Hi all Went to look at a 73 Electra Limited last night. Solid car. My son plans to get it on the road asap (read.. stop taking my truck!). There was no gas showing on the guage but we did have some gas with us. I tried to get some into the float bowl via the breather tube and dumped some in the carb. The most we got from it was one short backfire. After trying on and off with gas directly into the carb for some time, we couldn't get it to start. Not even another backfire. I plan on going back again on the weekend armed with some tools to get it running or at least diagnose the problem. I'm going back armed with a large gas can to get some into the tank. I know that with enough turns of the engine I will eventually see some get to the carb if all is well in the fuel system. My questions are: After I test for spark (I'll bring a spare plug), are there any other easy tests I can do to identify possible ignition issues (specifically how can I test the coil, points etc). I would really like to get this boattail running before my son buys it (or at least identify the problem so he doesn't get into a money pit that he can't afford :eek2: ) Thanks in advance! :beer ps Blame his new interest in Buicks on the ride we took in the Centurion :3gears:
Best bet I'll bet the points are fried. They do not take sitting very well, you should plan to put in a new uniset, cap, rotor and wires. You'd end up replacing these parts eventually. Once you know you have a properly timed spark then you can review the fuel system. A common problem on these barges is the short length of rubber tube over the rear axle, between the gas tank and the hard line. A little crack will stop the fuel flow, and from experience I've found that blowing in the lines and listening for bubbles isn't fool proof. You can blow in the line and some will leak out the crack the rest will make nice gurgling sounds. But when the pump tries to draw fuel it'll only get air from the crack. Nice feeling to have that much sheetmetal wrapped around a new driver.
