t bear Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 behold: my shimmering diamond of a housecar... the 1978 chinook gazelle. edit: it runs again! i'm not sure what was wrong with all the setups i tried (the two hei modules, new distributor guts, etc...) and that makes me a little crazy, but i ordered an aftermarket matchbox unit complete from rockauto, plugged it in, hooked up two wires, and bam! missed this thing. now it's on to rebuilding the weber and humping in the 5spd that are chilling in the garage, and starting to get all the fabulous RV accoutrements working. picked it up a couple months ago and i've been working out the kinks. new shocks, leafs re arched (benz spring in portland is the jam), got the brakes working reasonably well, adjusted the valves, new alternator, clutch slave, fuel pump, fixed rusty leaking tank (hopefully), built a fresh exhaust, etc. lots of work, and i haven't even started on the interior or rv portion yet. needs some fiberglass work and something other than funky ass orange carpet for flooring, but i'll get into that later. i also need to repair the rear door because i tried to launch an engine out of the back. think spy hunter. next steps (after i get it fucking running again) are to rebuild and install the used weber i picked up, and put in the 5spd that i keep tripping over in my garage. my plan is to get it all sorted so the lady and i can get out of town for a month or so in the spring and not need a sponsorship from an arab oil tycoon to do so. its a super rad truck. i've put a couple hundred miles on it and it's way fun to drive, and from what i can tell gets reasonable fuel economy. so, as for the question/plea... naturally i fucked something up. i was trying to wire up an induction tach without using my brain and cooked a bunch of stuff. it's got the electronic ignition with the seperate control module that lives under the dash. i hooked up the tach to power and cooked something, then started throwing parts at it to get my spark back but not having any luck. what i'd like to do is find a good used matchbox distributor and be done with it, as i cant seem to track down why mine isn't firing and i miss having the car run. my troubleshooting has led me here: my ignition switch is burned up- it doesn't send power to the coil when the engine is cranking. for now i'm using jumper wires, but i ordered a new one and it should be here in a couple days, along with some new plug wires for good measure. so, power to both sides of the coil with ignition on when cranking, but no spark. i replaced the coil with a new one not because it was suspect, but because i broke of one of the studs like a hamhanded asshole. i thought maybe i cooked my control box, so i wired in an HEI unit. still no spark. then i tested the pickup coil in the distrubutor (low AC voltage output while cranking to the green and red wires) and it wasn't putting out, so i replaced that. still no spark. i don't know what to try next, other than just put in a matchbox distributor and be done with it. so, anyone in portland want to sell me one? i guess there is the plea part. went to foster u pull it yesterday but they didn't have shit. hi! Quote Link to comment
Eagle_Adam Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 very cool datto :thumbup: - i was at the pick n pull in sherwood last weekend and there was 2 620's - just a heads up Quote Link to comment
crackerjack69 Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 The blue KC @ the North picknpull has a remote module dizzy... You did a GM HEI module? Green wire to G, Red to W? Have you tried a jumper to ground to charge coil and see if sparks? Quote Link to comment
t bear Posted November 30, 2011 Author Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 The blue KC @ the North picknpull has a remote module dizzy... You did a GM HEI module? Green wire to G, Red to W? Have you tried a jumper to ground to charge coil and see if sparks? i did try the hei- with the remote ignition unit it's super easy. jumper to ground i have not tried, interesting idea. so i'd disconnect the blue wire and leave it hanging, then jumper the neg side of the coil to ground and in theory that should make the coil fire to test it? can't run the truck that way though, because the timing of the coil firing would be all wonky? thanks for the ideas, and the heads up on junkyard status. i'm waiting to hear back from someone parting a truck on CL, maybe that will pan out. i love going to the yard but it tends to eat up a whole day. Quote Link to comment
Str8_69 Posted November 30, 2011 Report Share Posted November 30, 2011 Dude that thing is bitchin', I hope you get her on the road soon. Matchbox dizzy is probably the easiest setup, they pop up here all the time if you can't find one local, maybe even put an ad in the wanted section, lots of people cruise the parts sections. Quote Link to comment
crackerjack69 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Put the coil spark wire near ground. Put jumper from - side of coil to ground for 3-4 seconds to charge coil, then let go. This will at least verify working coil. Good starting point. You can find matchbox on here for $100. X2 what STR8 said, put a want ad, you'll get a hit :D Cool truck btw. Quote Link to comment
Guest kamakazi620 Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Do want your truck!!!!!!! House+Datto=EPIC Winning!!!!!!!!!!!! Quote Link to comment
Slixon Posted December 1, 2011 Report Share Posted December 1, 2011 Good luck with the ignition system. I've jumped between old and matchbox. Can you post some pics of the interior of the cab and "love shack"? Quote Link to comment
t bear Posted December 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted December 18, 2011 been struggling with getting spark, see WTB ad: My link tried damn near everything. new coil, wires, pickup coil in dizzy, adjusted clearance on breaker plate, two new hei units, new ignition switch... i cant get spark when cranking. it sparks when i ground the coil, and i get power to the coil when the ignition is on and when it's cranking. i think the issue lies in that when i put a test light across the positive and negative terminals of the coil and crank i get no signal, but when i test light the positive side and ground i do. this blue wire is fucking me up. so the coil isn't getting a ground signal from the distributor, but the pickup coil (the new one, installed at the proper clearance and ohms out within spec) appears to be doing what it's supposed to as far as the low voltage AC signal while cranking. i'm lost. the dizzy isn't telling the coil to fire, and i can't figure out why. any bases i haven't covered? here's a pic of my hei setup, i thought maybe my stock ignition module was pooched so i put this in: Uploaded with ImageShack.us thanks... and if anyone has a spare matchbox distributor for sale please hit me up. Quote Link to comment
moparvwfreak Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 if its a matchbox dizzy, it might be a broken mag ring. i had that issue with the matchbox i put into my 73. i ended up using a 78 non-matchbox EI dizzy and used the GM HEI unit. never had an issue since. Quote Link to comment
crackerjack69 Posted February 26, 2012 Report Share Posted February 26, 2012 if its a matchbox dizzy, it might be a broken mag ring. i had that issue with the matchbox i put into my 73. i ended up using a 78 non-matchbox EI dizzy and used the GM HEI unit. never had an issue since. See in the above pic? The red and green wires coming off the gm hei module leading back to a 78 remote module dizzy. He' Got same setup as you. Quote Link to comment
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