Engine quits suddenly -M37

[Stumpull]

Hi All, Have 9k mi 1954 M37 in civilian fire trim. Driven it short distances (2-4 mi) in the past year. Took it on a 5 Mi ride to get gas last week.
On the way home the engine quit at 3k rpms after going up a decent hill on the way down.
Would not restart. 78 degree day but the engine did not overheat. Normal oil pressure
Had been on a semi rough road just before. Cranks just fine. Tried some starter spray. Not a cough.
Same problem next morning on cooler day.
So- Spark is likely the problem. Planning to replace condenser, cap, rotor, points. etc.
Any additional ideas? I could smell some gas fumes from the carb, but also heard an Gurggling sound every 2 sec???
I will not have the truck in front of me for a week or so but looking for any help you can offer.
Thanks!

 

[maddawg308]

Perhaps vapor lock? I remember there was a metal shield between my M37's exhaust manifold and the fuel pump to prevent this, it commonly gets lost or removed by Bubba and then the vapor lock starts up.

 

[Stumpull]

Perhaps vapor lock? I remember there was a metal shield between my M37's exhaust manifold and the fuel pump to prevent this, it commonly gets lost or removed by Bubba and then the vapor lock starts up.

Thanks for that idea. It would explain the weird, intermittent sucking sounds from the carb. I would think that the starting fluid would do something though, if it was fuel problem. I will check the heat shield and replace the easy spark parts.

 

[Floridianson]

Perhaps vapor lock? I remember there was a metal shield between my M37's exhaust manifold and the fuel pump to prevent this, it commonly gets lost or removed by Bubba and then the vapor lock starts up.

I do not know if that is the OP's problem but I add a small sheet of asbestos to my metal shield. Got it off an old house that had the asbestos shingles for siding. Been keeping it around for when I use the fire wrench to protect something I do not want to burn. Just cut off a piece and bolted to the metal shield to increase area.

 

[MDSA]

Check the ventilation tube running to and from the distributor. The coil will overheat and quit. Then it needs to cool before restarting. Mine would quit after several minutes. Every time. Then it would restart once it cooled off. I realized the one of the ventilation tubes was disconnected at the carburetor.

 

[Stumpull]

Check the ventilation tube running to and from the distributor. The coil will overheat and quit. Then it needs to cool before restarting. Mine would quit after several minutes. Every time. Then it would restart once it cooled off. I realized the one of the ventilation tubes was disconnected at the carburetor.

Check the ventilation tube running to and from the distributor. The coil will overheat and quit. Then it needs to cool before restarting. Mine would quit after several minutes. Every time. Then it would restart once it cooled off. I realized the one of the ventilation tubes was disconnected at the carburetor.

Thank for the tip. have now replaced the points, cap condenser and plugs. Still no spark at the plugs. I am leaning towards the coils as being bad.
I get 6.1K resistance across the primary and 10.2K across the secondary. Is this a bad reading?
Thanks

 

[Karl kostman]

I had my M37 taken out of my warehouse this spring and it fired up just fine I have a clear fuel filter and got some stuff coming through the fuel line into that so I shut it off and cleaned the filter and when I restarted it it ran like it was totally lean even back fired a couple times. I went through the entire fuel system and still the same. Went through and replaced points rotor and condensor STILL the same thing I finally replaced the coil and all was sonderful from that point on!