I hoped it would hold out until the weekend...

[aircap]

Hey, all:

I bought my first Benz ('68 gasoline-powered 220) about six weeks ago. It had been sitting a while, and neglected for a while longer...but I understood that and accepted that a lot of TLC and maintenance would be required.

Unfortunately, it's freezing freaking cold out, and has been ever since I bought the dad-blamed car. I've managed to fix a bunch of little stuff, but until this week, hadn't gotten around to checking out the ignition system, which is weak (but has been sufficient so that I could drive the car every day).

Over this past weekend I pulled the spark plugs out (they were the ill-advised Bosch Platinums!) and they were all white. I popped a new set in -- warmer-range NGKs -- and the car instantly seemed to start and idle better. It was getting dark (and colder), but I took a minute to look under the distributor cap, just to see what was going on in there.

The cap is carbon-tracked to beat the band, the rotor is crusty, and the points have almost vaporized with age and use. I put in an order for points, rotor, condensor, dist. cap and a wireset, all of which were ready for me to pick up this morning at my FLAPS.

But when I got up this morning, the points had apparently crossed that invisible line from "just barely functional" to "dead on arrival" somewhere in the night. I cranked and cranked, tried some starting fluid, every choke position...but there's just no spark.

I was hoping that the points would hold out and get me through to the weekend (and hoping additionally to find a warmish garage to borrow this weekend, too). But no dice. Now I'll have to do the repair in the cold, outdoors, in my driveway, as the sun goes down after work today. And that's if I can find someone to give me a hand bumping the starter over while I adjust the points.

Pray for me. I don't know if I've got a big enough jar of curse words to do this job appropriately.

[TX76513]

Go to the Laid Back, have a few drinks and have rotten Rodney bump your starter for you.

[aircap]

Wow...the Laid Back Club. "Old time prices, not Old Town." I have been in there a couple times over the years...used to work at Tanglewood Signs down Washington a few blocks from there.

I'm sure I'll get it figured out...I'm just frustrated and wanted to vent a little in the company of people who understand my pain.

[Mike D]

if you run out of curse words drop me a note. I think I've got a box of them laying around. Most of them are from my landscaping days ( you ain't never lived brother until you have messed with the local cacti here in Arizona!) and are pretty strong for general automotive work but if you mix them with a lot of beer they'll soften up some.

[TX76513]

Originally Posted by aircap

Wow...the Laid Back Club. "Old time prices, not Old Town." I have been in there a couple times over the years...used to work at Tanglewood Signs down Washington a few blocks from there.

I'm sure I'll get it figured out...I'm just frustrated and wanted to vent a little in the company of people who understand my pain.

I went back there in November after having left Wichita (do da) Fifteen years ago - He still remembered me Oddly very little has (dramatically) changed in Wichita. I motored around like it was yesterday.

[aircap]

Hey, TX...Wichita has changed radically on the fringes and in the very center (Old Town and surrounding urban renewal), but mostly you're right.

Next time you're out here go drive out in the country. You'll discover there's a lot more Wichita and a lot less country in the county than there used to be. The town's about 150% the physical size it was when I moved here in '88. All wild, unkempt sprawl onto the prairie. Gaps and Eddie Bauers and TGIFridays as far as the eye can see. Blecch.

[TX76513]

Yeah - I see Park City got a Cracker Barrell -lol

[aircap]

A Cracker Barrel and a serial killer. (BTK lived right off 61st North, just east of the highway.)

And soon, a theme park called Wild West World.

[TX76513]

I knew Dennis when we lived in Twin Lakes. A guy that worked for me was from PC and Dennis would give his elderly Mom a hard time about her grass.
When the TV broadcast came out about his capture all I could say was Yup, that glove fits (no OJ pun intended)

[wbain5280]

Put your distributor cap in the dishwasher. That'll clean it.

[meltedpanda]

You can always turn the crank with a proper socket on the flywheel bolt turn it to you get your high point on the cam. I found this way the best, I use a swivel attachement and I can fanagle a socket in there and then can turn it, by the sound of the shape of your components, perhaps a new set of plug wires are in order as well. And most importantly setting the gap with a feelre gauge is a start, I found that you must you a dwell meter to really get it accurate, made a world of difference on mine. Good luck, and make sure you have a few barley pops at the ready , just in case..

[aircap]

Hey, Panda...got it running, but I DO need to re-gap the points properly. I have a buddy with a dwell/tach, but he's out of town. Hope to hook up with him next week and dial it in better.

[300SDog]

Another ignition system wild card can be spark plug noise suppressors. Those huge plug hats can wear out internally and cause weak spark. Good news is they're replacable/interchangable with suppressors used all the way up to w123's.