1960 Stalls at any speed then difficult to restart | Ford Thunderbird club group 1955-2005 T-Bird models
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1960 Stalls at any speed then difficult to restart

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bob McNevin
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Bob McNevin

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Thunderbird Year
1960
If she warms up or cold she will start up but when I drive away she will miss or hesitate a bit then quit altogether, Sometimes she will start right up others no. I have replaced the rotor, dist cap, coil. I am getting gas and seems I have spark. Hard to tell when she wont start but then she will go after a bit of backfire or smell of flooding. My manual shows original carb had a filter in the front of the carb but the one I have I cant find any filter I think what I have is an afyter market carb.Would it be inline or under the fuel pump, Any ideas of this finicky girl I am at wits end.

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I’d take a hard look at your ballast resistor mounted on the firewall. It may be corroded or even cracked. Replace it if in doubt. I convert all my classics from points and condenser to electronic using Petronix. It allows you to keep the original look, but with today’s reliability.If you decide to switch to electronic ignition, you can eliminate this resistor altogether.
 
Could be something as simple as vapor lock. If you have a "newer" vented gas cap...the the release pressure is a lot higher than on the OEM vented cap. I drilled a small hole in the cap on my '61 that had similar problems. Give it a shot...might be a super easy fix for you. Good luck
 
Hard to tell when she wont start but then she will go after a bit of backfire or smell of flooding. My manual shows original carb had a filter in the front of the carb but the one I have I cant find any filter I think what I have is an afyter market carb.Would it be inline or under the fuel pump, Any ideas of this finicky girl I am at wits end.

The 1960 bird 352CI F4100 4V did not have an inline filter as the filter was located in the glass bowl on the bottom of the pump.

If no filter, the carb is most likely full of trash (and ethanol).

FUEL FILTER INSTALL - 1960 BIRD 352 F4100 4V _1.png

FUEL FILTER INSTALL - 1960 BIRD 352 F4100 4V _2.png
 
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From your description, it sounds like you need to start with a basic carburetor adjustment. Maybe jump in and do the points and condenser while you're in there...
 
Can't go wrong getting rid of the points even if this is not your main problem. It just makes the car start and idle so much better. Plus it's chap and easy to do. Everything hidden inside the distributor cap.
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