1932 Ford Model B Under the Hood Tour

[@alexiskai]

OK, there are a couple of things going on here. First, the glass jar mounted to the firewall and connected to the manifold is not for vapor lock. It's an aftermarket device designed to add something to the fuel-air mixture. Hard to tell what it was. Sometimes these were filled with water, and the idea was that it would humidify the air. Other times it was something like Marvel Mystery Oil. The idea was that the manifold vacuum would suck whatever was in the jar out in small amounts and atomize it in the air stream. Then periodically you'd have to refill the jar. If your jar is empty, it's not doing anything, and personally I would recommend disconnecting it so that you're not messing with the fuel/air ratio. Vapor lock occurs when the fuel in the carburetor float bowl or the fuel line boils. In a gaseous state, the fuel can't be pumped, so the car starves for fuel. Typically this occurs after the car has been run for awhile and is then shut off, and the day is hot. With no circulating air from the fan, the residual heat in the manifold will radiate into nearby objects, a phenomenon called heat soak. If the carburetor or fuel line gets hot enough, and the gasoline composition has a low boiling point, the fuel will boil and you'll get vapor lock until the fuel condenses again. The sheet metal that someone has added between the carburetor and the manifold is designed to reduce vapor lock by blocking heat soak coming off the manifold. The fact that this car has both the backup fuel pump and the heat shield tells me that it has had fuel reliability problems in its life. Model As are not prone to vapor lock compared to later cars from the '30s and '40s due to their updraft carburetors. This places the carburetor relatively low in the engine bay. The fuel lines also don't run near the exhaust manifold. However, Model As that have been modified to use downdraft carburetors do have to contend with vapor lock, and many of those use a heat shield placed under the distributor to reflect heat away from the carb.

[@32modelbford39]

Thanks for all the good information and support!! I appreciate it! I learned a lot from this and hopefully it helps someone else too!! 👊🏻

[@jeffboyles3611]

Glad to see you still have your engine pans on the sides. Lots of them are missing. Supposedly they help with cooling by directing the air flow. Henry didn't waste money, so there must have been a good reason besides cleanliness. I put mine back on the '28 and then started having vapor lock problems. It gets pretty hot and humid out here where I am in Texas. But my fuel line isn't original, so I'm going to either re-bend or replace it. It strictly works on gravity alone, so every pipe has to be running perfectly on a downward trajectory to the fuel bowl. They build lots of heat under that little hood and ethanol is pretty easy to boil. If that doesn't fix the problem, I'll have a set of powder coated pans for sale. Having your fuel under a little pressure will probably keep you from ever having that problem. I expect your Grandfather knew he was heading that problem off by installing his electric fuel pump. It sure is a good running old car. I know you're having lots of fun and believe me, the more you drive them the better they act. Mine's like a good horse, it loves to be used.

[@32modelbford39]

Thanks, man! Glad you liked the video. I hope you can get your fuel problems worked out! I can imagine it gets hot where your at! I know what you mean about driving them often, I can tell when I don’t that she doesn’t like sitting! Lol!! Thanks again for leaving a comment, I appreciate it!👊🏻

[@flivverchannel]

Really enjoying your videos. Love the car! Can't wait to see more about the original Model B engine, and whatever you are going to do with it.

[@32modelbford39]

Thank you!!👊🏻

[@craigroberts3982]

Thanks for the peek under the hood. I have an A and it's interesting to see the differences in the engines.

[@32modelbford39]

Thank you! I appreciate it! It is neat to see the differences! Thanks for watching and for the support!👊🏻

[@darrendover5276]

Great videos! Love the car!

[@32modelbford39]

Thank you! I appreciate it!👊🏻

[@timnewman1172]

I like the "manifold venting system", those guys that ran these old cars were pretty smart at adapting!

[@32modelbford39]

Yes, I would definitely agree! Thanks for watching!! I appreciate the support!!👊🏻

[@retireditguy9493]

I have been enjoying your videos and like old cars that are driven and not totally for show. It would be interesting if you could tell us more about the history and mechanics of the car. In your video about the instrument panel the odometer had less than 7000 miles on it, but you did mention it probably is not the original speedometer. Do you have any way to estimate how many miles are on the car? Do you know if the engine has ever been rebuilt? These cars originally had poured Babbitt bearings in them. Do you know if your engine has them or has been changed to insert type bearings? Are the brakes still the original cable actuated brakes? You have the material for many more interesting videos.

[@32modelbford39]

Glad you are enjoying the videos! Thanks for watching and the feedback! The odometer is not the original one, and I have no way to tell how many miles are actually on the car, I would assume a lot! The current engine in the car is a Model A engine, the original engine I still have and it is rebuilt and ready to got back in if needed ( Future video idea of spare parts that I have and how my grandfather used to get them). I don’t know about the bearings, sorry. Keep in mind when this car was restored I wasn’t around yet. Lol! The car still has the original setup of mechanical brakes. I hope this answers some of your questions! Please keep watching for future videos, you are correct I have a lot of material I can do on this great car!

[@lyndatomlins3448]

The plate between carb & inlet manifold may help deflect some heat at fuel ;; I am not yet convinced of 'vapor lock', never had it [we do not get biofuels here yet in NZ] which can cause these problems? Lot of extra plumbing you have in there! Ford advised 500 mile oil changes because it was a straight single weight with no additives & not designed for long life like modern oils.Anything you put in today is vastly superior to oil in the early 30's. They will run OK on any grade of modern oil IMO! Some explanation of the '32 rear firewall mounted engine support [ Fords version of Chryslers 'Floating Power'] would have been interesting for us Model A guys. Cheers.

[@32modelbford39]

Thanks for watching and for your feedback! I appreciate it! 👊🏻

[@hitchcock1960]

Can you do a video of the next time you grease the water pump ?

[@32modelbford39]

Yes, I will try to do that! Thanks for the suggestion! I appreciate the support!👊🏻

[@cobbleup]

Those old Fords are probably the most economical vehicles. Gas mileage per gallon was only fair but when you figure dollars per mile they beat out the new cars by far. You just have to be content without AC and higher speeds. I love the simplicity of the old ones.

[@32modelbford39]

Thanks for watching! I totally agree with you!! 👊🏻

[@richm.6220]

I've read that the Model A only got like 18 mpg back in the day.

[@roberts459]

@@richm.6220yep, and that number is based on speeds in those days when most roads had a speed limit of 20mph. They also only have a top speed of about 50 mph. Even which modern gasoline they don't do any better unless you add aftermarket overdrive and then you get two shift levers to contend with.

[@fredkaminski3668]

I see someone installed an alternator on it.

[@32modelbford39]

Sure did! Thanks for watching!!👊🏻