Disconnect the ground from the battery to the frame and wire brush the terminal and frame where it attaches until they are shiny. Find the ground wire from the engine block and do the same with both ends of it, then go from there.
Good luck

 

I do not. Though I do have a set of Echlin points and condenser I could replace the Mallory unit with.

About to go outside and do the voltage tests. More to follow.

 

I'll try that.

Where is the ground from block to frame usually located?

 

Ok charged battery to 12.6 volts.

While cranking I read 10.38-10.40v at the battery terminals

Also, during cranking I read 8.99-9v at the starter solenoid. Seems like a voltage drop.

I installed a spark plug light indicator. While cranking I do in fact get a light...so the ignition system is working.

 

Just looked at a spark plug while firing. Looks yellow-orange, definitely not white/blue in color.

Good news is obviously distributor, coil and Mallory unit are operating.

 

Mine is near the fuel pump, I would have to guess that yours is in the same area.

 

Cool thanks. Any ideas what might cause a weak spark?

 

Dirty/poor grounds. Did you clean them?

 

did you take the distributor out since it was last running......maybe its 180* out.....meaning its firing on the exhaust stroke instead of the compression stroke......you could pull a valve cover and follow the valves opening and closing and watch where the rotor is poiniting or even put your finger on the number 1 spark plug hole and watch the rotor turning and feel for compression....when you feel for compression the rotor should be pointed at the number 1 tower....you can mark the base of the distributor with a sharpie at the number 1 tower

 

Yup. Had my buddy hand crank until I felt air rushing out of the plug hole. Stopped at 8 deg BTDC and marked distributor cap and made that the No.1 plug wire.

I just tried starting with starter fluid. Sounded like multiple cylinders tried firing but once the fluid was used up no more chugging sounds.

 

Any idea how many cold crank amps my battery should be rated at for a 1969 11:1 compression V8 350?

 

The frame to block ground runs from the right motor mount (frame side) to the block, usually where the starter front support is.

As far as the CCA for the battery, I usually just get the biggest number I can that will fit in the box. A Vette will hold a 850-1000 CCA battery with no problem.

weak spark can be from lots of things- from the primary input voltage to the points/condenser, distributor ground (there's sometimes a small ground strap from the breaker plate to the housing) to the block, and even the coil going bad.

 

Thanks for all the help. I just ran out of time. Gotta head back to San Diego.

I'm just going to have to swallow my pride and have it towed to a shop.

I feel like I'm so close though. Oh well.

 

Where is the car located?

 

At my parents place in Santa Maria, CA. On average a 6 hour drive one-way.

I am debating having the car worked on up there or shipped down to me and looked at down here.

 

Before you get too far into this, try to make sure (not assume) that the basics are covered.

Since you're taking the battery out to charge it, take it to get tested. I had a battery that I assumed was good because it showed 12+ volts after charging. However, I checked it right after charging. A day later, it was down below 10 volts. Had it tested, and it was bad. Maybe your parents can take the battery to get tested for you.

Make sure all the wires and connections are clean and correct. I had a miss that I couldn't find. Spark plug wires looked O.K. Finally pulled the wires to check resistance, and only then found a bad spot where it was arcing to the exhaust manifold. And, when I pulled the wire from another plug, that plug was loose in the hole.

I don't know that it's very accurate, but to me it seems like a third of the posts about problems like this end up with the poster finding out that an assumption they had made wasn't true. And, once they stopped making the assumption, it didn't take long to find out what the problem was.

Mike

 

I had a similar problem with no start after lots of cranking, thought it was mainly due to my carb issues. Read this yesterday and checked wire temps after cranking and my ground from the battery was seriously hot. Looked closer and found where the PO had connected a quick disconnect it was a bit loose and was partially held in place by clumps of solder! Fixing that and cleaning up where the ground attaches to the frame and it's firing much better now.

 

I haven't read all the posts but this started out a no spark distributor issue but turns out you do have spark.
How about some recent history as to how and when the car stopped starting.
You could have a timing chain issue.
You have some kind of spark and you've poured fuel in through the carb,what do the plugs look like ?

 

The car sat for 7 months while I was on deployment.

It had a full tank of gas with Stabil in it.

When I got back I cleaned the carburetor with carb cleaner and compressed air (from a can). I might have missed something, but it appeared that all passageways were blowing through clear on each side. Maybe I didn't clear the entire idle circuit, who knows.

Then again I get no response from the engine when cranking from accelerator pump shots either.

I primed the fuel bowls with fresh gas. So unless there is a blocked passageway (particle or part of a gasket?) the engine should be sucking good gas when it cranks.

On removal some plugs were wet, might have been from the first few start attempts after coming back from deployment. Looked like possibly some oil deposits on one. I cleaned them up and reinstalled.

 

I would be inclined to put a new set of plugs in. I've had plugs that the spark will not shoot across the gap,the spark seems to trickle down the side of the center insulator and back up the side to ground-basically fouled. The best luck I've had cleaning plugs is with a propane torch,spraying with carb cleaner usually won't do it.

Make sure what your pumping out of the accelerator pump is in fact gasoline and not water.
I've seen on these cars when the drain around the gas cap is blocked the water dams up around the cap and fills the tank with water or at least enough to get up to the fuel inlet in the bottom of the tank and all the pump is pushing forward is water.