where to start?

[2much2learn]

im 18 and just bought a 74 charger with a 1970 340 4bbl
it does not start but it trys to fire but rolls over. The body and interior are in pretty ok condition, im totally committed to this car but i just feel a little overwhelmed because have no idea where to start. any advice would be GREATLY appreciated.

[terrible one]

From another younger guy to another . . .

What are you looking to do with the car? Where you start depends on where you want to end up. For example, if you're doing a full restoration on it, start by tearing it down, etc. If you're like me and simply want a cool street cruiser, I'd of course start with the mechanicals as long as you don't have structural problems such as rotted frame rails, etc . . . engine, transmission, brakes, suspension, etc. For the engine. . . compression, spark, fuel . . . got all of 'em? Maybe the carb is where you should start if you eliminate the norms.

On a more presonal level, I would first try to get the engine running, then inspect and see what it needs such as the condition of water pump, leaks in the coolant, oil, and fuel systems, belts, hoses, gaskets, etc. Check the tranny fluid as well. Once I got the drivetrain set I'd move on to the brakes if they need work, even if they don't appear to at least check them out. Then I'd start doing suspension things such as ball joints, bearings, bushings, blah blah blah.

[chargerrt]

Is this car your only car or do you have another vehicle that you drive normally?  If not, the first thing you need to do is make the thing road ready and dependable.  That would be my advice for anybody wanting to drive their car.  Get it to where you are 100% confident that it will crank evry time you want it and that it will STOP every time you need it to. 

[2much2learn]

no i have a old 98 mustang conv. that i use as a daily car (hey i got it for free so im not complaining) the charger sits in the garage. i want to restore it to its original beauty but dont know where to start.

p.s i dont know if this helps but also have anothe 74 charger but its just for parts the engine and tran is missing but it used to be a 440 just thought id put it out there. 

[charger_mike75]

Is this car your only car or do you have another vehicle that you drive normally?  If not, the first thing you need to do is make the thing road ready and dependable.  That would be my advice for anybody wanting to drive their car.  Get it to where you are 100% confident that it will crank evry time you want it and that it will STOP every time you need it to. 

you'll also want to check over your wiring for cracked or frayed wires, you don't want any fires

[1969chargerrtse]

Well, the first thing I would do is get the motor running.  I break that down to two major points.  Do I have fuel, and do I have spark?  If I have both I would pull the plugs and check all the cyl's for close to equal compression.  If had that I would make sure my timing is close or o.k.  In case it was a bad or jumped a timing chain.  If there's fuel from the carb and the plugs are sparking and theres good compression, it should be running.  After I had a running moving car in fair condition (and it stops), I would pick one area at a time.  Probably I would start with what I want to do with the body or body trim, grille, tail end , glass, and then tackle the inside.  But, thats just me.

[2much2learn]

Thanks alot to everyone who took their time to help me out. I still have a long way to go but now i at least have a sense of direction
THANKS MUCH

[BigBlackDodge]

Welcome to the site! The first car I ever drove was a '74 Charger (318)............red with a white top, it was my brothers car.


Remember there are no stupid questions..................only stupid answers!


BBD

[TruckDriver]

I have a forum that is '71 to '74 only Chargers. Check it out sometime too 

Link below.

[Doright]

First welcome to the board
Second DO NOT GO AND TEAR IT APART!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you do not know how to do it find some one that does and bug them to show you how! if they are any kind of HOTRODDER they will it may cost you a few beer's or dollars but it will happen.
Third or the Turd
DO NOT get all hung up in all this restoration stuff till you have a good job paying lots more cash than you have now!
I cannot stress that enough it take really big bucks to do it buckets and buckets of it to do it.

Enjoy your car as it is make it run and have a ball fix things as you can.
But most of all drive the hell out of it like we did when we were your age!

DO what 1969Chargerrtse said to do thats good advice all the basics right there   
PM him or me I can give advice or coaching

Now go out to car have a freind hold on to a spark plug wire crank it over if he yells! its got spark.
Does it have gas? is gas getting to carb try some starting fluid not a lot just a little and crank it over if it try's to start or runs with the starting fluid it may be a bad fuel pump.
If it has spark and gas well we might have other problems such as bad timeing that, your ganna need some on sight help with more than likely.

The good news is any small auto shop should be able to help for a few bucks.
Try to talk with a few of the Mechanics explain to them your situation tell them your trying to learn BUT DO NOT BS them! we all have a way of seeing threw it. If it jumped time or some one has played with or set the timming 180 out your ganna need help as more than one of us has been threw it before and it can drive a few baty.
Good luck

[Khyron]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Imports. Read lots, post lots, and help will Follow 

[MoParMetal]

Welcome to the wonderful world of Imports. Read lots, post lots, and help will Follow 

        

welcome! another 3rd gen. pictures!

[Mopar440+6]

What are you looking to do with the car? Where you start depends on where you want to end up.

Like TO said, where you start all hinges on where you want to be. A full, rotisserie restoration takes A LOT of time and A LOT of money. (Trust me, I decided that was what I wanted to do with my Charger and 4 years later I still only have a rusty shell.) If you just want a nice driver, start by getting the car running, then work on the rest of the issues. If you do that eventually you will end up with a nice car.

Well, the first thing I would do is get the motor running. I break that down to two major points. Do I have fuel, and do I have spark?

I would say three points; air, fuel and ignition.

Air:
When the motor is cranking you should hear it pulling air through the carburetor. Take the air cleaner assembly off to make sure its getting air (Do not drive the car like that and have a fire extinguisher handy just in case it backfires through the carb.)

Fuel:
Is the motor getting enough fuel? I emphasize enough because even if fuel is being pumped it might not be enough fuel to keep the carb bowls full. Pull the line thats coming off of the fuel pump. Put the end of the line in a clear bottle (2 liter or windshield washer bottle is fine). Have someone else crank the engine. Fuel should squirt out of that line on and off.

Situation A: No fuel
If no fuel comes out of the line you either have a fuel pump, fuel pickup or fuel line issue.

Fuel Pump:
Start by getting another CLEAN bottle of gasoline and a short (2 ft) length of fuel hose that will fit over the pump inlet. Attach the hose to the fuel pump (use a hose clamp!) and submerge the other end into the container of fuel. Repeat the same test. If no fuel comes out then you likely have a bad fuel pump. if fuel does come out, move on to the fuel pickup and lines.

Fuel Lines:
While the lines are still unhooked from the fuel pump, trace the fuel lines from the pump back to the tank. Look for really rusty spots and/or leaks. If you don't see anything that looks like it might be a hole or leak, hook an air hose up to the tank end of the fuel lines. See if air will blow through the lines (wear safety glasses because fuel might spray). Have your helper hold their hand close (not over) the fuel pump end of the line to feel for air coming out. No air = clogged line. If air does come out, repeat the test by hooking up the hose to the tank end of the lines and try to make the pump pull fuel through the lines. Again, if it doesn't pull fuel you probably have a small hole in the fuel line that is allowing air into the system. If it does pull fuel through the lines, it is time to drop the fuel tank.

Fuel Pickup/Tank:
Siphon all of the fuel out of the fuel tank and remove the fuel tank. (PM me if you have questions) Once the tank is out of the car, get it up on a workbench if you can (don't have to, just makes life easier). Carefully remove the fuel pickup unit from the tank. (again, PM with questions) Once the pickup is out look at the pickup tube. Is it rusty? Does it have holes in it? If it does, you need a new fuel pickup (Check with the guys on here and in the classifieds. They might have a good used one for sale. If it looks ok, try to blow air through it again (carefully!) If it is clogged, use carb cleaner and pipe cleaners to clear the clog. Next, look at the screen filter. Is it really dirty? If it is wash it in carb cleaner. While the tank is out, wash the outside of the tank being careful not to get water in the tank. Carefully look it over for holes and dirt. Get a flashlight and point it inside the tank (do this in a dark room, you will be able to see any holes). Now, somewhere you can see, again point the flashlight into the tank. Does it look really dirty or rusty? If it does you will need to clean it (the guys on here can tell you how to do it cheap). If all of that goes well then you want to hook everything back up and put some fuel back in the tank. Try the test at the fuel pump again. At this point it should work. If it doesn't, we can troubleshoot that later.

Situation B: Fuel comes out of the pump.
Your fuel pump, lines and pickup are most likely fine for now. We need to look at the lines after the pump and the carb.

Upper lines/filter:
Is there a fuel filter in between the pump and carb? If there is replace it. If that doesn't work, take the line(s) that run from the fuel pump to the carb completely off the car. Check to see if they are clogged. If so replace them if you can. If you can't, clean them with carb cleaner and air (this is the last time I'm going to tell you to be careful!). If they are clear, move on to the carb.

Carb:
Hook everything back up and have someone crank the engine. Run the throttle linkage on the side of the carb with your hand. Look down into the carb while your helper is cranking the engine (light helps and didn't I tell you to be careful?) You should see fuel squirting down into the throat of the carburetor. If you do move on to the ignition system. If you don't, this is where it gets difficult. There are waaaay too many types of carburetors for me to even get started and carburetors can be difficult to rebuild (it can be done and if you learn it now you'll know how for the rest of your life). If you think the carb is the problem, take pictures of the carb and post a thread in the "Engine/Drivetrain" or "General Troubleshooting" forums.

Ignition
Ok, so everything else works. Is the engine getting spark? We'll start at the sparkplugs and work out. The "Electrical, Lights and Wiring" board will be your best reference for this stuff.

Sparkplugs:
First, pull all of the spark plugs one at a time. Look at them carefully. Are they dirty or strange colors? Do they smell like gasoline or oil? Compare them to this chart: --> http://www.dansmc.com/Spark_Plugs/Spark_Plugs_catalog.html <-- If they look like anything other than what says "fouled," "best" or "good" there are other issues (we'll deal with that later). If they are fouled, clean them with carb cleaner and a scrub brush (old toothbrushes work well). Put them back in and try to start the car. If it still won't start, move on to spark plug wires.

Plug Wires:
Do the wires look cracked or broken? Are the rubber boots in good condition or are they torn? If the wires are bad replace them and again, try to start. It still won't start? What's the next part in the line? You got it, the distributor.

Distributor:
Start by making a mark on the cap and distributor housing with a marker. Then remove the cap from the distributor (there should be two clips holding the cap on). Look at the underside of the cap and the rotor. Are the distributor cap and/or rotor cracked, broken or burnt? If they just look dirty, clean them. If you see cracks, again they need replaced. So they look ok, put the cap back on (make sure your marks are lined up). Is the distributor firing in the right order? Start unhooking the plug wires from the distributor cap. (take pictures and make note of the position of each wire on the cap and what cylinder that wire goes to). Search (the tech archives) for the firing order and distributor diagram of a '70 340. Put the wires back on in the proper firing order and try to start it again. No luck, eh? Move on to the coil/ignition module/ballast resistor.

Coil, ignition module and ballast resistor:
There are ways to test each of these parts. If you can't find something in the tech archives, the guys here will be able to tell you how to test them. Start by checking the ballast resistor as these cars are famous for having that particular part fail. If thats ok, check the coil then the ignition module. If ALL of these parts are ok there is a wiring issue.

Wiring:
Start tracing wires from the coil, ignition module and ballast resistor. Look for cracks, fraying, old repairs and splices. If you find any of these try replacing that wire. Trace all the wires from the engine all the way into the ignition switch (the key).

Well, I think I have covered enough for one night. Take nothing I have said as a hard and fast rule. These are guidelines I like to follow.

As the other guys have said; search, read and learn. But if you search and can't find something, ask! No one will think any less of you for asking something that may seem very basic. You're here to learn and the guys here know their stuff. This site is the biggest wealth of knowledge about Chargers you will ever find and you will "meet" some of the coolest people ever on this site. Be careful, have fun and good luck...    

[daytonalo]

I have a 93 Honda del sol 5 speed on my lot , even trade ?? It is a every 18 year old dream car !!

[TheGhost]

Could it possibly be bad gas?  How long was the car sitting before you bought it?  My wagon had a similar problem.  Still does as I'm too broke to fill up the tank with fresh fuel.

As stated before, make sure the carb is getting gas first.



Also, post some pictures of this car for us photo whores to look at.