Ed

Maybe when you were putting the spark plug wires on the cap you accidently messed up the correct order? Got your wires crossed?

You mentioned you replaced distributor parts, which ones? Start at a base line. Insure the entire engine is properly timed. Set piston # 1 at TDC. Then check your distributor drive shaft (remove the two bolts that hold the distributor to the timing cover). And finally check your cam. Once you are 100% positive that those are o.k. you can move on to looking for other problems. If you turn your distributor all the way to either end then something is wrong it should be closer to the middle of the adjustment range. Once the car gets running let it run for a bit and get it warmed up a bit. Check plugs for one that might not be firing (loose wire).

Why not take it to them and ask?

Say Owen, Sorry to hear that your getting rid of your car. I've seen N.O.S. dashes go for close to $500 bucks on e-bay. Shipping is about $70-$80.

You are correct I should have specified, 73 bumpers will only fit 73 mounts. And yes if you got 71-72 mounts you can use a 71-72 bumper on your 73.

One more thing, check your oil EVERYTIME you stop for gas.

Also check your coolant hoses. If it's been a while since they have been replaced then that would be a good idea. Inspect your water pump and check for leaks out of the weeping hole. Inspect or replace belts. What ever work you do before you leave double check your work to make sure you didn't forget to tighten or secure something. Take some duct tape with you and a gallon of water (just in case). Also take some basic tools with you. Good luck and "Enjoy the ride"

Only 73 bumpers will fit on the 73. If you don't want to spend that much money keep an eye on e-bay. They will pop up every now and again and depending on the condition they usually go for 100-200 bucks. Also try some boneyards. Where are you at and maybe someone could suggest a boneyard in your area.

Can't the seller not accept or delete the bogus bids?

Looks like the bidding is fixed. Same person bid up to 1200+ to outbid a zero feedback bidder.

I edited your picture a bit hope it helps.

You definately have the round top carbs. As shown in your picture, the front of the car to the left, look at your carbs. To the left of the left carb is the float bowl. It will have two hoses on top, one to the fuel rail and one to the air cleaner. Underneath, it will have a small hose going to the underside of the carb to the needle/seat assembly. On a cold engine remove the three hoses, remove the 10mm nut holding the bowl to the carb. Take your bowl to a clean work area and begin to disassemble. Clean everything and reset your float level. If you have a shop manual it will become very handy. Use plenty of carb cleaner. Once you clean both bowls and have the floats set let us know how she runs.

I'd vote for a fuel problem too. What type of carbs does your 73 have? What about the fuel pumps?

Thanks Adam, Nice write up. I recieved my MSD stuff yesterday. Getting it all ready and I will hopefully attempt the swap this weekend. Ed

Bottom line? Yes, but as everyone has told you $$$ talks. You can do just about anything with $$$. Judging from your pictures you don't have a garage, your car has severe rust damage to the firewall/floor/frame. And you didn't take the hood off before pulling the engine. My $.02; Strip the car. Catalog everything, take lot's of pictures, and use zip lock baggies to identify all your nuts & bolts (makes assembly much easier). Once stripped you might consider a rotisserie. It will make working on the car sooooo much easier. The more stripping you do the more rust you WILL find. Once the car is stripped take a serious look at it. Will it cost more to fix it than it is worth. Like previously mentioned you can find a good donor shell on the west coast for half of what your going to pay in body/sheetmetal work. And if you do get a donor shell you will have all your parts from the 73 to use. Either way good luck and start looking for a donor shell.

Not only would making sure you have good grounding point important but also the connections on ALL your harness connectors. These cars are over 30 years old and many of us suffer from the headlights dimming when the car is at idle. I was led to believe for a long time that it was a factory defect. But once I cleaned all the ground locations and the harness connectors I get NO visible decrease in headlight illumination. So my two cents tell me to tell you clean all your headlight, parking light, ignition, and charging connectors. You will notice a difference.

Not really sure about the damage you mention to your chain guide. Is it worn away? And you are talking about the tension side of the chain correct, not the slack side. Here is a real good write up about timing chains: http://www.classiczcars.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19579&page=3&highlight=timing+chain+notch First you should check your chain and see if you can or if it needs to be adjusted. FWIW there have been times where I turned my engine off after running it and when I inspect the chain there is a little slack on the tension side. Personally I think it happens when you park the car leaving it in gear. When the car rolls back a bit it rotates the crank assembly just a hair but the camshaft stays put. Thus resulting in a little chain slack.

Hey Xray, nice comparison. You can clearly see the difference in the construction of the different seals. The Precision two piece looks denser than the OEM. After slamming my door for several months with the JC whitney seals I went with the Precision 1 piece (with attached welting $69.95 from MSA) the door closes much easier now. I even had to adjust the window frame to seal better. So my vote is that the Precision two piece is the thickest. Then followed by the JC Whitney one piece and last the Precision one piece. I'm not sure where the OEM falls in.

What kind of work are you looking for someone to do?

I bought my baby in 1996 she was sitting in a used car lot out in Santee, California (San Diego suburb). She was in pretty good condition. A little rust under the seats and a fading paint job. Since I didn't have a garage in San Diego I did as much as I could to refresh the suspension and engine. She still had her flat top carbs. I bought some round tops and started working on the center piece of my engine bay. It took me almost a year to get the round tops done. Then when I moved up to New York in 2002 I started a ground up restoration. Put her on the rotisserie and went to work 2 1/2 years later she was done. Now almost a year later I've put almost 500 miles on her. It's funny even though I tell my wife the car is done I'm still planning on more upgrades MSD6AL, a R-200, and some leather seats that are being done right now.:classic:

Hi and first let me welcome you to the club, I hope you become an active member. There is a boatload of knowledge here on this site and very many friendly members. On your car I would suggest keeping it as it is until you work out all the other bugs. Remember the car is over 30 years old and could probably use several other things to bring her back up to speed. Bushings, filters, belts, fluids, hoses etc... The holes in the deck where are they? I've seen holes in the tool compartment doors that are easily fixed by replacing the doors. Ed