1964 c2 ignition issue

[Jef S.]

Driving 64 300hp down interstate at 65mph 2 backfires then nothing. Flatbedded home. Any ideas? Getting gas to and through carburetor yes, spark from the coil into the distributor yes, not coming out of the distributor. Cranks fine suddenly just wont fire. Tests to run??

[Ed S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Remove the distributor cap, then crank the engine - better yet, put a socket and breaker bar on the fan pulley bolt in the center of the crankshaft - then rotate the engine - all you need is a few degrees of movement either way - is the distributor rotor rotating? If it is not you either have a broken distributor drive gear or a broken timing chain. Either way it could be ugly depending on how much additional rotation of internal components there was after the part failure.

[Ed S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Elaboration on my initial comment - the chain may not be fully broken - if it is stretched you may have jumped several teeth and now the entire system is out of timing - in this case the distributor rotor would rotate.

[Timothy B.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Jef,

Take a look at the rotor while cranking to see if it's turning. If so change out the condenser it could be going to ground.

[Dan H.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Also check the ground wire to the breaker plate, it will wear out and break eventually.

[Jef S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

The rotor is still turning when cranked. It felt to me when it happened that the timing was suddenly wrong.

[Jef S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

The rotor is still turning when cranked. It felt like the timing was suddenly wrong. Ill change the condenser. And ill check the ground also
thnaks
jef

[Jef S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

We had changed out the interior of the distributor to a centrifugal breakerless interior. If the timing chain had jumped wouldn't there still be sparks at the end of the plug wires?

[Michael W.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

If the timing chain had jumped wouldn't there still be sparks at the end of the plug wires?

Yes.

Possibly you have a defective rotor or distributor cap.

[Jef S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Ill change the cap and rotor tomorrow and try that. If that is indeed the issue that would be great. It was strange how it happened passing and 18 wheeler on I89 at 65 or 70 after driving all day I was actually thinking how good car was running. Then 2 backfires and nothing.

[Ed S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

If the timing chain jumped a few links or gears you the distributor would continue to generate a spark but not at the correct time for each respective cylinder. Another indicator of incorrect ignition timing - I mean really off - is explosions at the wrong time through the exhaust as well as explosions back through the intake manifold and up / out of the carburetor.

[Frank D.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

Check the cap and rotor before you panic. My rotor screws came loose one night, blew the side out of the distributor cap, and I limped home 25 miles in my '61 with this condition. I had similar symptoms (backfire, occasional miss but car never shutdown)...

I was going through the same dire scenarios described here when I noticed chunks of black plastic on the intake manifold; the ignition shielding hid the damage otherwise.

[Philip A.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

We had changed out the interior of the distributor to a centrifugal breakerless interior. If the timing chain had jumped wouldn't there still be sparks at the end of the plug wires?

The answer to your question is yes. I have had TWO of these breakerless conversions fail. The symptoms are consistent with your experience. The net result is no spark coming out of distributor. I have returned to points without issue.

[Mike E.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

The answer to your question is yes. I have had TWO of these breakerless conversions fail. The symptoms are consistent with your experience. The net result is no spark coming out of distributor. I have returned to points without issue.

IMO the old breaker points were not that unreliable, in my car when it's finally on the road I'll be sticking with them. In the day literally millions of cars used them with very few problems. The average driver doesn't put enough miles on a vintage Corvette to justify going to the breakerless conversion.

What I liked is you could put the points on the high part of the distributor cam then twist the rotor and look for a spark on the points. That's where I started when troubleshooting ignition problems. Not saying that's Jef's problem, with the breakerless I don't think you can do that.

Mike

[Jef S.]

Re: 1964 c2 ignition issue

that's kind of what I'm getting. Ill try changing the cap and rotor if that doesn't work I guess the next step is pulling the fan water pump and timing change cover right?