1962 Slant 6 will not start.

[carhunter]

This post is for my 1962 Plymouth Belvedere. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Here is what I have accomplished so far:

I have replaced the points and gaped them at .020 . The condenser was replaced today because the spark is yellow. I have read it's supposed to be blue. I have also put a new cap, wires, and rotor button in place. The spark plugs are ok and gapped correctly.

The car has fresh fuel because I had recently put 50 miles on it. The carburetor (ball & ball) was in bad physical shape, yet it got me home (the accelerator pump was no good).

I found and put a rebuilt single barrel Rochester Mono-jet carb on the car, (after it quit running) still no luck.

It was obviously owned buy someone who didn't care or have the right parts. The alternator is of Chevrolet kind. They bypassed the alternator on/off regulator. When the car ran the Chevrolet charging system did work properly; however, I'm not sure if that is causing starting issues now.

The ballast 'seems' to work. The coil is getting 6 volts. The coil has 12V printed on side as well as "Use with ballast."

I have used an ignition switch that I know works.

I am just not sure what is causing my problem. Is it a bad timing chain? The rotor button still turns when the engine is turned over.

 

[dryheat]

6v to the coil seems kinda low ... is that with the ignition switch in "run" or while cranking.

Fuel squirting properly from new carb?

What are the cylinder compression numbers?

 

[69Bee]

The coil voltage seems too low. Is there spark at the plugs?

 

[barnfind]

The coil voltage seems too low. Is there spark at the plugs?

x2
Id check that ballast resistor closely. Sometimes they appear to look ok, if you have a spare replace it. Sometimes it does the trick.

 

[440+6]

try bypassing the ballast and give the coil a full 12v and see if it starts.
You should have 12v anyway when the key is in the start position and 8 or 9 i believe in the run position.
Make sure your getting fuel

 

[carhunter]

Yes, but it is yellow. At first, with the original ignition switch, the car would start and stay running only with the starter engaged. I have used a few old ballasts I have laying around. They might all be bad but, what are the chances?

Now the car won't even pop or fire with starting fluid, even with the yellow spark. This leads me to believe it is a timing problem. It WILL backfire out the carb when 180 degrees out.


I do not have a compression tester....yet.

 

[67 coronet]

is the coil bad?you can pick up a new one for about $18,might be worth a try.

 

[coloradodave]

Try jumping across the ballast resistor as a test. If the car fires, replace it with a new one. Don't leave it bypassed for long, as it'll burn the points.

 

[carhunter]

I have replaced the following items:

Points
Condenser
wires
cap
rotor-button
ballast resistor


I set the time as best as possible by using the position of the #1 cylinder's valve spring positions, the harmonic balancer marks, and the rotor-button. Everything checks out good for the timing without actually inspecting the chain.

The fuel pump is good.
The ignition switch is good.

I took out the old and fouled plugs and temporarily replaced with some used Motorcraft plugs to see if any change; I know those plugs are good. I did get a backfire out of the tail pipe. I don't know what that means.

The coil has a good resistance between 7.5 and 14.5 k Ohms.

I'm all out of ideas. I have three suspicions: weak battery, bad intake vacuum(not pulling in enough fuel), or Timing chain has skipped tooth.

The car just refuses to start.

 

[coloradodave]

In an earlier post you said you replaced the ballast with several used ones...did you bypass it and check the quality of the spark at the plug end of a wire? Pull #1 plug. Put your thumb over the spark plug hole and have someone 'tap' the motor over with the key. When it tries to blow your finger off the hole, the piston is coming up to TDC. By hand, continue to turn the crank until the timing mark on the damper is on (+-) 10* BTDC mark on the timing tab. Check the rotor position to see if it's aligned with the #1 plug wire in your cap (easiest way is to felt tip pen mark the rotor position on the body of the distributor). If it is aligned, check the firing order and direction of rotation to make sure your wires are where they should be. My last bit of advice is to quit using 'used' parts to diagnose problems. You don't want to throw parts at a problem, especially if they're used parts. You're going to find the problem if you diagnose methodically.

Distributor rotation: clockwise
Firing order: 1-5-3-6-2-4
Sparkplugs: Champion N14-Y or equiv. Gapped at .035"
Distributor Points: Gapped at .017-.023"
Make sure that the wires to the points from the condenser and coil aren't grounding inside the distributor...

 

[carhunter]

I will do that now. I have been setting it at 0 degrees BTDC; Maybe that is a probable cause. Thanks!

It may be a while, I have no help with cranking.

 

[coloradodave]

Go to any auto parts store and buy a remote starter switch. They are under $10.00. It will allow you to push a button on the switch and crank the motor over. Has a 2 wire hook-up to your starter relay on the firewall. Uses alligator clips so it's real easy.

 

[1948 santa]

Just a thought -The nylon distributor gear might have lost a tooth or two. Old age will do that.

 

[carhunter]

Thanks for advice guys. I finally got the car to start. I had put the timing gears to where their marks were closest together and facing each other (according to Chilton manual). The chain was pretty old and had some slack but, I don't believe it slipped (no money to replace). After aligning the marks I had to turn the distributor 180 degrees 'from' TDC!? The car started very well; go figure. The harmonic balancer was giving me false readings the whole time prior because, it slipped on the rubber grommet holding itself together.

It takes a lot of patience and time. Of all the vehicles I've ever worked on, I really enjoy working with old Mopar cars.