Bought a 73 charger and trying to get it running with zero knowledge

[devanlaz]

I have no clue what any of the hose connections are and where they go, I have the fuel line hooked up and the distributor wired in and that's about how far I got this far, can't find anything for the carb online (this is a picture of when I first got it, I'll add a more recent one later on)

 

[Don67Satellite]

Welcome to FBBO. Introduce yourself with some pics of your ride in the Welcome Wagon.

You'll get it running. There's no shortage of information & advice here.

 

[Photon440]

Welcome! You could learn a lot if you download the 1973 chassis manual from here: Service Manuals – MyMopar

 

[PurpleBeeper]

1. Do you know “why” the previous owner parked that car? What broke so that it’s not running now?
2. What does it do or not do? Does it crank over, but not start?

 

[ruffcut]

Welcome and best of luck! Easy peasy! You'll get it!

 

[Coelacanth]

Are any hoses disconnected? Maybe they're already routing to the correct places.

The basic starting troubleshooting is important. Does it turn over or do nothing, that's your first step.

 

[rickseeman]

How long has it been since it was last started? That changes a few things. But have no fear, the mob here can help you get it going. This isn't the old days when you didn't have anyone to help you.

 

[59pwrwgn]

A more detailed description of your problems would be good. The two hoses from the firewall, connect to the water pump and the front of the intake. Someone has used a short piece off hose to to make this connection, bypassing your heater core inside the car. Maybe it leaks.
Were they still Carter carbs in 73. I assume the second hose from the carb go to a canister for emissions.
Not familiar with wiring that hei distributor. Do they just need one hot wire. Mopar switches have a separate wire for start and run, is that accounted for. In your picture of the firewall. The gold box on the left is the factory ECM . The silver to the right is the voltage regulator. The ceramic block to the right of that, is the ballast resistor for the factory coil set up. I see wires to all that. How was it cut and spliced when the new distributor was added .

 

[fine69]

Looks like some fairly new gear at the front end and we can assume nobody is putting a new water pump, alternator, belts, etc. on a seized motor so that’s good news!
But like others have said, what are the symptoms?

 

[devanlaz]

So I have the distributor wired to the the ignition on, I can get it to crank/turn over but won't start, I did replace the fuel pump and have the fuel line attached to the carb, that's about all I did thus far. None of the vacuum lines are there and I'm not sure where the "return fuel line" is supposed to be connected to the carb. Had to bypass the neutral safety switch as well. To get the distributor wired I had to eliminate 3 wires on the ecm and disconnect the ballast resistor completely, I have those wires just taped off for now. I'm pretty sure I can't get it to run because of all the lines that are missing

 

[hanks73340]

Welcome from Michigan. Try to get us some more detailed and closer pics. It will help.

 

[devanlaz]

Welcome from Michigan. Try to get us some more detailed and closer pics. It will help.

I'll take some more pictures tonight

 

[59pwrwgn]

You should have ignition 1 and 2. One supplies power when the key is turned to start. The other supplies power when the key is in run. You will need your distributor wired so it gets power in both positions.
You will also need the distributor installed correctly.
Was the car running before. Why was th distributor replaced. If it wasn't running before, do you know any of symptoms.

 

[devanlaz]

You should have ignition 1 and 2. One supplies power when the key is turned to start. The other supplies power when the key is in run. You will need your distributor wired so it gets power in both positions.
You will also need the distributor installed correctly.
Was the car running before. Why was th distributor replaced. If it wasn't running before, do you know any of symptoms.

Okay that makes sense, I only hooked it up to "start". So it needs to be wired to "start" and "run"? And I have no knowledge of the history of the car before me. The previous owner had it for 2 months and put a 318 from a 73ish cordoba and a 727 tranny. and was attempting an hei cap conversion but did none of the wiring

 

[devanlaz]

 

[OKDart]

The HEI distributor only needs one wire to run. It should be full battery voltage (12+ volts). The ECU and ballast resistor on the firewall aren't needed with this distributor. Like mentioned in post #8 & #13, check for 12 volts at that wire with the key in both "run" and in "start". Also check for no voltage in "off" and "accessory". You can also burn up a coil quickly if the "tach" wire gets grounded. For troubleshooting, you can connect a jumper wire straight to the battery and see if it'll start. Also check for fuel in the carburetor by looking down the barrels and fully opening the throttle. You should see 2 solid streams of fuel squirt out from the accelerator pump nozzles.
The open vacuum port on the base of the carb is probably for the vacuum advance. And I think the open line on the top of the carb is a bowl vent that hooks to the charcoal canister, but not sure.

 

[devanlaz]

So I can disconnect the ecm and ballast resistor completely? And I wired the distributor to #22, I thought the port on the top of the carb is the return fuel line? And where is the vacuum advance located? I was able to turn it over with the jumper wire before I wired the distributor up.

 

[ruffcut]

Vacuum advance is on the distributer, near the wiper motor in your picture and the vacuum port to connect it to is on the carb under the fuel inlet and between the mixture screws.

 

[devanlaz]

Vacuum advance is on the distributer, near the wiper motor in your picture and the vacuum port to connect it to is on the carb under the fuel inlet and between the mixture screws.

Okay cool thank you, I'll get that hooked up tonight or this weekend, is there a return fuel port on the carb?

 

[ruffcut]

Don't think a fuel return line on the carb. If there was a return line, it is usually from the fuel filter not the carb.