66 Mustang Wont Start

James Murphy

New Member
Jan 2, 2016
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Hi all... Totally new here and I'm totally stumped.

I have a 66 mustang with a 289. It was running great and then about a week ago I went to drive it and it started missing really hard under load when I would step on the gas.

The next day it wouldn't start at all. I check the fuel - no water.. It's fine. I then checked my timing... Nothing had changed...still good. I checked my dwell... Still good. Checked for spark at the plugs and its there but I put a new coil on anyway(I replaced the entire egnition system about two months ago- wires, plugs, cap, rotor, condenser, etc). Then I thought maybe it was the carb(2 bar). So I yanked it and rebuilt it. Still nothing. After all that I decided to pull the cover and look at the timing chain... It appeared to have jumped a tooth because the dots were off by one tooth(and everything seemed stock so I am assumed no one had degreed the cam). So I replaced the chain and sprockets.

Still won't fire.... It sounds like it wants to but won't. I am out of ideas and very frustrated. Hoping I am missing something simple. Any help would be really appreciated. Thanks.
 
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How is the battery? Cables and ground connections are all good? What did your old spark plugs look like and how do these look now? Were they the same plugs, or did you change brands/styles/heat ranges? Are you getting fuel to the carb (bad pump, clogged filter....)? These are the order in which I would look at things. If I were a betting man, I would bet on a bad ground somewhere or a fuel system "clog". A bad or loose ground can really cause headaches when it comes to things like this....
 
Checked battery, it's good. Changed the plugs with same style(per autozone and the book). Fuel filter is good and lots of fuel to the carb.

I did actually get it running today... But really rough. It idles horribly. When I first got it started it ran better than it ever has for about 30 seconds... Then without me moving my foot on the gas pedal at all it sputtered out again. I can get it to run now... But really badly. I can see the fuel in the carb(both from the accelerator pump and in the barrels when I give it a lot of gas). It's definitely getting fuel but still runs horrible. I started messing with the timing but still not making a difference.

Where should I be looking for this ground wire? Could that be the issue causing the plugs to fire inconsistently? Thanks again for the advise.
 
Is this a point dist. ? check to see if the condenser wire grounding out to the points ,it may be touching the point plate. The condenser may be bad ,try another one .
Did you use the correct length pin in the cam gear .There is a short pin and a long pin If you got the short pin it may have slid into the cam to far to catch the cam gear and the gear may have spun . check the top dead center and see if the number one valves are closed ,the rockers should be all the way up and the number one piston should be all the way to the top . Another slim possibility is the dist drive gear may have spun .
 
Ok... New update....

It was a point distributor, but I decided to pick up the Pentronx electric ignition upgrade with the new coil that goes with it... The one that fits into the existing distributor housing.... Put it in and she fired right up! Let it warm up for about 20 minutes.... Checked the timing to make sure it was good... And went for a drive. She was running amazing and then she suddenly died... Not like sputtered out... Like died all at once like I lost all spark. I checked everything... All connections are solid. Any ideas?