Engine is still not firing.

It was a couple of months ago when we brought the 1969 Charger home from the mechanic. He worked on brakes and some other stuff. It was running great. After about 15 miles it was running terribly. Sputtering, backfiring, no power. As you guys suggested I changed the points and condenser. I changed the coil too. A mobile mechanic came over and checked it out. I've got spark down to the plug wires I've got gas and starting fluid in the carb.

Not one fire when it's turned over. One weird thing happened while we were limping it home. It was running terrible then for 2 blocks it ran good, then terrible the rest of the way.

We're going to pull some plugs and that looks hard on a big block but if they are okay then what?

When you changed points and condenser did you remove the distributor? Maybe you put it back in 180 degrees backwards.

What amount of gap did you set the points?

Water in the gas, maybe?

Water in gas or trash in the carb.

I like what the last 2 guys mentioned. If your fuel level is low, standing unused for extended period of time, depending on conditions, you could have alot of condensation inside the tank diluting the fuel.

If you suspect the fuel lines and such, I have used a cheap electric pump and a small gas can to bypass the factory fuel system to the carb.
If the carb is full of trash, it will need to be rebuilt. If it is full of trash because the tank and/or lines are rusty or have junk in them, then they likely will need replaced.
Not sure if it still has the original 53 year old fuel system?

I would tend to agree with water in the gas but if he has a good spark and he's using starting fluid and not getting a single firing of a cylinder seems the timing is way off. Could be water in the gas as the initial problem though.

SteveSS said:

Not one fire when it's turned over. One weird thing happened while we were limping it home. It was running terrible then for 2 blocks it ran good, then terrible the rest of the way.

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Sounds somewhat similar to the way my Road Runner started acting when the Ammeter insulators started to give out. I bypassed it and problem solved. Does your car have one?

Another possibility might be a bad or loose connection in the bulkhead connector.

The fact it ran good again for short period then began its symptoms again leads more away from electrical. (Typically, and using that word loosely) Drops in vacuum? Maybe an intake gasket failing? That could seem intermittent at first. Sealing up under conditions. Then quickly develop to chronic?

I say: Ignition

Exact symptoms you describe is what was going on and off with my GTX, for me it was the beginning and intermittent failing of the ECU. After a 2 week span of this, and working to diagnose,
pulled the ECU and replaced with new one.
No issues since last June

ECU? It's still a points system is there some ECU I'm not aware of?

SteveSS said:

ECU? It's still a points system is there some ECU I'm not aware of?

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Some of the early electronic ignition systems could be operated (switched or triggered) with either points or a reluctor type of distributor. If triggered by a points distributor, the points would handle very low current without arcing and last a very long time.
BOB RENTON

Was the distributor removed or ignition timing changed when changing the points?
If it was removed, and put back, it might be 180 degrees out or the timing is way off?

Ignition wise, it could be:
1) power to ignition coil. Jumper wire from coil positive to battery positive to test. Will need to remove jumper to kill engine if it starts. Only have it attached when cranking / trying to start the car. Don't want to leave attached as it could overheat the ignition coil if the points are closed.
If the engine fires up, need to trouble shoot wiring from coil to ignition switch.
2) On the coil negative side, only have it connected to the points. If there is wires for tachometer an/or noise suppression capacitor remove them.
The condenser inside the distributor should be left in place. Check point gap. If gap is too small the coil won't have a strong spark. If no gap or too much gap, coil will have no spark.
3) Check that rotor and cap are in good condition.
4) Check for spark at the end of the plug wires, not the ignition coil. Had a friends car where we went through the same thing (Points, cap, rotor, coil), and the spark at the end of the plug wires was weak. New set of plug wires and it ran great.
5) pull #1 plug, spin engine until compression pressure is felt (finger on spark plug hole.) set damper timing to about 10 degrees before TDC.
Make sure rotor is pointing to the #1 plug wire on the cap. Rotate distributor to where the points just start to open. This should set the timing close for starting.
6) make sure spark plugs are not fowled or damaged.

If you have fuel or using starting fluid, and have a good spark at the spark plug, that leaves Ignition timing and compression (valve timing) to check.
I never had a Mopar skip cam timing, but when a 350 Chevy does, it will sound like it had no compression when cranking the engine.
If you get to the point of questioning the valve timing / valve train you likely will have to pull the valve covers and start checking for broken rocker arms, broken valve springs, or bent pushrods. Usually not a problem on a stock engine. If the exhaust valve stems are higher than the intakes, the exhaust valves may have worn out the valve seats. A leak down test, or just compressed air in the cylinder at TDC compression, if the air is coming out the exhaust, the heads will need new valve seats and/or valves.

Maybe the timing is not steady? Something loose what causes it to advance/retard that far it won't run.
I would check timing first, is there a way to measure it (contact) or so, only visual observation of the rotor is not much to go with i think.
Since it was so intermittend it does not seem to be that something completely failed, as already mentioned a dying ecu (if any) could cause something like that.

Steve, did you get the car running?