electronic ignition

[Outlaw]

My 68 Camper Special always has trouble starting right away. If i rev it up as soon as i turn the ket the 1st time i can usually get it to start BUT most of the time i have to keep trying to turn it over at least 8 times, if i'm lucky. I'm not sure whats causing this. I'm wondering if i buy an electronic ignition will it stop this problem?

STORY:

I currently dislocated my knee cap and i'm unable to drive my car (its a manual) or ride my bike for the next 3 months. My only other option is my Camper Special. So now i need my truck to be daily driver reliable. For the most part i think i can do this. The only problems i'm having is the starting issue and my battery not lasting longer than a month(but that a completly different post).

How can i stop my starting problem?


Thanks in advance.

[LC]

LC from PA ???? 225 or v-8 check point gap apr .017 check choke mine wasn,t closing had to pump 4-5 to get gas to start check timing clean and gap plugs to.035 if this doesn,t help then go the way i did and get the mopar converation kit costs apr 200 makes for alot easier starting hope this helps LC

[Ruckus]

Me thinks this has fuel shortage written in big letters. (Choke, fuel pump, filter, intake screen in fuel line going into carb) That is the only thing I can think of that changes after a few cranks (sounds like the start is too lean). Sure, electronic ignition makes everything a little better. If your timing is off or spark is weak or plugs old then it won't run well cold.
I purchased a hei distributor and a new non-ballast restor coil on ebay to fit my LA318 . Yes I got some flak for the hei (GM origins) and because mine is a cheap (probably Chinese) nock-off, but my truck runs better than ever and I unhooked about 3/4 of the insane mopar wiring mess. I only had to hook up 2 wires (+and-) so installation was easy even for us non-electrical types.

You can go to Ebay motors and search for "hei mopar" and get a whole new distributor for $68!! I bought a new, non-ballast coil from the same outfit for $27. Yes, I know, not made in USA but same with most everything at Napa.
All I can say is the install took less than an hour and has worked flawlessly since. More than I can say for my mopar ignition mess which was always on the fritz.

You see, the mopar electronic ignition has magnetic contacts which are supposed to fly by each other a a very close tolerance. Even diehard mopar fanatics admit this tolerance cannot be properly adjusted (it moves around) without buying expensive modified parts for the distributor. Even then, the mopar system uses the external ballast resistor which is known to fail randomly without cause. Add to that the dizzying array of wires which must be connected perfectly, and you have a system that is very hard to troubleshoot, especially when all the wires and connectors are 40 years old.

If you want to work with the stock mopar stuff or modify it to hei, here are some links:
http://duster318.freeservers.com/tech/hei.html shows how to integrate a real GM HEI into your stock distributor.
http://slantsix.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15779 discusses the mods for a slant six (almost the same as for the LA).
http://www.rowand.net/Shop/Tech/MoparHEIConversion.htm another good HEi conversion discussion.

GOOD LUCK!~

[HEtkind]

there are a couple other threads about electronic ignition also going on...

I have similar issues with my 68, it starts right away, but wants to run rough and stall until it is warmed, and it has the holley carb with electronic choke.

A rebuilt points distributor for $40 helped quite a bit for me, but I am still leaning towards the mopar electronic style from 70's. It keeps the truck maintainable.

Howard

[TedWitt]

I went to the junk yard and found a '70s model car with a 318 electronic and started untaping wires till I found where they all went and marked them with duct tape and a sharpie. I got the distributor and module, went home and replaced my distributor and started running and hooking up wires. Now it's totaly electronic. I even switched the alt of to electronic. This is all in my '69 D100.

[Outlaw]

Thanks for the write ups guys. I assumed it was a fuel problem but i don't know ANYTHING about this truck. It was a gift. I only have your very basic mechanical skills so i'm kinda lost. I was going to take it to a garage, but i could give it a shot. i'm just worried about screwing something up worse than what it was. I really just want this truck starting smoothly and becoming RELIABLE instead of a weekend truck to Home Depot.

[hemithekid]

Pertronics distributor systems are about $100. Mine had it done when i bought it but its probably not that hard.

[Oldguy]

The Pertronics unit I put in the 360 in my 66 was 79 bucks ( 6 years ago!) and took about 20 minutes to install. I just removed the distributer and put it in on the bench and then dropped it back in the engine. I of course marked everything so it would go back in the proper location! The only problem I've had was trying to figure out why I didn't do it 20 years ago! LOL I had a very good condition distributer which is why I went with the Pertronics. I used a later model electronic distributer with a update kit I got for about 15 bucks from Summit on the /6 in my 63 Dart. I never liked changing and setting points. Always forgot to reset new points after a few miles so they always closed up on me! LOL Good luck! Mike

[Jeffc]

Long start up time may be as simple as fuel supply problem, if you not starting the
truck for a week or more-- a poor fuel pump that leaks back or is not up to
par may be the cause......
or could be as simple as fuel filter partly plugged, not uncommon on old
rigs to have partly plugged fuel lines also (in this case I use compressed air
to blow back though the line and afterward clean the tank out of any rust that may
be inside.....
you could install a electric fuel pump, turn the key to run, let it pump up system
and fire the engine.... should kick it a one turn..