Here is the story. Near my house, the owner of a 77 is selling the car for cheap. he says that the car cranks but wont start. Aside from the battery, and battery ground cable, what are some of the other things to possibly get the car to crank? he said it has been sitting the past few years, but ran strong the last time he drove it. Im thinking about flipping the car but am not afraid to walk away.

 

check the basics ... do you have spark? if so squirt some starting fluid in it and see if she fires. could be fuel, or electrical at this point.

 

Here are the few pics that he has sent me so far.


I know all of the places to look to see if its a good buy or not already. Since he wants 3K for the car i was thinking of offering 1.5 or 2 for it, get it running properly and then selling it again. thats why i want to know ways of getting it running

 

anything else?

 

You just need to verify spark and fuel.

 

I'd go right to that aftermarket accel coil on top of the distributor.

got a spare HEI cap/coil? take it with you

 

I had thought about that. good idea i will be bringing that

 

It looks nice and uniformly dirty as though it hasn't been messed with in a while. That may be good or bad. People usually have a reason they stop driving a car. ???
Regards,
Alan

 

I think that the guy stopped driving it due to time and money etc. been there done that. i sent the guy my number and am waiting on his call, so we will see where it all goes.

 

Just check the basic three things an engine needs to run. Fuel, fire & air. Don't be surprised if the carb is gummed up due to setting with fuel in it. Same for fuel filter & tank. I would stay away from starting fluid & just trickle a little fuel down the carb, if it's got fire it should fire off pretty quick. If it does & then quits it probably needs the fuel system gone through before it will run right. Just use some common sense & you should be fine. Good luck,

 

another trick I've seen used is to use some weedeater or chainsaw gas (premixed with oil) and pour in the carb, will help with the top cylinder lube if its been sitting a while. So they've told me and it made sense to me.

 

This is true but be careful that it's not mixed with too much oil. You could foul a plug if it is.

 

(Like Lars said)
Ignition:
Do you have a cheap circuit tester (w/bulb in handle)? Take this with, attach to tach signal on the side of GM HEI cap, green wire (or says TACH on cap) right next the thick red BAT wire. Ground the aligator clip to "good" ground the touch probe tip to TACH line. Have someone try to start, bulb should pulse on and off. If so the module and pickup coil are working, and it's the coil. If no pulse it's something in the distributor. Might check the thick battery wire and see if there's power there, maybe a simple fuse or fuse box issue. Had a rotted fuse box on a '59 that set me back a few minutes, moisture had gotten to one of the power feed terminals and several circuits weren't working under a load.

Now the module should still be tested because there's several "circuits" inside, if one was "burned out" it would at least spit and burp and run.

Fuel: (after ignition test)
Take a small amount of fuel, add to the vent hole by choke flap to fill up the fuel bowl of carb. Pump throttle a few times, which also sets the choke. Check to see if the choke flap is closed completely. It should be open slightly - might need adjustment before starting if it's not. Some have used a medium screwdriver to prop open for starting puposes only. Overall, if it fires off and runs a few seconds it's probably choke coil / choke pulloff, fuel pump or rotted supply hoses (frame to pump or at tank).


Hope these help, good luck.

Later.