The 1971 Charger is not starting.

[SteveSS]

This requires a bit of a backstory. Another car I had stored away is a 1971 Charger 500. 383 high performance. This whole thing has lasted over 10 years. I bought this car for about $2500 a long time ago. It had a 440 in it with a spun bearing. The purchase included the original 383 HP. I had that rebuilt at a local shop. A few years later I had it installed. We started it and it had a bad exhaust leak from the headers on the driver's side. I got disheartened and stopped working on it. Then I had it painted its original Hemi Orange. Again it sat for years and years. Now I am trying to get it on the road.

We primed the oil pump with a drill and got 45 PSI. The gas tank is hooked up with new gas but we used gas down its throat and some starting fluid. It popped a little like maybe one cylinder. My mobile mechanic looked at a diagram and said a couple of spark plug wires were switched. He swapped them and if anything it was worse. I haven't touched the distributor (At least I don't think so) since it last started. I tried different positions of the gas pedal and we got some fire shooting out of the carb. We have spark at the coil and the plugs, at least a few that we tested.

My mechanic is one of these guys that fixes things by looking up videos on the internet.




You got any ideas?

 

[Big Bad Dad]

Firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2
Make sure that is correct is the first thing. And find TDC on #1 cylinder while the timing mark is on zero to make sure you start in the right place.

 

[pnora]

This requires a bit of a backstory. Another car I had stored away is a 1971 Charger 500. 383 high performance. This whole thing has lasted over 10 years. I bought this car for about $2500 a long time ago. It had a 440 in it with a spun bearing. The purchase included the original 383 HP. I had that rebuilt at a local shop. A few years later I had it installed. We started it and it had a bad exhaust leak from the headers on the driver's side. I got disheartened and stopped working on it. Then I had it painted its original Hemi Orange. Again it sat for years and years. Now I am trying to get it on the road.

We primed the oil pump with a drill and got 45 PSI. The gas tank is hooked up with new gas but we used gas down its throat and some starting fluid. It popped a little like maybe one cylinder. My mobile mechanic looked at a diagram and said a couple of spark plug wires were switched. He swapped them and if anything it was worse. I haven't touched the distributor (At least I don't think so) since it last started. I tried different positions of the gas pedal and we got some fire shooting out of the carb. We have spark at the coil and the plugs, at least a few that we tested.

My mechanic is one of these guys that fixes things by looking up videos on the internet.




You got any ideas?




View attachment 1449182View attachment 1449183

Get a real mechanic to fix it. Preferably mopar orientated.

 

[Curiousyellow71]

I am a bit confused...was the distributer recently removed and the oil pump primed, or was that years ago. ?
If the distributer was pulled it can be 180 degrees off. Sounds like it's not timed either way.

 

[WileE]

Use my M-E-F method. Mechanical, Electrical, Fuel... in that order. Question #1: what is the status of the reciprocating assembly ?

 

[gdrill]

Firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2

Counter clockwise

 

[HALIFAXHOPS]

One more thing on the ignition after it is set TDC. Check the points for corrosion, it happens when sitting and you get a intermittent spark. Do not buy new ones at a parts store they suck. Look for a older set if needed.

 

[SteveSS]

I called my son. He's not a mechanic but he's an engineer and pretty smart. He said when we pulled the distributor out to prime the oil pump it probably was spun around and who knows where it was by the time we put it back in. I agreed. He came over a few hours ago and put the engine on TDC but the timing marks then he reinstalled the distributor so the rotor was on the number one position. It tried to fire up but never kept running. He checked the fuel lines and no gas is making it to the carb. New fuel pump time.

Has anyone got any tricks for reaching the two bolts on a big block fuel pump?

 

[Curiousyellow71]

Verify it is timed on 1 and not 8. The timing marks can line up on #1 and #8. Easiest to pull a plug make sure your timing it on #1 as it comes up on the compression stroke. If the distributor gear is in the right spot on a bb it would look like below. Sometimes the gear is dropped in differently and the distributor will have to be shifted accordingly

 

[pnora]

I called my son. He's not a mechanic but he's an engineer and pretty smart. He said when we pulled the distributor out to prime the oil pump it probably was spun around and who knows where it was by the time we put it back in. I agreed. He came over a few hours ago and put the engine on TDC but the timing marks then he reinstalled the distributor so the rotor was on the number one position. It tried to fire up but never kept running. He checked the fuel lines and no gas is making it to the carb. New fuel pump time.

Has anyone got any tricks for reaching the two bolts on a big block fuel pump?

A socket,or flex socket extension and ratchet

 

[Big Bad Dad]

"Has anyone got any tricks for reaching the two bolts on a big block fuel pump?"

Unhook battery cable. Remove alternator. There they are.....

 

[SteveSS]

Okay got the fuel pump off. My guy is coming on Thursday. When he was here last week he said he was seeing two different timing settings for the 383 HP. Does anyone know the right one?

 

[#41]

I believe the basic timing is 5 degrees before TDC, but it should start within +/- 5 degrees or more within that even.

Setting initial timing and diagnosing no start should take no more than 30 minutes for a mechanic on these old cars.