open and venting properly. The fuel pump pumps plenty of fuel
as I've had the line off at the carb and turned it over. The timing is right on
the marks and that's where it runs the best and the points are set at 15 thou.
Plugs are new as is the coil, points and condensor. Engine is completely rebuilt
to original specs.
I've tried a different coil with no improvement and will install new points and
condensor tomorrow and try that too but I don't really expect that to be the
problem.

Has anyone had this type of problem and if so what did you find wrong?

BTW it does it in the water or on land so the brakes are not dragging causing
the loos of power.

I've talked to Scott and Bob at Gordons and they are stumped too.

I really would like to get this figured out before I put it away for the winter.



Thanks for any help!!

 

[tpls63]

I installed an old condenser I had this morning, cleaned and tightened the battery terminals and put in an old coil. Same results, after running about 20-25 min it starts bogging down, missing and loses power. The car is positive ground as original. The old coil isn't marked + - but SW and CB and I connected the ignition switch wire to the SW and the CB to the distributor. The coil does get pretty hot but it is connected properly according to the diagrams. I don't have an old rotor so I'll have to get one and try that. I also opened up the mixture screw on the carb some thinking maybe it was a little lean but no difference.

See if the coil is very hot to the touch when it starts acting up. If so, determine whether it is still a positive ground car, and whether the coil could be wired backwards. They will run this way, but they will oveheat the coil and it will cause these symptoms. If not that, then the coil or condenser could be to blame. I would start with an old rotor as suggested by many others. There was a huge batch of bad rotors that was circulated for many years on a number of British cars, including Triumphs, and some of these may have found their way into Amphicar supplies. Then I would try a new condenser just because they are so cheap, and then a new coil.
Chas

 

[Ed Howard]

I had a similar problem which also stumped Gordon's. You mentioned that you had installed new points. I had bought new points from Gordon's. That is when the problems started. I finally decided to put my old points back on the car, and it has run perfectly ever since (1.5 years).

 

[chasgould]

It does not sound like carburetion to me. It definitely sounds like spark breaking down under load or excessive heat. the used coil or condenser could also be bad. I would not try an old condenser or an old coil. I would try a brand new condenser first, and then a new condenser and coil, and would always try an OLD rotor.
Chas

I installed an old condenser I had this morning, cleaned and tightened the battery terminals and put in an old coil. Same results, after running about 20-25 min it starts bogging down, missing and loses power. The car is positive ground as original. The old coil isn't marked + - but SW and CB and I connected the ignition switch wire to the SW and the CB to the distributor. The coil does get pretty hot but it is connected properly according to the diagrams. I don't have an old rotor so I'll have to get one and try that. I also opened up the mixture screw on the carb some thinking maybe it was a little lean but no difference.

 

[slantflat]

You know after reading all this it dawned on me that my car did the same thing. What I noticed was that the engine was getting really hot, in fact the outside of the car was pretty hot as well. When the engine would finally run rough and quit, it couldn't be started again until it cooled.

The car has been parked for years now, and I never solved this trouble. I was thinking that perhaps the water pump was bad and the coolant wasn't circulating. If that's the case then I've cooked my engine. It runs good when it runs, for the first half hour or so.


Mike Clark
Stockbridge, Georgia






To: half_aussie@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Re: Stumped
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 14:47:02 -0400
From:





I had a similar problem which also stumped Gordon's. You mentioned that you had installed new points. I had bought new points from Gordon's. That is when the problems started. I finally decided to put my old points back on the car, and it has run perfectly ever since (1.5 years).

 

[tpls63]

I have another new condenser I'll try tomorrow. The coil was new about a month ago but I guess that could be bad anyway so after I try the new condenser I'll order another new coil along with a rotor. I don't have an old rotor to try.
The engine has never overheated, it always runs right in the middle of the normal range on the gauge assuming thats working. But I can remove the radiator cap at operating temp without any spew so it's running cool enough.
Anyone have an old rotor they want to part with?

It does not sound like carburetion to me. It definitely sounds like spark breaking down under load or excessive heat. the used coil or condenser could also be bad. I would not try an old condenser or an old coil. I would try a brand new condenser first, and then a new condenser and coil, and would always try an OLD rotor.
Chas

 

[webtoes64]

A couple years back there was a rotor discussion .... apparently there was a
reliable supplier in the UK who had good quality, reliable rotors.* Did anyone
ever follow up on this and*have any imported to the US?
Dave C ... do you remember the discussion or know of the supplier?

Steve B
1964 Red

 

[amphicarowner]

If I lived close to you I would take my whole distributer out and put it in your car! That way you can say for sure it is not the distributer.
does anybody in the club live near you? That can do that. I am not a pro at this stuff but could it be the little butten that you have to press
to over ride the blower could that stuff be getting hot and making the car not run right??
Just putting it out there, Paul from Albany



To: pvcj@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Re: Stumped
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:27:50 -0400
From:





I have another new condenser I'll try tomorrow. The coil was new about a month ago but I guess that could be bad anyway so after I try the new condenser I'll order another new coil along with a rotor. I don't have an old rotor to try.
The engine has never overheated, it always runs right in the middle of the normal range on the gauge assuming thats working. But I can remove the radiator cap at operating temp without any spew so it's running cool enough.
Anyone have an old rotor they want to part with?



Quote:




Originally Posted by chasgould
It does not sound like carburetion to me. It definitely sounds like spark breaking down under load or excessive heat. the used coil or condenser could also be bad. I would not try an old condenser or an old coil. I would try a brand new condenser first, and then a new condenser and coil, and would always try an OLD rotor.
Chas

 

[tpls63]

I purchased a completely rebuilt original distributor from Gordons for this car. That doesn't mean it couldn't be the culprit so I'm trying to get one from another local guy and I'll give that a try too. I've also asked him for his coil to try. I had forgotten about him until you just mentioned this. I have removed the starter delay system so that is not the problem.

If I lived close to you I would take my whole distributer out and put it in your car! That way you can say for sure it is not the distributer.
does anybody in the club live near you? That can do that. I am not a pro at this stuff but could it be the little butten that you have to press
to over ride the blower could that stuff be getting hot and making the car not run right??
Just putting it out there, Paul from Albany



To: pvcj@hotmail.com
Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Re: Stumped
Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:27:50 -0400
From:





I have another new condenser I'll try tomorrow. The coil was new about a month ago but I guess that could be bad anyway so after I try the new condenser I'll order another new coil along with a rotor. I don't have an old rotor to try.
The engine has never overheated, it always runs right in the middle of the normal range on the gauge assuming thats working. But I can remove the radiator cap at operating temp without any spew so it's running cool enough.
Anyone have an old rotor they want to part with?



Quote:




Originally Posted by chasgould
It does not sound like carburetion to me. It definitely sounds like spark breaking down under load or excessive heat. the used coil or condenser could also be bad. I would not try an old condenser or an old coil. I would try a brand new condenser first, and then a new condenser and coil, and would always try an OLD rotor.
Chas

 

[bkahler]

tpls63,
*
*
*I have several Triumph 1147 distributors laying around. If you would like
I can send you*
*one to test with. It would likely have an original set of points and
condenser in it. I should*
*be able to come up with a distributor cap as well. I can't **say what
shape they would be in *
*but you would at least have another option to work with.*
*
*
*If you want to borrow it please reply privately to brad.kahler at
141.comand let me know what
*
*your mailing address is. *
*
*
*Brad*
*1964 Amphicar 101232*

On Thu, Sep 23, 2010 at 7:10 AM, amphicarowner <

> wrote:

> If I lived close to you I would take my whole distributer out and put it in
> your car! That way you can say for sure it is not the distributer.
> does anybody in the club live near you? That can do that. I am not a pro at
> this stuff but could it be the little butten that you have to press
> to over ride the blower could that stuff be getting hot and making the car
> not run right??
> Just putting it out there, Paul from Albany
>
>
>
> To: pvcj@hotmail.com
>
> Subject: RE: [General Amphicar Discussion-t-20885] Re: Stumped
> Date: Wed, 22 Sep 2010 19:27:50 -0400
> From:
>
>
>
>
>
> I have another new condenser I'll try tomorrow. The coil was new about a
> month ago but I guess that could be bad anyway so after I try the new
> condenser I'll order another new coil along with a rotor. I don't have an
> old rotor to try.
> The engine has never overheated, it always runs right in the middle of the
> normal range on the gauge assuming thats working. But I can remove the
> radiator cap at operating temp without any spew so it's running cool enough.
> Anyone have an old rotor they want to part with?
>
>
>
> Quote:
>
>
>
>
> Originally Posted by chasgould
> It does not sound like carburetion to me. It definitely sounds like spark
> breaking down under load or excessive heat. the used coil or condenser could
> also be bad. I would not try an old condenser or an old coil. I would try a
> brand new condenser first, and then a new condenser and coil, and would
> always try an OLD rotor.
> Chas
>
>
>