69 340 problems

Yes it does George, you are bypassing the ballast resistor with the jumper wire.

Are the valve covers still off? Start from the beginning if they are meaning, put the crank at #1 TDC (or you could actually put it at 10 deg. before TDC) then double check that the rocker arms are loose on #1 cyl. Then double check the rotor is pointing to #1 in the cap and the points are just ready to crack open in the direction of rotation. I'm just trying to make sure your not 180 deg. off on the dist.

Wish I lived closer. I like this kind of shyte! KEEP SMILING

I set the balancer at 0 when I had the covers off. Both valves for cyl #1 were closed. The tip of the rotor is pointing towards the #1 plug wire on the cap.
I wish you lived closer too; I HATE this ****!

George,
I have been thinking about this today A LOT since reading your post.... When this whole mess started your car was sitting there running and had been running well. Then it just died! There was no huge puff of smoke, knocking or anything to indicate that you had a huge break. You have checked timing and are sure it is in time and didn't jump or break a chain, and now you are sure you are getting fuel, it HAS to be electrical. You also have checked the distributor now three ways from Sunday and have not found anything. You also indicated that it tried to start so I would rule out the condenser. I have seen many of these bad, but EVERY time I have seen one of these bad, it would not even TRY to start. However, they are cheap parts. Might be worth a swap. I would have to say now that maybe it is in the start / run circuit. I had a ram charger once that did this but it was electronic ignition. With the key in the START position, it would loose power to the coil but had power when the key was in the run position. So as you cranked it would just crank, crank, crank then as you started to let off on the key to quit cranking it would hit a time or two.... It was the ECU. Are you sure that you have power to everything while cranking?
Haney,
No smoke, no noise, had 60-70 PSI oil pressure, no pops, bangs or farts, then all of a sudden it stumbled and died. As if someone had covered the carb with their hand until the engine stopped. That was almost 3 weeks ago. Car hasn't run since. I asked 2 different people with Mopar knowledge to come here and please have a look. Neither were able to make it.
I replaced the timing chain, but the original chain was still on the correct teeth. The timing marks for the upper and lower gears were still in line.
Only thing I have left to do is put in the reman distributor that I will pay $70 for tomorrow. I KNOW the car won't start after I install it. Once that is done, I don't know where else to turn.

I cleaned the distributor hold-down clamp and the area where the bolt passes through to ensure a good ground. Made no difference.

I removed my original dated wiper motor that didn't work, and replaced it with a 1972 model unit that works. I now have wipers, but it didn't change anything with regard to the car starting. The reverse lights/neutral safety switch work, apparently. Along with the wiper wiring are 2 wires for the trans. I thought maybe somehow the wipers not working may have effected the start/run circuit, but no go.

The part that kills me is I am on vacation this week. I was going to finish the exhaust, have the front end aligned, fix the wipers and get it registered/insured this week so I can DRIVE it. There is a show this Friday night very close to my house and I wanted to take the car there. I guess the dependable Ram Force One Power Ram will have to take us....again.
All that is left now is half the exhaust and the alignment before I can take it to DMV for my plates. Tomorrow is Friday, and now there isn't enough time left to get this done this week.
I am SO VERY pissed off at this car that I am thinking of selling it unfinished and buying another car. Might not be a Mopar after all this pain, I'm sorry to say. If the sellers of the yellow 67 or the green 69 in our classified section were closer to CT, I would trade them even just to get it out of here. Thats how pissed I am at the whole thing. Both of those cars look fantastic, and they both run.

I'm sorry to be such a bummer, I know this site isn't like that. You guys are always so happy and friendly here. It's just that I am at the end of my rope, and I have no where else to turn in an attempt to rectify the problem. You guys have gone WAY out of your way to help me.

Ya know, my late brother Gary Romano always used to say "Watch out for the cars that are kinda ugly. The pretty ones never run worth a ****, but the ugly ones will blow your doors off". He is right as far as this 69 Swinger is concerned. It looks SWEET! But it is worthless to me right now. My brother had a red 69 Swinger 340 when I was a kid, and it ran like a bear! It ran 11's at Connecticut Dragway back in the 70's. I bet if the Good Lord didn't take him from us, he could get it running for me. I guess God had a Mopar that wouldn't start too! :D

Thanks for trying to help. Thanks for letting me rant and blow off some steam, and most of all, thank you for allowing me to be a part of this forum, even though I never really am able to help others the way I have been helped since I joined almost a year ago. I just don't have the experience. You guys are the very best of the best in my opinion, and for that, I am greatful. If you ever need advice on an old Corvette, I am your guy. Please feel free to contact me if ever there is anything I can do for you, but when it comes to these old Mopars, I am out in left field.

I am going to let the car sit right where it is. It no longer brings me happiness. Every time I look at it, I feel sick to my stomach. There is nothing else I can do with it right now.
If anyone is in the area, and can spare an hour or two to take a look at this thing, please PM me, and I will give you my address. I will even supply lunch or dinner, and all the coffee you can drink.

George