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Bayless

Bayless

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Been moving my "shop" last month. Final part was to get the Prefect started for the first time in 18 years to drive the 4 miles instead of towing it. I had previously changed the oil and spark plugs and cranked to see the oil pressure needle move. I had also added a pusher electric fuel pump just to prime the mechanical pump a couple of years ago but never tested it.

Anyway, electric pump made noise but didn't pump. Turned out the diaphram had dissolved into sticky black goo. Replaced pump with a new 2-4 psi Facet which worked but promptly dumped gas out the bottom of the mechanical pump. Guess its diaphram was gone too. Plumbed around it and tried again. This time the electric pump filled the carburetor and continued pumping and dumped gas right down the barrel. Lowered the float about 1/16 inch and tried again and it worked but still no start. Got into the electrical components and found the points to be a little oxidized. Filed them clean and it fired right up. By now I was finally feeling some confidence. Added coolant and let it run a while to bring up to temperature. Needle didn't stop there. Looks like the thermostat is stuck closed. This was Friday and I had to be out of the old place over the weekend. Ended up having to put it on the tow dolly after all. But it runs and sounds good so maybe next week.
 
 
Congrats on hearing the "magic putt putt sound"!

Great when the old iron comes back to life, for sure.

A 1948 Prefect. Definitely a good year. (the year I was born!)

Got any photos?

Tom M.
 
Here it is in primer.
 

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gotta say it - cute! :grin:
 
That's the sad truth Mark. There are only a handfull known to exist this side of the pond that haven't been turned. The other side, of course, they have mostly rusted away. Thanks to the internet, I have nearly all the bits needed to make a complete car. When you have some time to waste, check my web page for the whole story of the car https://enfoprefect.org.
 
That's going to be a real nice car when you get it done! :encouragement: It's a shame a lot of them were chopped up for hot rods, but back then very few thought of preserving them for future generations. Nice that your preserving it. Keep us posted on the progress. PJ
 
Boink said:
The link isn't working for me.
Click to expand...

Mark, try dropping the https:// and put in www. in it's place, that's what I had to do. PJ
 
Last edited:
Thanks... got it. Link fixed.
Cool stuff, Paul!
 
That's strange guys. I don't understand. It works fine for me. I don't think it should make any difference that it's my page. Maybe Basil or some other guru will come along and enlighten me.
 
Very cool, it's good to see progress being made. Makes me want to go out and work on my cars.
 
Finally got a new thermostat installed yesterday, got a bottle of flush and ran it for about 30 minutes. Needle climbed up and stayed on 160-165 the whole time. Will do again today then drain and add proper coolant. Next step is to reconfigure the electric fuel pump setup to a more acceptable, permanent situation. Then maybe I can put a seat in and drive around the block. Still no glass, including the windscreen so may need goggles.
 
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