Died at an intersection, DOH!

[dccarpenter]

I appeal for help to the kind folks here as I've now officially exhausted my girlfriend's patience in picking me up from vehicle breakdowns.(this was #1 or '10..hopefully won't hit the 4 or 5 number I hit last year)

As I was driving through the city today after a 20minute trip to Home Depot my truck died as I stopped at a red light. It has stalled out before and usually starts by turning the key over but this time the starter just cranked but it wouldn't startup up. I hopped out(with hazards on..as a full city bus waited behind me along with the rest of traffic) and shot in some starter fluid to the carb and it had no effect, just more cranking and no starting. The radiator lines weren't especially hot and it wasn't overheating as far as I could tell, the lights and everything worked and it did crank so I knew the battery wasn't dead(though it is low nowfrom all the attempts at cranking).

Finally I corralled some people walking by to help me push it into a parking spot and I left it there for the night to collect my thoughts and head over with a gameplan. I plan to charge the battery first thing, following that what should I do? What should I check? I'm guessing ignition maybe ?

Gas gauge showed a quarter tank..going to put a gallon in just in case, it didn't chug or do any of that running out of gas stuff though and I would think the starter fluid would have at least gotten it to start for a second.

It's a '67 C10 with the gmc 305 v6, turbo 400 transmission. Any help is most appreciated, just put this truck back on the road and it's my daily driver.

[72Levi]

Spark? Do you have points or HEI? Fuel filter? Carb problems? Flooding out, needle and seat?

[dccarpenter]

I have points not HEI(though this is my first car with a carb that uses points so I'm not sure how to change/check them).

I brokedown about 1 block from Autozone so I'll grab another fuel filter while I'm there and change that(I'm guessing it's right on the front of the carb).

And I was having carb problems trying to get it started on the way to Home Depot, it started great first thing in the morning and turned over the 2nd time but when we left for the store I had to use starter fluid. It did startup right away on the way back but we weren't int the store long at all. I'm a novice on carbs so I'm not too familiar with how to diagnose a problem with it.

[cdowns]

sounds like a factory service manual might be a good investment

[chipflyer]

You need to determine if its a fuel or spark issue. If it won't fire with starting fluid down the carb its more than likely not a fuel problem. Check to see if you have fire. Take along an extra sparkplug hook it to one of your plug wires, ground it and see if you have spark while someone else cranks it.
Good luck,

Jeff

[dccarpenter]

I do have a manual in fact...just was hoping someone had had a similar stall/no start experience to echo their experience as I'll be working on the sidewalk w/ limited time due to parking regulations. I suppose I'll pull a spark plug and check for spark and take it from there.

[special-K]

Check for fuel by disconnecting the line before the carb.Crank it over and gas should gush out.If not,remove line going into the fuel pump from tank.Still no fuel?It`s not coming out of the tank (clogged strainer) or that part of the line is clogged.
If fuel is good check for spark.Remove wire from a plug and hold with a small gap away from the block.If spark is orange the coil is weak.If no spark remove coil wire from center of distributor cap and check or spark the same way.I no spark the coil or a connection to the coil is bad.Or,points are shut.Remove cap and rotor.turn engine until one of the four high spots on the shaft stops at the pad on the points that rides there.This is when the gap should be open at about .017.If not opening loosen screw holding points in.Gap and tighten screw.If no feeler gauges use something about as thick as Aluminum siding.Siding is .019 for woodgrain and .024 for smooth,so they should pinch on the siding a bit.(if that`s what you use).The condensor could be bad and caused the points to burn.The contacts will look nasty.I`d say it`s time for a tune-up:points,rotor,cap,rotor,at least.

[chevroletman223]

I would bet on it that you've got a bad coil.

[dccarpenter]

I was leaning towards coil myself, would a coil contribute to hard starts? I've noticed I've been having them some recently in this truck

[OhOneWS6]

I'm betting bad points. If it was a fuel issue it would have started with the starting fluid. You need to do a complete tune up. I'd consider changing it over to an electronic distributor of some sort. HEI, Pertronix, MSD

[chevroletman223]

yes if your coil has been slowly going bad it could be giving you some hard starts, untill now when it finaly went completely. Ive had that happen to me before with my nova, i made the mistake of not mounting the coil on the firewall... because i have an aluminum intake (which transfers alot more heat) it got the coil too hot and ruined it and shut me right down on a 90 degree day out on the highway. If it was me, id change the coil before anything else. Thier cheap, or you could borrow one from something else quick to try it. Good Luck!

[dccarpenter]

The one good thing about where it died is that it is 1 block from autozone, hopefully they have a coil, points, and distributor cap and I can just replace the whole mess since the truck's existing stuff is all old as dirt.

[OhioDan]

When I was in high school, (yea, we road in covered wagons back then) if you didn't have a feeler gauge set with you, and wanted to check point gap. Use a match book cover. Single thickness was for points, and double thickness was for plugs. Worked good enough to get you out of a pinch. Just my $.02 .

[unclewatts]

Throw away that old distributor and coil and get an HEI. You won't regret it.

[No3Fan4Ever]

While you are at AZ buy a $10 remote starter switch... you won't be sorry you did

[Sinister]

Originally Posted by unclewatts

Throw away that old distributor and coil and get an HEI. You won't regret it.

Originally Posted by No3Fan4Ever

While you are at AZ buy a $10 remote starter switch... you won't be sorry you did

X2. Points should go the way of dinosaurs. A remote starter switch is very helpful for finding TDC when you install your new HEI.

[OhOneWS6]

Originally Posted by OhioDan

When I was in high school, (yea, we road in covered wagons back then) if you didn't have a feeler gauge set with you, and wanted to check point gap. Use a match book cover. Single thickness was for points, and double thickness was for plugs. Worked good enough to get you out of a pinch. Just my $.02 .

LOL. We did the same thing.

OP, while the matchbook trick will work in a pinch, you really need a dwell meter to adjust the point gap correctly. Keep in mind that for each degree the dwell changes, timing will also change that number of degrees.

Get a book or do a google search. While a point ignition is a simple system, the line between running well and not running at all is fairly thin.

[special-K]

x2 on the remote starter switch.

Originally Posted by unclewatts

Throw away that old distributor and coil and get an HEI. You won't regret it.

HEI coils go bad,too.With electronic you get no warning.It works one day then doesn`t.I`ve had HEIs strand me and never points.This truck was giving warnings for a long time before it died.

[VetteVet]

this will be helpful.
http://abbysenior.com/mechanics/ignition.htm

[dccarpenter]

I checked for spark today and looks like the coil is the culprit(though the points did look a bit worse for wear). I went to autozone to buy both and they didn't have either, my engine is the gmc 305 v6, anyone know of a equivalent coil from another model I could use as none of the local parts places had anything specifically marked for the 305?

[chevroletman223]

any coil for a points ignition system will work, theyre all pretty much universal, just get one for an old small block, im sure theyll have that.

[oldblue72c10]

have your girlfriend turn it over while you check each sparkplug with your finger lol

[57larry]

it's spark or fuel, easy testing for both

[Hottrucks]

Originally Posted by OhioDan

When I was in high school, (yea, we road in covered wagons back then) if you didn't have a feeler gauge set with you, and wanted to check point gap. Use a match book cover. Single thickness was for points, and double thickness was for plugs. Worked good enough to get you out of a pinch. Just my $.02 .

LMAO ..I was just thinking the same thing..measure a match book...there 17 thou.....

[dccarpenter]

Replaced the ignition coil today(it was at least the 3rd one in the truck as their was a Delco reman'd one in there currently), it fired right up afterwards. Looks like the choke linkage has worked loose and that will be the next project. Thanks for everyones help and suggestions.