1976 with later distributor question

[zachmac]

Trying to help a frined trouble shoot a 1976 ignition problem BUT the car has been retrofitted at some point with a breakerless distributor form a later car so it complicates knowing what should be what.

Wires at ignition switch match the Bradely Artigue wiring diagrams for a 76. Of course out at the coil there are no condensoers anymore.

Also, it looks from the wring diagrams like all early cars with points use an ignition relay but the later cars do not. Is this something that would normally have been "wired out" when the distributor was swapped?

If it still has an ignition relay where should it be? The diagrams show it under the dash on passenger side but the car in question has no relays there at all. It has four relays (instead of the suppossed six shown in earlier car diagrams) on the drivers side inner fender in the engine bay but I am pretty usre none of thosefour are ignition.

Car is electic fuel pump / carburated. I think maybe the relays are actually for the fuel pump and safety? I recall that if the car isn't running it shuts off the fule pump to prevent fires in the event of a wreck?

[seabeelt]

What year distrib did he put in the car? 79ish?

[zachmac]

What year distrib did he put in the car? 79ish?

That's part of the problem, he didn't put it in, he bought the car that way so we are guessing but I think yeah 79ish. I just finished disassembling, cleaning and re-assembling the ignition switch and I am 99.9% I know how to wire it up so we'll see tomorrow evening or Saturday when he is available. I suspect it was all probably just the notorious "wire fell off the back of the ignition switch" phenomenon. This is the middle year with the spades versus the early year screw posts or later car soldered pigtail. If it works I'll get him to fix that known problem next! I really need another Spider of my own, fixing other people's cars just ain't as rewarding!

[zachmac]

Okay, got back over to his house, hooked up the ignition switch and it fires right up and idles. BUT, won't take fuel at all, stumbles, backfires and dies if you trty to give it any gas at all.

He juest replaced the pickup, otherwise nothing has changed? Check timing? Dist cap on 180 out? What do we try next.

BTW, 90% sure ignition control relay and all related ahrdware are gone from car.

[vandor]

You started a new thread on this, so lets go over there to discuss this new topic.

[zachmac]

Yes, I moved it to the engine thread as the electrical part (at least the getting spark coming out of the wires) is fixed. BUT, could still be timing or distibuotr or ignition module related.