inherited 68 cuda, starting issues

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orange68cuda

orange68cuda

3 Barracuda Member
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So I recently was able to re-aquire a 68 Barracuda fastback I helped build some 10 years ago from a friend. Only problem is it has been sitting in his driveway going to waste for the past 6 or so years. Towed it home, threw in a new battery, rekeyed it new ignition switch and lock cylinder and went to turn it over. Nothing. Lights and electrical seem to work but nothing as far as a crank or spark.

Need some help in getting pointed in the right direction. He was the brains of the operation building the car and without some help I'm at a loss.. I'm thinking of buying a new ignition control module, plugs and wires and distributor.. am I heading in the right direction? Any help is appreciated.
 
nope not yet first turn the key on and jump the ignition relay with a screwdriver , it should spark real good and the starter should turn over , if not then start testing wires , theres no point changing all that if the starter doesn't crank because they have nothing to do with the starter . why rekey ? check the connector on the back of the ignition lock assembly while your at it , you can get a free colour wiring diagram off moparts if you google it . Your probably going to have to take one circuit at a time and verify the flow of current with a little test light but don't start throwing parts blindly at it until you know which circuit is bad and why .
 
Crawled under the dash best I could and found a disconnected battery (+) cable to the back of the ignition switch. She's turning over and wanting to start now at least. Cranking and firing just won't start yet. The sitting for years probably doesn't help that.
 
orange68cuda said:
Crawled under the dash best I could and found a disconnected battery (+) cable to the back of the ignition switch. She's turning over and wanting to start now at least. Cranking and firing just won't start yet. The sitting for years probably doesn't help that.
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Should I do plugs and wires if they haven't been done in 6-8 years? It cranks but doesn't want to fire over.
 
If she has sat that long but you now have it turning over and without throwing to much money at it.

-Change oil & filter
-Change spark plugs
-New points/condenser, cap & rotor
-New plug wires( if they look cracked)
-New clear fuel filter(to see obvious debris)
-Remove fuel line from fuel pump to gas tank port and insert in jug with fresh fuel. Remove line from fuel pump to carb and insert in container. Crank over engine to verify fuel pump is sending gas to carb. If good re-connect
-Hopefully get running and hook fuel line to tank back up to see if you have issues with sending unit, clogs,etc

Then you can move on to carb. rebuild, tuning, etc. if needed.

Good luck:thumbsup:
 
keep it simple pull a plug and rest it on the air cleaner , crank it over see if it sparks , You can clean and regap your plugs if they are fouled , if you have spark then check a couple of other plugs to verify they are firing as well . If no spark work backwards to the distributer and cap does it have points ? are they burnt off ? do they open and close when the engine is turning ? . Once you have spark then on to fuel , first check on that is pull the top off the air filter and twist the throttle by hand while looking down the carb , do you see gas squirting in when you twist the throttle linkage ?
 
Does it small gassy at this point ? did you try starting it with the pedal held all the way to the floor ?
 
Fuel lines are definitely clean. Pulling the throttle cable I get solid squirts of gas into the carb. I'm going to try a new battery. It will try it's hardest to start and run but after so many tries the battery just gives out.. going to do new battery and ground wire, fuel air seem ok. It's sparking and trying. Just not enough juice I think.
 
Oh yeah! And fresh gas! If the new battery and fresh gas don't work then I think it's spark plugs and the like that'll be next.
 
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Mark Wainwright said:
Fuseable link?
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Not sure? I'm pretty new to the engines of these cars. My orange cuda I bought built and sold in under 3 years. Never really had time to get to know them. No electronic ignition.. pretty much stock 383 with some exceptions. Got it to turn over, fire and run for about 30 seconds. Hopefully its just the old gas burning out.. hoping to get it started and idled here tomorrow. Every time I try and rev it up it will die. Get it to start and almost idle, feed it gas but dies. The woes of having it sit for so long I'm hoping.
 
I did get the new battery and fresh gas in and it is a lot happier now. Starts and tried but won't sit and run/idle quite yet.
 
First thing I would do is HOT WIRE the car. If it runs, look at the electrical. If not, you have more problems than the electrical
 
orange68cuda said:
I did get the new battery and fresh gas in and it is a lot happier now. Starts and tried but won't sit and run/idle quite yet.
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That's because the problem is a dirty carb and lines from sitting and always was (after you found the crank wire off).
(The very first thing that needs to be done if they don't fire up and stay running but seem to have spark and fuel to the carb)
Lots of times they don't even have to have a rebuild, but just opened rinsed and the circuits blown out.
 
TrailBeast said:
That's because the problem is a dirty carb and lines from sitting and always was (after you found the crank wire off).
(The very first thing that needs to be done if they don't fire up and stay running but seem to have spark and fuel to the carb)
Lots of times they don't even have to have a rebuild, but just opened rinsed and the circuits blown out.
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So should I pull the carb and give it s good cleaning? Starting it and its trying. Definitely getting some burn off at the carb.
 
orange68cuda said:
So should I pull the carb and give it s good cleaning? Starting it and its trying. Definitely getting some burn off at the carb.
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That's where I would start, but I have only been doing this stuff for 40 years. :D
A sitting carb ALWAYS has junk in it (dried up old fuel, line rust particles)
Then it settles in the lower sections of the carb where fuel is supposed to flow to the venturi's and idle circuit runners.
Compressed air is your friend here.
 
TrailBeast said:
That's where I would start, but I have only been doing this stuff for 40 years. :D
A sitting carb ALWAYS has junk in it (dried up old fuel, line rust particles)
Then it settles in the lower sections of the carb where fuel is supposed to flow to the venturi's and idle circuit runners.
Compressed air is your friend here.
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If I don't have an air compressor would carb cleaner and canned air suffice? Pull it, spray it, scrub it etc.
 
I don't mind buying a new carb but if I can get away with a good cleaning and not a total rebuild or new purchase obviously id go that route.
 
Not sure if I did this right but here's the beaut I'm trying to bring back to life.

20170723_201617.jpg
 
some people like to drop the carb in a bucket of solvent and let it sit for a day or two , it never hurts to go out and crack the throttle every couple of hours while your doing it .
 
cannucky said:
throwing money at new parts is not the answer so get that out of your head and start doing the work .
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But throwing money at necessary parts for a car that has sat for many years is mandatory IMHO. Have brought two back to life in the last year. One that sat for 12 yrs. and another that sat for 5 yrs.

See post 6 and use other great advise you have been given on this thread plus searching this forum to get her not only running but running great. An Internet forum is very useful but not real world. Nothing equates to hands on experiences you can only get by what Cannucky said. Start doing the work.
 
orange68cuda said:
If I don't have an air compressor would carb cleaner and canned air suffice? Pull it, spray it, scrub it etc.
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Better than nothing.
I like to start with the things keeping it from running and then go to stuff like oil, filter and the like.
It keeps you from spending a bunch of time and money to find out you have a rod knock or something else serious.
Not on your car necessarily, just as a general rule when working with unknowns.
 
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Oldschoolcuda said:
But throwing money at necessary parts for a car that has sat for many years is mandatory IMHO. Have brought two back to life in the last year. One that sat for 12 yrs. and another that sat for 5 yrs.

See post 6 and use other great advise you have been given on this thread plus searching this forum to get her not only running but running great. An Internet forum is very useful but not real world. Nothing equates to hands on experiences you can only get by what Cannucky said. Start doing the work.
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Ok disagree with my post, but I'll bet it cost me a lot less time and money to find a problem and fix it that it does you. :D
 
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