The successful "wire to the battery test" probably does rule out bad grounds which puts us back at a wiring problem somewhere between the battery and coil/distributor.

I'm not sure which way will cause popping out of the carb. You can mark the distributor's current position and adjust it a little in either direction to see if the situation improves. Too much advance and the engine will not turn over. But again, if it was fine with that jumper wire, this should be close enough for now.


Lawrenceville, GA

If you are having trouble starting cold after it has sat overnite or longer I think you should be aware that the original "Teapot" carbs tend to lose the fuel in the floatbowl when sitting for any period of time like overnite.Cranking the engine for 15-30 seconds or sometimes longer is not unusual as it takes that amount of time to pump fuel up to the carb.Some people install an electric fuel pump to use as a primer pump for initial starts.Your concerns may not be ignition related at all.It is in my opinion a good idea to do the Pertronix swap as it cuts down on maintenance and you get consistent timing.You should however keep the points+condensor and related taken-out parts in a little bag in the car in case of Pertronix failure away from home.It does happen.

  

Okay, Laying (lying?) in bed last night I thought about it. One thing I decided was that I should check the voltage of the auxiliary wire I ran to the ignition to ensure there is actually current coming through that wire.

I did that this morning and the voltage with the key in the "on" position was in the high 5's (5.9, 5.85, 5.75) etc. So there is definitely voltage going to the + side of the coil.

I did clean the distributor to coil wire as it noticed a bit of discoloration on it where it plugs into the top of the coil.

I wanted to start it to warm it a bit before I check the timing. It still only tries to start the instant you release the starter. Sure enough, it kicked, but then spewed a HUGE amount of gasoline out the top of the carb. Even got some on the windshield and top of the cowl. It sure has me spooked. Sure don't want a fire in my garage!

Haven't checked the timing yet. I see a paint mark on the pully where someone has marked it for timing, but I can't read any of the factory markings on the pully itself. Will have to find a way to read it, I guess.

In my book, a fire extinguisher is a must-have for any garage. It is one of those things that is far better to have and not need. Get one if you do not already have one.


Lawrenceville, GA

Don't want to stray from the subject at hand but a 6v solenoid does not have the "I" pole as it is only used in a 12v system to bypass the ballast resistor to provide full 12v to the coil for starting. Once the key is released there is no voltage coming from "I" pole and the power goes thru the ballast resistor to provide ~9v to the coil.

I don't even have a wire connected to the "I" post because I don't have a ballast resistor in my system.


Back to OP. Like others have suggested, check every connection. Sounds like your not getting a high enough voltage during cranking. The fact that you are not getting a constant voltage is a concern.
*** Whatever you do, DO NOT leave the Per I connected while checking your wires with the key on. YOU WILL BURN IT UP***



TWO is better.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

I have the fire extinguisher at the ready. So far I've not needed it.

I did a bit of cleaning and with some steel wool I could see faint marks on the harmonic balancer. The paint mark was 6 marks in (going CCW from the first mark), so it makes sense that is 6 degrees advance, the factory setting.

I checked the timing - got the car started w/o huge gas spew and it showed at TDC or maybe even a bit more retarded than that. So for future reference if your car is spewing gas out of the carb during starting attempts its probably timing retarded.

So I loosened the bolt holding the distributor hold-down tab (whoever tightened if before on sure didn't want it to move) but I can't physically rotate the distributor. Am I missing something? I've only worked on 223 6 cylinders and small block Fords - is there something else holding it in place? If not, how can I best free it? I tried lightly tapping it with a channel lock but no luck there. Why oh why is that distributor crammed down in there and right next to the firewall unlike the 223 and small blocks? Woe is me, LOL!

During all this I notice the vacuum tube from the distributor to the carb is not actually being held in place at the carb. You can pull the tube right out of the brass fitting. I see they're available from MAC's, but I may try a flaring tool and see if I can get it to seat and hold.

I also notice that there is very little room left to rotate the distributor clockwise before the aforementioned tube contacts the accelerator linkage. Maybe 1/4 inch.

I called back to Pertronix about the low voltage, looking for an alternative source to grab 6 volts. He suggested the Voltage regulator. Ended up a dead end. One of the three shovel tabs (Top One) has 6+ volts whether the key is off or on. The other two don't seem to have much voltage at all, whether the key is off or on.

Sometimes the distributor becomes 'frozen' in the block if it has not be moved in a while . You might have to soak it with a penetrating oil. I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone or lacquer thinner. Soak and lightly tap. Be patient.



I'm a little confused here. Since the crank turns CW by your description the paint mark would be your TDC since it's CCW of the "first mark". In other words the advance mark should pass the pointer first.

"The Master Cylinder"

Enjoying life at the beach in SOCAL

The timing should not cause the gas to spew out. That is some other thing going on.

RE the distributor, That is what happens when they have not been moved in a long time. I don't know that it is a good way, but when I first got my truck, the distributor was stuck just like that. I used a pipe wrench to work it back and forth until it finally came out. This method will cause at least cosmetic damage and you could break it. Whatever you do, do not get tempted to hammer on the vacuum canister. It will snap right off. Been there, done that.

RE the accelerator linkage to vacuum canister clearance, when the distributor is loose, you can lift it out, turn it one tooth counterclockwise drop it back in then set the timing. You may not need to do that. 1/4" at the distributor changes the timing quite a bit.

Since it was running ok, maybe spray some penetrating fluid around the base of the distributor, solve the voltage problem and then come back to this. The same goes for the carb. The vacuum line will need to be addressed, but for now yo need to get the ignition working and the car functioning at least like it was. You are discovering that there actually may be a few things going on and if you change too much at once, it can complicate matters. Fixing that line may bring up other issues, so do one thing at a time.


Lawrenceville, GA

AS far as the distributor being frozen-that's a very common problem especially if the timing has not been adjusted in decades.Try applying some penetrating oil around the base of the distributor.Apply several times and let it work.If you have a preferred brand use it.It will break loose.Just give it time.There are only a few timing marks up to about 10 degrees I believe.Because the engine tries to start when you release the key I am wondering if you have the wires connected to the correct terminals.You might want to double check against the instructions.Just a thought.If you have 6 volts or close to it from the parallel wire you ran from the ignition switch in the "run"(the 1st position after you release the key) position you should not need another source of power.That should suffice as a power source.

  

I guess there's clockwise from the front of the engine and clockwise from the back of the engine. From the front of the engine, the paint mark is 6 marks counterclockwise from the first visible mark. I just assumed (bad thing to do) that a person would mark the line you wanted see lined up with the pointer when you timed it, not the TDC. If you're right then it's timing is probably right on.