Just wanted to say....I did install a 'small cap' HEI dizzy in the slant six. The distributor is from a mid-1980's chevy V6.....aka
S10 pickup. I did some testing with a standard round oil filled coil
and the HEI 'epoxy filled' square coil.
The round coil will reliably throw a spark about 3/4 inch, and the HEI coil will reliably spark up to about an 1-1/8" wide gap.
It runs really nice now, starts very reliably as well.

The other thing I did was toss the old prestolite alternator that was over charging, and installed a small Denso unit off some Toyota car. Nice little alternator, and the voltage is rock steady at all engine RPM now.

Just got in a new clutch disc...(oil spray setup)..the old one has always stuck to the flywheel, and I intend to fix that annoyance shortly.

dk

Is the vacuum hose hooked to the Beam regulator? It must sense vacuum to allow the fuel to turn on.

you know, this discussion has sparked some old memories in me from dealing with those old ignition systems years ago. I remember having some of the same issues like this. One of our fixes with points issues etc was to convert the distributor to a breakerless points system. We would get a perlux kit and install it in the distributor and that generally would solve those issues.

Gee i had forgotten all about those good times lol

make sure the coil and it's mounting bracket are well grounded.

I have a Yale forklift. Was converted to L.P.. had to replace piston rings. Pulled it apart had to wait on boss to get parts. Took him 4 months. Got it back togeather and it turns over made sure everything engine side was right. Wasn't getting anything to carb. Replaced the beam T-60 regulator. Still not getting fuel from regulator to carb ring. Not sure of the exact part name. But I get fuel to the regulator but nothing coming out of the regulator. Any help greatly appreciate.
Thank you
Sgt B

/I think I just saw a ghost./

Ha!

/1995 Hyster S-50 XL/

1995! Wow!
This past summer I operated a 1988 Komotsu 8000lb pneu. tire.
What a joy to use!
Forklift ergonomics have come a LONG way in 30-40 years.
Even between the 1953 and 1970!

1953 Chrysler flat head six!
I think I just saw a ghost. We used to have a 1962 Yale with a Chrysler flat head six in it at our old shop. We ran that thing up until April of 2006 when the company had an opportunity to replace it with a 1995 Hyster S-50 XL with 150" lift capability.
Yes, the old flat head six had a persnickety ignition system.
Seems like we were always having to reset the breaker points gap. We looked into converting it to a Pertronix electronic breakerless set up but we were unable to obtain a conversion kit from Pertronix, so we just kept on with the old girl like she was born until she was replaced with the Hyster.

I'm sure it will be an over-reaction to the problem, but
here is what I intend to do to address this:

I had a 1953 Yale High Cowl with a Chrysler IND30
flat head six. It's still around, as i sold it to one of the neighboring
businesses here. 20 years ago I had rebuilt that forklift nearly from
bare frame up. Engine was completely rebuilt as well.
It served me well.

That unit always had problems that were ignition related.
Damp conditions, cold, high humidity, etc.
Seemed like it always was running intermittently on less than 6 cylinders, despite being in good tune, with carburetor rebuilt, etc.

One day about 10+ years ago, I had enough.
I went to the auto recyclers and got a GM HEI distributor from
a 90 degree V6 Chevy engine.
I machined the distributor, fit the old gear on the shaft and installed it in the engine with all the junk yard parts still in it (cap, rotor, module, etc). A Saturday afternoon project really....

To this day, that forklift starts and runs well on all 6 cylinders in all weather and temperature conditions. Never has had any further ignition system maintenance done on it.

In the near future, I will do the same for the Slant Six in this 1970 Yale that has been discussed in this thread, and thus will end it's ignition problems as well.

There is nothing wrong with using old equipment in my opinion, as long as it can be made to be reliable and remain low cost to operate.

dk

dkmc, I tip my hat and give you the nod for finding the true cause of the problem.
I especially like how you employed the induction timing light to evaluate the spark. Good move!
This thread was beginning to take on the persona of a mystery novel.

yep dkmc
its those little things that get ya
run into this type of thing sometimes and its a lesson learned, be it an expensive lesson but none the less a lesson.

Glad you figured it out
good job :)

Epilog:

For possible future reference and help in others trouble shooting adventures....

All the new IMPCO parts are installed.

Note:
I called the IMPCO tech dept and they said the "Vapor Fuel Hose" that connects between the regulator and mixer should be at least 5/8 ID and preferably 3/4 ID.
Anything smaller could cause the regulator to not work correctly.

The same problem still existed!
An "apparent" lean condition off idle with eventual stalling all together after a period of time, usually 15-20 minutes.

The solution:

It was the IGNITION COIL

Old hot rodders saying:
95% of Carburetor problems are electrical.

After a run of about 20 minutes, it got rough, stumbled and died as usual.
I started to think what else it could -possibly- be.
So I hooked #1 spark plug wire to an external plug.
And I hooked up a timing light to the coil wire.
Started engine at idle and watched.
After 2-3 minutes at idle, the engine began to run rough........I could actually see the spark on the plug hooked to #1 wire get thinner and weaker, and more orange.
30 seconds later, the timing light stopped functioning!
5 seconds after that the plug stopped firing and engine quit.

Crank engine......no spark.

Wait 5 minutes, crank engine, starts back up.

Theory and conclusion:
My guess is the spark was so weak it was just enough to allow the engine to start and run, but with increased throttle, and added fuel, the spark was simply extinguished.
Spark was stronger for first 15-20 minutes of operation.

Coil did not get hot or even warm to touch.

Installed old, use, poor looking coil to test and engine runs
perfectly. Idles smooth as a watch with excellent pick-up and power.

Thanks for all the info and responses.

dk

$45.00! WOW! I have bought complete Model J Convertors for slightly over $30.00 in the past.
Well, anyhow......$14.00 is a very good price.

I called the local Toyoda/Crown/Clark dealer and they had the kit in stock.

$45 !!

So I called Carb & Turbo systems in Shakopee, MN
They also had it in stock and the price was
$14

A few extra days wait, but....

Have you checked the propane coupler at the propane tank? The female brass coupler should be about 1/4 inch from large nut on the male half of the coupler. Make sure that there are no gaskets or O-rings inside the female brass coupler. The 2 nipples inside the coupler have to be fully depressed to allow full fuel flow.

Have you checked the fuel lock off? Sometimes (albiet rarely) the solnoid initially opens the lock off, only to have the solnoid fail & the lock off closes. Try by-passing the lock off to see if the symptoms change. Note- even with the fuel line connected directly to the vaporizer & the fuel tank open, there should be no fuel flow out of the vaporizer until the vaporizer senses a draw from the mixer.

Actually I never had any doubts..... :-)

Rest assured that if the parts say Impco on them they are genuine Impco. Algas was bought out by Impco many years ago along with Beam.

Well, I don't really know.......

The parts were ordered from an IMPCO distributor whom I was referred to after I called the IMPCO headquarters, and the parts all say IMPCO on them, cast into the aluminum.
The part numbers all seem to match IMPCO part numbers in the IMPCO catalog.......

But maybe they really are not IMPCO after all....

???

dkmc;
Are you sure you are dealing with an Impco and not an Algas fuel system. It seem so.

Well, knowing the regulator is 25 years old makes it suspect anyway.
I just bought a kit today for a Model J reg and a VFF 30 lockoff from our local Toyota dealer in the Star Lift Parts line of parts.
That is Toyota's alternative parts line but the parts in the bag were genuine Impco brand.
The Toyota part number for the J model rebuild kit is 00591-51142-81. Comes with its own instruction booklet and the cost was $17.31 USD.

I'm not sure how the WP rating from the old BEAM equipment and the new IMPCO equipment are related?

The IMPCO reg and carb are designed to work together.

The BEAM system is 250lbs WP 0.19 PSI water column.
The IMPCO system is 312lbs WP and 2 inches WC


I took off the cover on the primer button side.
The diaphragm looked -as new- I looked carefully and closely
and saw no holes or rips or cracks.

Put it back on and tried to start the engine.
I noticed propane smell and looked everything over carefully.
Gas is escaping from the vent screen.
A slow steady silent flow of gas.
The primer button seems to have a lot of resistance when pushed. It was that way before.

So apparently sitting around for 25 years never being used has still had ill effects on the rubber products in the unit.
This was never installed on anything, it is as new.

I am ordering a rebuild kit right now.