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In response to Redwing's private email, I'm starting this thread for her. She has 5 disconnected wires and is trying to figure out what they do, where they're supposed to go, etc. First are "2 blue wires coming out of wrapped bundle" here: The one on the left (from center of image to top center) is not blue. Rather, it appears to be black with a blue tracer (stripe) on it. (Very big difference!) That may be the wire that goes from the "start" position of the starter switch to the middle of the drop resistor for the ignition coil. This isn't absolutely necessary for your engine to run, but it energizes the coil a bit more when you're cranking the engine, making it start more easily. I have no idea about the wire on the right.

I would build some rollers for the back wheels, pipe the exhaust system outside, and use it as a driving simulator. Win, win, win.

I posted this already, but something went wrong, so Ill try it again. Looking at your wiring, its very similar to mine. The blue wire with the bullet connector goes to your A/C compressors magnetic clutch. The capacitor with red overspray has two wires coming out of it. One connects to a black wire coming out of the body harness directly behind the coil. If you look in the wiring diagrams, its the last ground wire before the Check Connector plug (Mine is anyway). The other end goes to the distributor body. In the photos below you can follow them carefully through the jumble of wires around the coil. Its a noise supression capacitor for the radio. I wouldn't worry about it too much. Like Sarah already mentioned, its not on any of the wiring diagrams Ive seen and the car will run without it. It is an original piece of equipment. The wire coming out of the firewall is not original. Don't know what the last owner wnated to do with it???? Chas

Jai, that solid blue wire with the bullet connector MIGHT run from the (-) terminal of your coil to the tachometer. However, as I said before, your ECU is being triggered, and the blue wire at the coil is common to both the ECU and tachometer. That's how it's reflected in the '76 schematic diagram too. It's possible you've got some modification going on. But blue is the correct color code for the trigger wire. If you know how to use a multimeter, you should test for continuity of the blue wires to the #1 pin of the ECU and to the tachometer (I think the terminal labeled "S"). If you don't know how to use a meter, you should find someone who does. The worst thing you can do is to hook up wires where you think they might go (without confirming what they are). That's a recipe for having stuff blow up.

Hope that helps!

Finally, "disconnected white wire from/through firewall" Here: This wire isn't OEM. It was added by one of the previous owners, and I would have no idea what it is. You should be able to find it on the other side of the firewall and see where it runs. In all likelihood, you can take a pair of wire clippers and remove as much of the wire as you are able. I suspect it serves no more purpose. I see the end wrapped in electrical tape, so it might be live (+12 V). Be careful when you snip it that you don't short it to ground. Perhaps tape the exposed end when you're done, just to be safe. The two black wires emerging from the same hole are also non-OEM.

Next, "black wire disconnected, other end attached to outside of compressor. Maybe ground?" Here: I assume you mean the black wire on the right. If one end is attached to the body of the compressor, then it's indeed a ground. Black would be the correct color code for ground also -- although black is also used for other things, like almost every wire in the EFI wiring harness! Anyway, this black wire, which is a ground, should probably be connected to the body ground point on the left side of the photo.

Next, "from red (sensor???), connected wire. near coil" Here: The red "sensor" is a noise suppression capacitor with some red paint on it. Neither end is connected. I don't see it diagrammed in the ignition circuit, and you can probably remove the part. It was probably installed to suppress electrical noise to a previous owner's stereo system. By the way, there's a clip that holds the coil wire (that goes to the distributor). It wants to be inserted onto the metal tab about an inch to the left of it. You also have the wiring harness (wrapped in black electrical tape) running very close to the coil wire. That's probably not a good idea. It would be good to have a bit more distance between them.

Redwing, Be very careful under the car. Make sure the ramps are solid and the car is not gonna move. Set the emergency brake and block the wheels on the ground if you are unsure its not gonna move. We don't want you getting hurt before we educate you

While in college in the mid seventies, I regularly had 3 young ladies and myself in the car. The smallest one was folded up and put in the hatch area, the other two shared a seat & console. What fun college was. Bonzi Lon

The two threads are my fault. Mike hasn't seen my request to merge them, I guess. I agree with Zed Head, don't let your well meaning buddies fix the simple stuff, it does more harm than good in my experiences. Take off the valve cover and take some pictures, other thread , remove the plugs and take a picture of those as well. But like Fastwoman says pulling the dipstick is the easiest thing to do at this point.

I'm going to make a few guesses: The hot tunnel: Perhaps your engine is running lean. This can be due to a variety of things. In a 1976, I think the more likely problem would be vacuum leaks. If the vacuum tubing is in bad shape (which it usually is on any old car), the best/easiest thing to do would be to replace it all. You can get new tubing at your local auto parts store. Next, very carefully check the accordian-shaped boot connecting the airflow meter with the throttle body. It may have splits in it, which would result in un-metered air. Lastly, buy a cup of Yotastic yogurt, enjoy the contents, wash out the cup, and do the now famous "yogurt cup test" on your intake, first described this way: For a 1996, I think you would have to pull off a different vacuum hose, perhaps the one going to the fuel pressure regulator. I think you might find that you have a leak between your intake manifold and cylinder head, especially around cylinders 1 and 6. This is a common problem, and the fix is to pull and replace the manifolds (i.e. with a new gasket). That's somewhat labor intensive, of course, so let's hope you don't have that problem. The problem with your car dying in hot weather is likely due to your ignition module or your fuel pump overheating. Once they cool down, everything is OK again. The fix is to replace them. When your engine dies, coast with it in gear, and watch the tachometer. Does it still show a reading, or is it at zero? If it reads zero, you've probably got a bad ignition module. Another test: Buy a can of starter fluid. When your car dies, pull off a small vacuum hose, spray some starter fluid into the intake manifold, replace the hose, and try starting the engine. Does it fire for a second or two? If so, the problem is more likely fuel related, and your ignition is probably OK. And your dad probably showed you the trick about checking for spark: Pull a spark plug wire, perch it very close to a piece of bare metal, crank the engine, and check whether a spark is jumping between the wire and the metal. (You might need to extend the spark plug wire's conductive path a bit by inserting a paperclip.) Check these things immediately after the engine dies, and let us know what you find. We'll help you from there.

Two tricks for the forum it took me forever to figure out. First helpful tip is click on the time and date under the last user to reply. That'll send you to the end without having to scroll through all the other replies. You probably know this already but it took me 2 years as this is my only forum participation. 2nd thing is click on VIEW NEW CONTENT, about 3/4s to the right up top. Hope it helps. .