318 not running. Please help!

[gswin1]

I just picked up a 1969 coronet 440 with the 318 2bbl engine. It had been sitting since 1984. I replaced the oil, (took valve covers off to put on new valve cover gaskets and motor looked clean), i replaced water pump, new thermostat, new champion radiator, points electronic conversion, along with new distributor cap and rotor, new plugs and wires. I also disassembled the carb and cleaned it. I replaced the gas with a new one and the fuel pump also.

I was able to get the car to run on its own about 10-15 times for about 10-20 minutes at a time. Then i figured it was time to take it out for a test.

I took it out about a mile too the store and came back. Ever since the next day i have not been able to get it running again(this is about a week ago).

I have two problems, 1: car starts and runs for like two seconds and then dies. It does this until my battery goes dead, then i put a charger on the battery.
2: problem two is that my antifreeze has not circulated at all. It is like its plugged.

Any help would be appreciated. Today i replaced the plugs because they were black, i took the carb apart and cleaned it, checked to make sure that my fuel pump was pumping fuel and i thought it was pumping plenty.

 

[WP29440SE]

first , always check your thermostat in a pan of boiling water, I have gotten 2 bad ones in one day , spend the 10.00 and get a good one, im guessing the one you put in is not opening. second , plugs are black , its flooding , sounds like the float is stuck in the carb , are you dumping black smoke?

 

[Pistol Pete]

The starting and then immediately dying sounds like a bad ballast resistor.

 

[Dako]

I just picked up a 1969 coronet 440 with the 318 2bbl engine. It had been sitting since 1984. I replaced the gas with a new one and the fuel pump also.

Ever since the next day i have not been able to get it running again(this is about a week ago).

I have two problems, 1: car starts and runs for like two seconds and then dies.
2: problem two is that my antifreeze has not circulated at all. It is like its plugged.

Any help would be appreciated. Today i replaced the plugs because they were black, i took the carb apart and cleaned it, checked to make sure that my fuel pump was pumping fuel and i thought it was pumping plenty.

I'm assuming you meant gas tank and not just the gas? Sitting that many years, the fuel filter may be clogged or the hard gas line from the tank 'may' be plugged...partially plugged. Run a fuel hose from the new fuel pump directy to a gas can. That should tell you if you have a problem with the fuel filter or hard line from the tank.

As for the anti-freeze not circulating...I take it the car temp registered properly and you had no over heating while it did run & drive? You can test the thermostat on the stove in a pan of water and a thermometer (it should be open when its temp rating...185deg, 195deg, is seen on the thermometer), or you can simply remove it then run the car.

Drain & save the new anti-freeze you put in the radiator (I'm assuming you did not drain the block itself and it still has the original stuff in it). Mixing the two kind of defeats the puropse of putting 'some' new anti-freeze in the system. There are drain plugs on either side of the block that will get the coolant out of the block. Once drained, I personnally would put the block plugs back in, stick the garden hose in the thermostat hole and see what comes out the lower hose. If you get water out the lower hose, you have verified you at least have some flow through the block. I would then run plain water in the system until i am confident I have no other problems. Drain (the whole system) and fill with new coolant once you are confident you have no other problems.

Good luck and keep us posted as to what you find.

 

[gswin1]

What is the Ballest resistor???? the car DOES die right after i release the key. Also note that when i replace the gas tank i also replaced all of the rubber hoses. I had replaced the mechanical fuel pump too. When i pull the fuel line from the carb and just turn the motor over, it flows pretty good. I have had three different in line filter installed and the current one seem to be pretty clean.


As for the coolant, I am assuming the coolant is not flowing as on my other cars (firebird and a camaro) after i fill the radiator and run the car a few times i then will add more coolant to the radiator to top it off. I have not had to do this on this car yet, also, the radiator gets really pressurized along with the top hose not long after motor seemed to get hot. My radiator is brand new and i am pretty sure i put the t-stat in the right way. I am going to check the t-stat tomorrow and try it in a hot pan on the stove/

I forgot to mention, i did already replace the white two prong resistor thing that is mounted to the firewall on the upper left side of the engine. (but it could be bad again i guess, idk)

As for the ignition upgrade that i installed in the distributor, i believe that i put it together correctly as i think i followed the directions correctly.

If i were to get some pictures for you guys, what should i take pictures of????


Not sure if this is part of my problem yet(was going to worry about it later), but my headlights worked fine when i first got the car before i did any work on it, now they dont come on at all.

 

[l8rg8r]

Mopar ignition quirks

Ok so you turn the key and she starts release the key and she dies been setting for along time I say bulkhead connector needs a good cleaning if you've never done this before get ready it loads of fun and if not done invest in a fire extinguisher I be had two mopars burnt to the ground because of the bulkhead connecter

What is the Ballest resistor???? the car DOES die right after i release the key. Also note that when i replace the gas tank i also replaced all of the rubber hoses. I had replaced the mechanical fuel pump too. When i pull the fuel line from the carb and just turn the motor over, it flows pretty good. I have had three different in line filter installed and the current one seem to be pretty clean.


As for the coolant, I am assuming the coolant is not flowing as on my other cars (firebird and a camaro) after i fill the radiator and run the car a few times i then will add more coolant to the radiator to top it off. I have not had to do this on this car yet, also, the radiator gets really pressurized along with the top hose not long after motor seemed to get hot. My radiator is brand new and i am pretty sure i put the t-stat in the right way. I am going to check the t-stat tomorrow and try it in a hot pan on the stove/

I forgot to mention, i did already replace the white two prong resistor thing that is mounted to the firewall on the upper left side of the engine. (but it could be bad again i guess, idk)

As for the ignition upgrade that i installed in the distributor, i believe that i put it together correctly as i think i followed the directions correctly.

If i were to get some pictures for you guys, what should i take pictures of????


Not sure if this is part of my problem yet(was going to worry about it later), but my headlights worked fine when i first got the car before i did any work on it, now they dont come on at all.

 

[dryheat]

Based upon your descriptions thus far it does appear to be electrical/wiring issue. The bulkhead connector is ABSOLUTELY an area that you should check ASAP.

There are 2 wires that come from the ignition switch (start & run) that will supply power to the coil. If the engine starts until you release the key then the START circuit is probably OK.

Check voltage at the coil when the ignition switch is in "run" and you probably wont have any. This could be caused by many different things ... bad connection at the switch or ... bad switch contactors ... dirty/corroded bulkhead connector ... broken wire ... etc ...

Grab a meter and start methodically chasing it down ... you will eventually locate the culprit.

 

[Pistol Pete]

"I forgot to mention, i did already replace the white two prong resistor thing that is mounted to the firewall on the upper left side of the engine. (but it could be bad again i guess, idk)"


That is the ballast resistor. Originally the car would have been wired so that when in the start position, a full 12v would be supplied to the coil (bypassing the resistor). When you release the key into the run position, power would be directed through the resistor, knocking it down to 9v or so.

When the symptoms are as you described, this is usually the culprit. HOWEVER since you changed the ignition ( and we don't know how you wired it) I'm inclined to agree with fellas above in that I would be looking into the harness first. Especially with the light situation.

What ignition upgrade did you use ?