Well first off.. I should say Hello to everyone. And Hope that you all can be patient with me for i know very very little about motors. other than you are supposed to change the oil and put gas in the tank. Well maybe a little bit more than that. Ok Here goes.. I have a 1970 Wildcat with the 455 motor. I have tried to start it and it will not start. I replaced Battery, ignition coil, points, plugs, plug wires. I have also tried to pour a lil gas into the carb to get it to fire ether also. Just will not fire. I hope this isn't too vague but if someone can help me get this started Id be grateful. Thanks for any info in advance
We are gonna need more info, For starters (no pun intended), why did you need to replace the things you replaced? Does anything at all happen when you turn the key? Noises? A click? Nothing? How long has it not been running? Has it sat for 5 years, or have you been driving it and all of a sudden it won't start?
Ok here's the story. i got someone to get it running about 3 or 4 years ago. put tags on it and drove it around just to keep it from sitting until i could get some money to redo it. I parked it and would start it up about 2 a week.battery went dead and couldn't get anyone to recharge it for me. other things came up and i just kept putting it off and it sat for about 2 years. I had some people that i knew take a look at it and one told me that the coil was probably bad. another person told me the points was stuck. so I went to the parts store and thought what the heck just as well get a new battery and plugs and wires while i am here. and here i am
ok heres to get ya going.1 pull a plug hook it up to the plug wire from the distributer.2 have someone turn it over will having the plug end touching something to ground it.if theres spark you know your coil is probaly good.if there isnt start looking at the plugs,plug wires,rotor,coil etc.3if there is spark,make sure you are getting fuel out of your fuel line.if you are thats good.if not check for clogged fuel filter bad fuel pump etc.4 if you have fuel and spark and still no start get a compression tester and follow the instructions on how to check cyclinder compression.if you have good compression thats good anything over 90 should start.5 now if all of that is good one tip is to either use your hands or a shop rag and block the incoming air into the top of the carb and just kinda throttle it you will hear if the engine is goona start the rpms kinda flucuate.if none of that works start looking at the cam they will sometimes start going flatand you might just think you have bad gas or its just kinda running crappy.if iits flat it is gonna be hard to start.just some tips for ya.hoep that helps.
1. there is no such thing as preset points. Plugs are usually close but the setting of points is achieved with mountin screws 2. Does it stink like gas after you try starting it? If not, replace filter that is located where fuel line meets carb. Still no stink, ck fuel pump, rust in tank, lines from tank to fuel pump. 3. Ask that guy down the street who is always goofing w/ cars in his garage to help you for a few bucks.
It sounds like the points are closed and you are not getting any spark. Check the point gap? Bump the motor over until the distrib cam lobe is opening the points. Then see what gap you have and gap it to specs. When you pull the distrib cap turn the motor over and see if the points open at all. Thats probably your problem. Because if you have new plugs that are gapped right and new wires and all when you pour gas into the carb it should start. :Brow:
timing chain In doing your diagnostics, don't rule out the timing chain. I let my car sit for 3 years. I bought a bunch of stuff, and it wouldn't start. I did a compression test and wasn't getting any compression. It turned out to be my timing chain. Just my $.02.
If you get fuel and fire, disconnect the exhaust pipes fron the manifolds and try again. I've seen the original type exhaust cause this problem. NO BUll, it happened.
Gang... let's not get ahead of ourselves here. He said it ran, then over time the battery died and now it won't start. The odds the timing chain went bad from sitting are about nil. Yes, you must check for fuel and spark first. After cranking it, look into the carb and pump the throttle. If you see fuel squirt into the carb, you have fuel. Is it the same fuel that has sat in the tank for 2 years?! If so, drain that crap outta there and put fresh fuel in it for goodness sake. If no fuel squirts, then replace the filter. Check again. If still no fuel, replace the fuel pump. Then bump the engine over until the points are open at the top of the lobe and set the gap to about the thickness of a matchbook cover. Then see if she starts. If not, pull a plug wire, insert a screwdriver into the end of the wire and hold the shaft of the driver about 1/2" away from any metal part of the engine and have someone crank the engine. Got spark? If so, then we need to ask if you moved the distributor in your efforts to get it to run. If not, OK. If you did, you'll need to rotate the distributor while someone cranks the engine and see if you can get it to fire. When it does, lock the distrib down. Regardless of what you do to get it to fire, you'll now need to set the dwell and the timing. Let us know what happens and we'll walk you through the rest. Oh, if no spark after setting the points like I describe, replace the coil. They are dirt cheap. If you do have spark and fuel, and it won't fire when rotating the distributor, replace the coil. They can get weak and fail to provide the power needed to light the fuel. Oh, and gap the plugs to 35 thou. You have to confirm the basics before an internal combustion engine will fire. Oh, and I hope you replaced the oil and filter first???
sorry for the delay in posting.. I have been working all weekend. The battery is dead so there is something draining it or it just isn't a good battery. I am going to check the points to see that they are set right after i get the battery charged or get a new one again. thanks for the info everyone as soon as i get something goin will post to let everyone know. thanks again for all the great info. this is the best board i have been on.
battery If you bought a new battery just recharge it again. You can buy a cheap 10 amp battery charger ($40) and let it charge for 12 hours and you should be ready to try again. You can charge the battery with it every once in a while since you dont drive the car much. I would check you points first if you do not have spark.
Hey man, what's up, I have a 70 lesabre 455 (same thing as a wildcat, but badged as a lesabre) and I think it's cool you got one of the big cars. I was kinda wondering where you live at. I'm by Chicago and there's a good Buick club here with a fair number of old dudes that know their stuff. I actually just got back from Iraq so I haven't really been around and am in wisconson now finishing up my deployment. About your starting woes...if you have the old points still, you might want to try throwing them back on since they were set correctly. Even with the small difference in where you mount them (probably won't be exactly the same) your car should start but run like crap. But if it's the points, at least you know the problem. I had to do that with my car. I'm sure there's probably better way to do it, but hey, it works. Romy
What about the condenser??? I've had one of those kill an old Pontiac I had... sure made diagnosis fun since I had just replaced, points/condenser/cap/rotor/wires/plugs and it ran for a while. Acted like it was running out of gas before it quit running completely. Let it set for 30 minutes and it would run again. Might be worth checking....
