Ready!

[Juan Veldez]

Gas is to the carb, all fluids filled. Seats in. Battery hooked up, all electric components work. Had the key in the ignition, the buzzer scared the crap outta me! First start up tomorrow the 23rd after a 100% full ground up restoration, mostly by me. Fingers crossed, I'll video it and post it. Wish the new girl luck!

 

[Chryco Psycho]

I wrote an article on first fire up
I would remove the power steering belt just so you don't have to shut down for a steering issue , have a hose close by for extra cooling if needed , set the timing up immediately by ear , advance or retard to best RPM , this will help cooling , start adjusting the carb asap so it is not running lean again helping cooling .
This is one of life most awesome experiences firing an engine for the first time & running in the cam for 20 minutes if it is flat tappet not roller .

 

[DetMatt1]

Best of luck!

 

[floyd]

Good luck!

 

[Challenger RTA]

Good Luck! May the Mopar gods be with you!!

 

[Challenger RTA]

Wait! here is the Goddess of Good Luck!

 

[Juan Veldez]

How I got the distributor in 180 degrees off, I have no idea. After that, started right up. Ran it about 10 minutes and shut it down to recheck all the fluids. Had to add a little oil and trans fluid. Tried to restart it, no luck. Checked for spark at the plug, nothing. Thinking the ignition controller. Any ideas?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Looks like you have a orange box & MSD coil , the MSD coils do not work for long mounted horizontally .
could be a ground or the ECU or bad coil or pick up in the dist , the coil wire should spark every time you unplug the dist .

 

[Challenger RTA]

Distributor not grounded.oil got on mounting area when removed?
Just thinking the last thing you touched. Ing 1 and 2 have power?

 

[Juan Veldez]

Distributor not grounded.oil got on mounting area when removed?
Just thinking the last thing you touched. Ing 1 and 2 have power?

After it ran, the ONLY thing I did was add some trans fluid and oil to the motor. I didn't mess with anything electrical. Flipping the distributor 180 had to be done before it started, because it obviously didn't start.

 

[Juan Veldez]

Looks like you have a orange box & MSD coil , the MSD coils do not work for long mounted horizontally .
could be a ground or the ECU or bad coil or pick up in the dist , the coil wire should spark every time you unplug the dist .

Can the coil fail after about 10 minutes of running? I could turn it vertical if I mounted it somewhere else, but I'm using the original mounting bracket/location. I'd rather get a coil that works horizontal. I can hunt Classic Industries, Year One, or Summit.

 

[Juan Veldez]

All that being said, I am not opposed to canning the entire ignition system and replace it with something a little newer. I keep hearing various horror stories with these old setups causing issues here and there. Any recommendations? I really don't want to get this thing stranded 50 or more miles down the road.

 

[Ronbo73]

I bought a ready to run distributor from Summit for my 73 Barracuda and it worked great. Only 3 wires.

 

[Juan Veldez]

I bought a ready to run distributor from Summit for my 73 Barracuda and it worked great. Only 3 wires.

That's what I am thinking. But do I use an MSD box with it to eliminate some of the other original Dodge ignition components? Wish I was more enlightened electronically! I'm evening thinking of using a magneto. But the distributor does need to clear the air cleaner, so it can't have a huge cap like the HEI units.

 

[Ronbo73]

The distributor is small enough to fit under my 6 barrel air cleaner and tuck in behind the ac compressor for my serpentine system. No MSD or any other box needed. I connected the 3 wires and that was it. HEI distributors are taller and seem to be wider (circumference) and would not fit my specific needs. I believe there is a measurement listed for its height from the flange that sits on the block to the top of the distributor cap.

 

[Ronbo73]

 

[Ronbo73]

I bought one of the cheap ready to run distributors on ebay. There is a box that sticks out the side of it that did not allow me to adjust the timing because of clearance issues. The better ones, like MSD and Summit brand do not and are completely self contained.

 

[Juan Veldez]

View attachment 101651

I see my problem. I mounted my distributor in the back of the motor! LOL. Thanks for the photo and comments.

 

[moparleo]

A lot of people talk them down, but the factory electronic ignition is a very reliable system used on millions of cars for decades and parts are available if needed at almost any chain auto parts store.
Simple system, inexpensive parts and a long track record. Easy to diagnose. Just keep and extra ECU and Ballast resistor in the trunk .
I read on all the forums about ignition problems and almost all of them are with non stock distributors or coils.

 

[Juan Veldez]

A lot of people talk them down, but the factory electronic ignition is a very reliable system used on millions of cars for decades and parts are available if needed at almost any chain auto parts store.
Simple system, inexpensive parts and a long track record. Easy to diagnose. Just keep and extra ECU and Ballast resistor in the trunk .
I read on all the forums about ignition problems and almost all of them are with non stock distributors or coils.

My distributor is an original with new cap and rotor. I should probably send it to a shop for a check up maybe. Any suggestions as to whom is good at doing this?

I will switch out the coil, no biggie. But to say the system is reliable, and then to say carry an extra ECU and ballast resistor in the trunk? Not fond of that approach, but will probably go that route for now. Any more issues though, I will find an alternate system. As always, I appreciate you response - thank you.