Spark Knock in my '59

[RandalPark@xxxxxxx]

I am also inclined to think that this spark knocking is fuel related. Of course 
not being there, I can't say for sure. In addition to everything else that 
others have written, I didn't see anything about the possibility of a weak fuel 
pump. This is another thing that could cause the car to run lean. I have 
discovered that the new gasolines that we have today are VERY hard on fuel 
pumps. If there is a tear in the diaphragm it won't last long anyway so you 
will know pretty soon if the fuel pump is bad.

If you are having ignition trouble, it could be as simple as replacing the 
points. The points are suppose to be checked/changed every 10,000 miles. This 
is something that we tend to forget today in this age of "no maintenance" 
ignition systems.

Cheers! 

Paul

In a message dated 3/7/2004 6:39:33 PM Eastern Standard Time, 
georgelaurie@xxxxxxxxxxx writes:

> 
> 
> Rex, the main cause will no dought be the poor quality of fuel available now
> days, and this can change  between every Gas Station or between each
> delivery to you local Gas Station. Here in Australia they drop any old junk
> they have left over  into the fuel, high amounts of Ethanol, old stale jet
> fuel, just about anything really, so I bet they do the same in the US. To
> adjust your motor to suit the poor fuel you may need to run a lower advance,
> droping it back to say 5 Degres and if you have the spring loaded Vacume
> Advance you need to add some washers to keep that advance back a bit. The
> very simple equation is the worse the fuel, the less advance your motor can
> handle. I run my old Valiant ( 318 V8 ) on Propane, and because it has a
> higher octane than Petrol it never knocks, but if I change it over to Gas
> ( Petrol ) she will rattle it's head off when I try to work her hard,
> regards George.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Rex Crews" <rexcrews@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 8:20 AM
> Subject: IML: Spark Knock in my '59
> 
> 
> > Hi, Guys and Gals,
> >
> > I would like some feedback on spark knocking or pinging on my '59.  I have
> > changed the points, checked, set and re-set the timing, and bought
> different
> > gasolines.  Still, I have a weird problem with spark knock on acceleration
> > and can even hear it at high speeds.  The odd symptom is, though, that the
> > problem is not consistent.  One day it doesn't ping at all, and the next
> day
> > it is terrible.  My mechanic thinks the distributor shaft is worn and is
> > shifting the timing, but the car has only 75,000 original miles.  Any
> > suggestions about the cause?  BTW, my 60 and 61 Imperials have zero spark
> > knock....  Thanks in advance.
> >
> > Rex Crews  '59 and '60 Crowns, '61 Custom
> >
> >
> >