Old, ugly, and stubborn. (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

So the problem must be before the coil right? The only thing before the coil is the battery right?
So I check the battery voltage and it was good. I checked the current of the wire from the positive terminal to the harness. I didn't get any reading at all. So is that the issue? What gauge wire
would you replace that with?

IMG_20200620_093127951.jpg

IMG_20200620_093138535.jpg

It's entirely possible that I'm doing that test wrong so if you see something wrong in the pics please let me know.
 
Here are a couple angles of the new coil. I took pics of the old coil to make sure I put the right wires on the right terminal.

IMG_20200620_102415427.jpg


IMG_20200620_102337629.jpg
 
Show a pic of the coil

Does it have a external ballast or one that doesn’t use one
Ballast? Is that an external resistor? If so I reused what was already on the 40.
 
So the problem must be before the coil right? The only thing before the coil is the battery right?
So I check the battery voltage and it was good. I checked the current of the wire from the positive terminal to the harness. I didn't get any reading at all. So is that the issue? What gauge wire
would you replace that with?

View attachment 2345674
View attachment 2345676
It's entirely possible that I'm doing that test wrong so if you see something wrong in the pics please let me know.



Your voltage meter gives you the difference in potential (voltage) between whatever your leads are touching, in that pic it looks like you are on the positive terminal of your battery and another positive wire, there should be no difference of potential between those two. The only time you will have a difference of potential between two positive wires is if there is a relay in the circuit that opens a contact.
 
Take a temporary wire and go from bat + to coil + and see if it starts

If it does .... then take it and put it between bat + and ballast resistor (in)

If it doesn’t start then your ballast is bad ... if it does start ....

Then there’s an issue from your ignition to the coil

Do NOT leave the wire attached .... just for testing
 
Some minor progress - I got it to start last night. After replacing the spark plugs, coil, wires, distributor cap and rotor - and then noticing a disconnected wire from the harness to the distributor, reconnect and it rumbled to life with a little gas in the carb. So spark seems to be sorted enough for now.

On to gas; Before I got side tracked on the spark issues, I was installing a new fuel tank from ccot so I'll get back on that shortly but last night I put the intake hose of the fuel pump into a gas can just to test and it could not keep the engine going. The only way the engine ran was by pouring gas in the carb. I can hear the aftermarket electric fuel pump power on so I'll check the fuel line and inline filter from the fuel pump to the carb next.

Thanks everyone for the help. No doubt there will be more pics and questions to follow.
Cheers.
 
Last edited:
Good Saturday morning to you all. I hope some of you are out enjoying your Cruisers and I'm sure the rest of you are working on yours.

I'm back working on mine this morning and have a couple questions for you. Below is a picture of my original gas tank. When I pulled it to refresh it and the tub I found an area that was rusted all the way through. I cut out the area that was rusted through, the rest of the rust you see there is just surface rust and I'm confident that I can salvage that.
My question is can this reasonably be welded closed or is it not worth bothering with. I have a polymer tank from ccot but I've read that the steel tanks are superior so if I can salvage this I would like to.

IMG_20200627_094708731.jpg
 
If you want to try an resurrect this one you'll need to cut a much large section than that. The metal around your current hole looks like it'll just evaporate if you try to weld it. It's hard to tell how compromised the rest is, but it doesn't look to promising. (that's coming from someone who is not particularly bothered by rust.)
 
I got the engine running today. Had to replace the fuel pump and a bit of fuel line but it lives.
Next I'll finish the install of the ccot fuel tank and then keep moving down the list.
 
All right! For the first time in about two years she moved under her own power on July 4th. Took a little trip up and down the driveway and around the Prairie Grass. She felt like she shifted fine. Brakes definitely need work. Not to mention I was sitting on a bucket so I need to figure out a plan to replace the seats.
 
Still working on the fuel tank issue. I need to replace the metal fuel lines.

Does this attachment fixture have a particular name
IMG_20200707_085041900.jpg


And when I bought it it had a secondary fuel tank at the very back underneath the tub that wasn't hooked up to anything so I never bothered with it but I took it out today and it looks like it might be usable. I assume this is something that the PO put on but what do you guys think is this possibly original?

IMG_20200707_084445227.jpg
IMG_20200707_084503675_HDR.jpg
 
This is where the secondary tank was tucked up with a steel cover to protect it.

IMG_20200707_084530184.jpg
 
As I keep a list of projects needed to be done I now have to add a new starter.
Just ordered a modern one to replace the OEM that shat the bed yesterday.
1594650669328.png


Current List:
replace spark plugs and wires (done)
replace coil (done)
replace distributor cap/rotor (done)
replace fuel pump (done)
install starter
replace fuel lines
complete fuel tank install
see if I can salvage the secondary tank
Disc brakes in front.
? power steering
replace bucket seats
replace quarter panels/sill
 
I was able to install the new gear reduction starter today and the thing isn't working.
I bought this one from amazon that was recommended in another thread on here: Amazon product ASIN B007CA8JWM
Chinese made for sure and no wiring diagram. I attached the + terminal wire to the copper lug on the underside, the ground went from attachment bolt to the frame (like the previous starter), and spade connector had a home on the new starter too. On the previous starter there were 2 wires going from the harness to the starter but the new one has no obvious place for the orphan wire. What am I missing?

New starter: (ignore that bullet connector in the pic, that goes to the distributor)
1597533460828.png



Below are some pics of the previous starter in place:
1597532028582.png


Look at the circled wire. There is no corresponding terminal on the new gear reduction starter. Do I need to do something with it?


If this wire isn't the problem, what could it be? I hear the fuel pump power on but not even clicking when I turn the key all the way.
 
I believe that black/yellow wire is +12v to the coil when cranking as a “power boost” I believe it bypasses the ballast resistor to boost the spark. On my 76 it was toast and must have started a fire because there was no insulation left, mine was bypassed but I have an ignititor, not straight points like yours. As for the fuel pump you’ll have to investigate how the PO wired it up, but if it runs key on and pumps fuel but turns off when cranking it should still be filling the bowl and should run.
 
Is my motor seized?
Engine isn't cranking even after I changed the starter.
So I read where you can crank the engine by manually rotating the fly wheel. I attempted this and was barely able to budge it. Like, maybe moved it 1/2 inch with maximum effort and I'm not a small guy.

So educate me. Maybe I did it wrong. The Pic below shows what I think is the flywheel and I attempted rotating it counter clockwise from the perspective of the Pic.

IMG_20201114_103944787.jpg


So did I screw up small by doing the test wrong or screwed up big by seizing my motor?
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom