This morning I tried to drive Old Blue; 1937 1/2 ton, 216 ci. She started up fine and idled fine. About 3 minutes into start-up I backed her out of the garage and into the street and she stalled. I tried re-starting her 3 or 4 times without success. I then noticed a faint rising trail of smoke and smelled a mild odor; a combination of what smelled like oil, paint and gas. Needless to say I thought the situation was about to get really adventurous...fast. I quickly shut off the key, closed the choke and throttle linkage and got out of the cab. I watched a minute or two and figured it was not going to go up in flames, meanwhile getting a fire extinguisher. I opened the hood and saw the smoke trail emanating from the air cleaner and carburetor. Son and I pulled the air cleaner off and let things cool down for a couple of hours. We then checked the oil etc. and couldn't find anything readily suspect and worrisome. I took a chance and tried starting her up again. She took right off. I pulled her back into the garage and there she sits, with the battery disconnected until I figure out if this episode is more serious than a cursory inspection indicates.
Here are my questions: Any ideas on what might have gone wrong in the first place? Any ideas on solutions? Did I take an unreasonable gamble in trying the re-start? Any precautions I should take?
Thanks, 37Blue

We really don't know much about the history. Had the car sat for a long time before this adventure? When you started it the first time in the garage did you notice/hear a backfire that would have placed some gasoline in the filter unit. This fuel then ignighted and therefore the smoke from the aircleaner area.

After checking things over it was prudent to try to restart. With the hood open and fire apparatus nearby that was the next logical thing to do.

Wish we new more history, possible timing is too far advanced and causing a back fire?

Sounds like it is no big problem.Probably back-fired as Ray stated or when it stopped running it was /or you flooded it a little and the gas was cooking in the mainfold.Possibly was over choked a bit....be brave and do it over again tomorrow

RAY:
Old Blue was started but not driven twice in the 6 days prior to this morning. It was run each of those times for less than five minutes each. Last Sunday it was low on fuel, which I discovered after trying to start it. I added fuel (regular unleaded) and she started right up. I let her run a few minutes and then shut her down.
Wednesday evening she started without any hesitation and ran well. Again I shut her down after a few minutes.
None of these three starts this past week resulted a back fire, although that has on occassion happened before, usually after pulling away from a full stop and not a regular occurrence even then. I've checked the timing and that seems to be good (2 degrees retarded). The plug wires were changed by the previous owner and appear to be nearly new as do the spark plugs. I don't know how long ago these were replaced for sure, but I was told within the past couple of years. I don't know how many miles he put on it afterward, but I believe it very likely less than 500.
I'll recheck the timing to make sure the distributer is tighened down. I think you may be right about the fuel igniting in the filter bowl idea. Now that I think about it there was less oil in the bowl than normal. But it is puzzling there wasn't a noticeable backfire. Could it have occurred and been so mild as to go undetected? Should I let it run longer than just e few minutes whenever I start her up?
Thanks, 37Blue
P.S. RAY: We have very fond memories of Vancouver, WA our son was born there.

Chevgene:
Thank you for the encouragment and reply. I'm new to the hobby and havn't had much experience working on cars/trucks other than very basic tune-ups, brake work, with supervision, and other minor repairs. I figured it was high time I finally get off dead center and do something about a life-long dream. I'm lucky that my gal supports our decision.
37Blue

Once you start the engine then run it until the exhaust system gets to operating temperature (typically 10-15 minutes). After only a few minutes the exhaust system gets warm back to the muffler but is not hot enough to force the water out. When everything cools then the water condenses in the system. This promotes much faster rusting and shortens the life. Also the oil does not get hot enough to force out the water vapor. The acid gas that gets past the rings during startup and warm up combines in the oil pan with the water to eat up lotsa stuff. Get it all hot enough to boil out the water! Or you'll do more harm than good.

I agree with all the above...

chipper, would you think a 5-10 run at highway speeds would also be adequate to fully boil out the water & gas in the oil and vapor from the exhaust?..


epi

"I've checked the timing and that seems to be good (2 degrees retarded)"

I think that the timing should be advanced, and not retarded.

Timing should be set at zero for 70 octane gas.Then,by using the octane selector can be advanced or retarded at least 8 degress from there.With todays higher octane gas will run best with the full 8 degree advance.Its common for these to pop or spit back thru the carburetor during warm-up.Some times they kill and require restarting.Sounds as if your a little "afraid" of it....They won't run like a modern fuel injected car and take a bit of "playing with" during warm-up....also check to see if the heat riser is free to turn and yes, get it out on the road and drive it each time its started so it gets completely warmed -up.

Thanks to all for the helpul coaching. Lot's to learn and enjoying every minute of it. I'll let ya'll know how it turns out. It may be next weekend before I can get back on it...the "honey do list" calls for the rest of this weekend and business trips most of next.
37Blue

Guys:
Great news! Thanks to your help I went through and checked Old Blue over and changed the timing as recommended. She started right up and ran like a champ. I drove around town for about 30 minutes without any problems. Thanks again!
37Blue

What was your final setting for the timing?

It is set at 8 degrees advanced. That is were Chevgene indicated it likely would run best and that would seem to be the case for Old Blue. Just got back from another evening drive and she performed great again. The tempurature gauge is reading about 150 degrees after a nearly one hour run. I think this is lower than it should be. I noticed another discussion group the past few days has been working on a tempurature problem for someone else. I'm going to re-read those postings for some clues. One that may be possible for Old Blue is the guage accuracy. I was told when I bought the truck the thermostat,water pump,and hoses were new. I don't know about the radiator history, but it appears to be a reconditioned(?)replacement. I'll be looking into this potential problem more in the coming days.
37Blue

I agree - check the gage for accuracy. 150°F is too low a temp for complete combustion. Your engine should be running at 180° to 190° for maximum performance and to remove the water, which is a by-product of combustion, from the oil, to prevent the formation of sludge.

I have a candy thermometer and when I make a run and the engines seems hot or cold I stick that in the radiator, provides a good check against the gage. by the way be care ful removing the radiator cap.

Thanks for the candy thermometer tip. Old Blue's temp was taken yesterday, following an engine run time of 45 minutes, on a short trip and at idle. The engine temp guage read 160 degrees and the candy thermometer read 180. Assuming the 180 reading was accurate it looks like the guage needs calibration.
37Blue