What am I not doing right, Hudson won't start

[phil walsh]

Hey guys! Me again, back to pick brains. Miss Crabtree, (my 28 Hudson), Won't even pop, Nothing, nada. I did everything you need to do to get a motor started. I got spark,in every wire, to the tips of the plugs. I got compression in every cylinder, enough to pop out a screwed in (2 threads) cork. I took off the manifold, cleaned it, repaired the steel tube in the intake, took apart the carb, cleaned it, checked settings(Although Everything seems to be set right on the carb, when I move the throttle the carb begins to drip,) but that should not prevent getting a poof. (You would think?) To try to get a poof or pop I squirted gas in each cylinder, quickly put the plugs back in annnnnnnd, nothing. Yes I put the flywheel on the mark(3 teeth before DC). There's even another mark there to line up with. I put the spark lever fully advanced, moved the dist. till I got a spark and checked that each wire got the spark to its plug. Yes, I put my thumb on the plug hole to assure the power stroke. Yes, I tried to retard the spark slightly while cranking and opening the throttle a little. Yes, I've kept the choke closed to try to get the motor to suck in some gas. So, It looks like I've done everything you need to do, but maybe one of you fellas out there might help me think out of the box a little, cause I'm out of ideas or the answer(s) are staring me right in the face and thats why I can't see them. Bla, Bla, Bla, Bla. Help! Anybody? I'm so close, yet so far. Thanks in advance to anyone who tries to help. Hudsonites rule. Phil

[Ron P]

When I start my 29 Hudson I pull the choke all the way out, let the engine turn over a couple times and push it back in while its turning over and she starts. When I first got her I made the mistake keeping the choke pulled out and flooding everything with gas including the garage floor and it would not even cough. Sounds like you have most things checked. Good luck, Ron

[Park W]

I experienced this many times when working with the '24, '27and '29 Hudsons of a good friend. Each time, we merely pulled the spark plugs, cleaned them or put previously cleaned spares in, and off she went. I was surprised that it didn't even begin to try to start with the dirtied plugs we'd removed. And they didn't look all that bad, just sooty.

[Geoff C., N.Z.]

Just to double check the intake system - hold your hand over the carburettor throat, with throttle wide open, and crank the engine. You should feel a good strong vacuum, and fuel should drip out when you take your hand away. I worked on one car which did not have the heat exchanger tube tight in the body, which cuaed this problem. Good luck,
Geoff.