Yesterday was the 1st warm sunny day we've had in a while. Was cruising around doing errands, noticing the old lady was running especially well (cold weather is not her friend)...all of a sudden, the car started to sputter. Then went back to normal. Then 5 seconds later, sputter. Then back to normal. By the time i was able to pull over, it had shut down completely.

Here's the basics:
67 dart, 170ci, single barrel, auto....
recently replaced battery, starter, starter relay, cap, rotor, coil, points, plugs, wires, ballast resistor.
Starter is cranking strong, it's just not catching.
Carb is getting fuel, i even took the line off at the filter and gas comes out. I can smell gas in the carb when i move the throttle. It has an electric fuel pump, which i can hear come on when I turn the key. Tried starting fluid and a few drops of gas down the carb. I initially thought I had just ran out of gas, cause my gauge doesnt work, but i put in 3 gallons of gas to no avail.
Thought maybe it was just flooded, but let it sit over night and still no dice.

If most of the ignition components are new, and it seems to be getting gas, i'm wondering why no start. Especially since it had been running so smooth before it shut down. Any things I am missing to check? Any ideas, suggestions appreciated.

Got spark?

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Joshua

Moisture inside the distributer cap?

Richard

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Part of Tyrde-Browne Racing

i'll check both of those things...i was ASSuming i had spark cause the most of the stuff is new, but it was a long cold winter...maybe the cap has a crack or something....thanks!

you still running points....check condensor....they go bad ,some even let you see a spark but wont run....had a honda that would run like a raped ape till it got warm ...would shut right off...even seen bnew right out the box bad ones

One of the most difficult things in troubleshooting is when you assume something is good simply because it's relatively new. The mindset will impare your logic.

Everything in your ignition system is 5 years old. Start with that mindset, then troubleshoot as you would any other system.

-Mac

good point...i will troubleshoot it as if I had just bought the car and knew nothing about it...
Since we're on the topic, I was thinking about looking into those pertronix ignitions...does anyone have any experiences with them, good or bad?
Or would I be better off trying to upgrade to electronic ignition off a newer slant 6?

I've used Pertronix in two of my cars without any problems. Very easily installed. Others have asked, however, what do you do when you are miles away from home and the Pertronix fails. Standard Mopar stuff can be replaced most times from auto parts store stock. My solution: I keep a spare Pertronix setup in the trunk when I am on the road.

Did this car sit in storage over an extended period this winter? If so the gas could have taken on water. The fuel tank is vented to atmosphere, and today’s gas has a tendency to become stale, and absorb moisture in a rather short time.

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67' Dart GT Convertible; the old Chrysler Corp.
82' LeBaron Convertible; the new Chrysler Corp
07' 300 C AWD; Now by Fiat, the old new Chrysler LLC

It did sit for 3 weeks at one point, due to being trapped in snow. It also had a shot starter relay, so I couldn't even just start it up to let it run.

It's odd though because it was running better than it's run in months on the day it crapped out. It was idling smoothly, the engine wasn't bouncing around as much, and it was accelerating much more smoothly than it has been. I had just put a new choke coil on it that AM (the old one wasn't operating right). I put 3 gallons of new gas in it and tried starting fluid as well. No dice.

Someone elsewhere suggested maybe the float is stuck and it's flooding instantly as soon as the fuel pump comes on and i give it gas. I can smell gas, but it's not overwhelming. I have another carb I'm gonna throw on to see if that helps, and I just ordered a new cap/rotor with brass contact points and a new condenser. I just don't have any time during the week, so it's gonna have to wait til the weekend.

OK, car went on the back burner for a bit....but I had a chance to work on it today....til the sun went down and i got freezing again....

I replaced the condenser and points, cap and rotor, and do indeed have spark at the wires, but still no start...plugs look OK...
could it be a timing issue?

How do you set the points? Dwell meter or by feeler gauge?

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50 chrysler,54 Plymouth, 64 Valiant conv 4 speed, 66 Valiant V8 wagon, 70 Challenger R/T 440+6 conv 4 speed,80 Colt, 98 Neon ACR,84 Honda V45 Magna
Taking care of 57 300C conv,48 T&C conv. Missing my 67 GTX and 36 Ply coupe

Both.......


Intially by feeler gauge, fine tune by dwell.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes

But wouldn't the correct gap (or at least close) at least get me running, even if rough?

Yes, that's done initially with the feeler gauge.

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Ed
64 Valiant 225 / 904 / 42:1 manual steering / 9" drum brakes