Won't Start need advice, Please read....

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If it starts, or tries to start, then dies when you let go of the key, it's the ballast resistor.
 
Jp5 I thought it might be an issue also, so tonight I will siphon the gas out of the tank and replace with fresh gas. I did pour a can of dry gas in the tank but that might have not been enough.

THANK YOU FOR READING AND FOR YOUR ADVICE.
 
So, things that you did not mention....does it have the points style distributor?? If so, replace the condenser, even if it's brand new! A bad condenser can give you fits thinking it is fuel related!
 
Yes, it does have points. where is the condenser located? is it right off the coil or distributor?
 
Hook up fuel can up with fuel line to back side of fuel pump bypassing fuel tanks and line.
See if it starts.
Check all vacuum lines for cracks or looseness.
Check ignition timing with light.
Check back with results.
We can move up to the next level.
Good luck.
 
last night I went home and the car actually started for about 3 seconds the engine was missing and bucking. Once it stalled I couldn't get it to start again. I then drained all the gas from the tank and put 5 gallons fresh gasoline in the tank. I will do the bypass tonight just to ensure the new gas is gong into the carb. A post mentioned the condenser I picked one up and will install today.

Again I want to thank everyone for their advice
 
UPDATE......I changed the condenser and the ballast resistor as one post suggested to do. The car did start for about 10 seconds. The engine stalled and just cranking wouldn't re-start. If I depress gas pedal even the smallest amount the engine will run. I had it running for about 10 minutes as long as I hold the gas pedal as indicated. The engine ran pretty strong, any ideas on the stalling issue?

AGAIN THANKS TO ALL FOR READING AN COMMENTED
 
Hard to say

In this injection world, do you have any experience with carburetors? I'm not trying to be "funny."

First, once you mess around with the throttle, you may have upset the choke "set."

The choke might be gummed up and not working (sticking partially or all open)

The carb may be gummed up, dirty, and the idle circuit may be plugged partially or completely

You might have a "cracked" vacuum hose, and have a vacuum leak, causing a lean condition

Often you must pump the throttle to cause the accel pump to shoot some fuel in there to start. If you are trying to start it with "hands off" the throttle no wonder it won't run.

Let me ask you..........do you know what to look for visually, IE how a choke is supposed to work "cold?"
 
I haven't touched the carb at all since it is a new rebuilt carb. I purchased through an online vendor. The vendor guarantees carb is set to factory presets. In starting the car I would pump the accelerator and it wasn't until I depressed the accelerator and held it down 1/4 " that the engine started.
Thanks for commenting and reading
 
I may have missed this if it was posted earlier, but check voltage at the coil cranking it or with it running. I recently went through the same issue with an excel coil that I mounted vertically :banghead:. My car would run for a few seconds start cutting up then die and wouldn't restart. Checked voltage at the coil while trying to start and when it would run for a few seconds and only had 3.5-4 volts. Swapped in my old Blaster 3 and voltage jumped up to spec and has been running since. Just a thought
 
Not sure if I missed it, but what carb are you running? Holley carbs are very sensitive to dirt. Make sure you have all the old fuel out of the carb , fuel lines, and tank.
 
williaml said:
The vendor guarantees carb is set to factory presets
Click to expand...

I would not believe that for .005 seconds. There is no way, EG that a vendor can "preset" the idle mixture or speed screws which will guarantee it will run.
 
williaml said:
If I depress gas pedal even the smallest amount the engine will run. I had it running for about 10 minutes as long as I hold the gas pedal as indicated. The engine ran pretty strong, any ideas on the stalling issue?

AGAIN THANKS TO ALL FOR READING AN COMMENTED
Click to expand...

Then screw the idle speed screw in several turns. (It's the screw that bears against the linkage on the carb.) That should increase the idle speed enough to keep it running so you can check things while it's running.Could be all that is wrong with it.
 
I agree w/ post #39, assuming it ran fine and at an acceptable speed (<1000 rpm) when you goosed the throttle. There is no way a rebuilder could set the idle speed screw predictably.

If it will only idle at excessive speed (>1000 rpm), you may have an intake vacuum leak or the carb's "idle circuit" may be bad. This is a common problem with the Holley 1920 and since it has a sealed metering block, most rebuilders don't touch that part.
 
Williaml, one thing to understand is that seeing spark across a spark plug gap in open air does not prove that you spark voltage is adequate. I takes much higher spark voltage to jump across that same small spark gap when it is inside an engine and trying to fire a compressed fuel-air mixture. So, you have not yet proven that the spark is good.

You need to take off the spark wire from the coil to the distributor at the distributor end, and place the wire tip 1/4" to 3.8" from metal and crank and look at the spark. An adequate park will jump that gap. The spark color should be a bright blue.

You can repeat that test through the distributor by putting that same wire back into the distributor cap, and taking a plug wire off of a plug and putting it 1/4"-3/8" from metal like before and looking for the same blue spark to jump that gap.

Understand that the voltage supplied to the ignition system changes from cranking phase to running phase of operation. So, it may fire while you have the key in START but not continue to do so when you release the key to RUN. It would be very useful for you at this point to get an inexpensive voltmeter to help us help you to troubleshoot this.

And if you would like to just throw one low cost part at it, put in a new ballast resistor. Get part number BWD RU19 as that is fairly close to the original; other ballasts do not have the right resistance value and will cause a weakened spark. A bad ballast resistor will cause the car to start but not be able to run when you release the key from START to RUN.

And be cautious with the starting fluid/ether; it is reportedly very hard on the cylinder walls, as it removes the residual cylinder oil. When I rarely use it, it is in very, very small amounts.
 
I adjusted the idle screw and the car idles. so the car starts and idles. The issue I have now is as soon as a load is placed on the engine it misses and bucks and doesn't run well at all. So far I have replaced the following:
re-manufactured carb
resistor ballast
condenser
spark plugs and new wires
coil
fuel pump
rotor

Thanks to all who comment as I really appreciate all the help !!!!
 
Since it's a new carb, I would check the pump shot. With the car not running, look down in the carb and crack the throttle quickly.

Do you see fuel instantly?

Have you tried running a hose right from the fuel pump into a fresh can of gas, eliminating the tank and lines? If you did, I missed it.

What carb did you purchase?
 
In addition to the above, did you ever properly set timing? Did you just set the idle screw, or did you actually adjust it? That is, for best / highest speed / highest vacuum

Maybe you have a dead cylinder or even a bad plug. One way to check this out is to "rig" a grounded probe, and pull the dist. boots up away. Sometimes, if you don't have a nice tiny probe, you can slip a small brad down beside each plug wire. Then, with the engine idling, go around the cap grounding one plug at a time. Listen to the engine and get a tach on it if possible (Dwell tach meter) Each cylinder should drop RPM about the same.

Does it idle smooth? Any reason to suspect a vacuum leak? You have a power booster?
 
67Dart273 said:
In addition to the above, did you ever properly set timing? Did you just set the idle screw, or did you actually adjust it? That is, for best / highest speed / highest vacuum

Maybe you have a dead cylinder or even a bad plug. One way to check this out is to "rig" a grounded probe, and pull the dist. boots up away. Sometimes, if you don't have a nice tiny probe, you can slip a small brad down beside each plug wire. Then, with the engine idling, go around the cap grounding one plug at a time. Listen to the engine and get a tach on it if possible (Dwell tach meter) Each cylinder should drop RPM about the same.

Does it idle smooth? Any reason to suspect a vacuum leak? You have a power booster?
Click to expand...

I agree with all of this.
If I walked into your garage cold w/o knowing the history of your engine maybe the first thing I would do is adjust the valves.
Do a compression test.
Check the timing chain for slop.

If these are good then you have a good baseline and no bigger problems like a burned valve. Minor adjustments should then get this thing running properly.

Check the point gap.
Start it with a timing light hooked up to see where the timing is.
Adjust the carb.
 
Is the PCV valve plugged up perhaps? If it starts with the throttle cracked your "calibrated vacuum leak" may not be present.
 
Thanks to all the help and advice I received, I couldn't thank each and everyone enough for taking time out of your day to respond to my post. First off I'm a little embarrassed as to the outcome of my problem. After exhausting all that I could do I decided to have the Dart flat bedded to a garage where they work on older cars. 2 hours later the mechanic called me and said your all set. Naturally, I asked what the issue was. The mechanic noted as well as I knew the valves needed to be adjusted since the rebuild was 500 miles ago. He remarked the points were a little off but the main issue was two spark plug wires were crossed. Now I even had a diagram showing the proper wire placement but I didn't even check since I have not touched more than one at a time. Now, some other things are now making sense. I live in NJ and drove the car out to Carlisle PA for Chryslers in Carlisle, it is a big show just Mopars. the car ran okay but burned 2 tanks of gas and the temp gauge ran hot but never boiled over. I'm wondering if the two cylinders not firing correctly would have caused the engine to run hot? The Mechanic who switched the rebuilt engine I'm wondering if he crossed the wires and they have been that way since bringing the car home.

Again I feel like an idiot but if someone else could learn from me not checking maybe it isn't so bad then...
 
The important thing is you learned something about the engine. Also the car now runs. REMEMBER ALL THIS!! LOL You never know, it might or might not happen again. But if it does, you have an idea of what to look for before replacing parts. Start simple, one thing at a time to eliminate what it might be. You have to be methodical and simple. Don't let it get confusing trying more than one thing at a time.
 
Louie70Dart said:
The important thing is you learned something about the engine..
Click to expand...

So true. It wasn't all that long ago that I mistakenly crossed a couple of wires. And, I've done that a few times.

I'm not sure, tho, why that should prevent the car from running at all. It's stories like this, I wish I was close to some of you guys. I could teach you more in 1/2 hour about setting up points, timing, and so on, than hours and hours "on the internet"
 
williaml said:
He remarked the points were a little off but the main issue was two spark plug wires were crossed.
lol, been there, done that, it gets even harder once you start fiddling with the eight cylinders
Now I even had a diagram showing the proper wire placement but I didn't even check since I have not touched more than one at a time. Now, some other things are now making sense. I live in NJ and drove the car out to Carlisle PA for Chryslers in Carlisle, it is a big show just Mopars. the car ran okay but burned 2 tanks of gas and the temp gauge ran hot but never boiled over. I'm wondering if the two cylinders not firing correctly would have caused the engine to run hot? The Mechanic who switched the rebuilt engine I'm wondering if he crossed the wires and they have been that way since bringing the car home.

Again I feel like an idiot but if someone else could learn from me not checking maybe it isn't so bad then...
Click to expand...

depending on when the plug actually fired that could have been causing it to run hot
definitely killed your fuel mileage and more then likely the oil you have in there
(unburnt gas running passed the rings into the oilpan)
I would suggest an oil change
 
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