Riddle_of_Steel
Member
Hi, all. Newcomer to the forum. I have had a 1964 Polara for about a month and a half now. My goal is to DIY as much as I can, but I am brand new to working on cars, especially old Mopars. I have been watching videos, reading, researching, but man, is it overwhelming. Anyway, as far as the major stuff goes, it has a 400cui B Series engine, an MSD ignition system, an Edelbrock/Weber carb, and a Holley Street Dominator intake manifold. I have not taken it to be inspected and I have fired her up about once a week to drive around the block for a few minutes. It fired up relatively quick every time, with a bit of sputtering here and there, but only for a few seconds. It does have a manual choke, so I did have to play with the position a few times. About two weeks ago I went to turn it on and nothing. No crank, no clicking, no whirring, nothing. Well, there is a whirring sound when I turn the ignition to "on", but that was always there. According to the previous owner, that is the fuel pump.
So here is what I have done. I went out and bought a multimeter, battery tester, battery charger, and battery jumper. I tested the battery and the voltage was about 12.4, so the battery seems good. The battery tester did show it was at about 75%, so I charged it to full capacity. I removed the terminals from the posts and cleaned and reattached. I checked the wires going to the alternator and the wires from the battery. I don't think it's the battery or the alternator, because when I try to crank there is no dimming of the lights or the interior. I even attached the battery jumper, but it still wouldn't crank. No sound, no nothing. So I am guessing it may be the starter or a relay or some other electrical issue along the ignition system. Below is a photo of the engine bay. You can see the MSD 6A control box and coil on the left. The distributor is an MSD Pro-Billet. On the right you can see the fuse box (was it originally on the firewall?), some relays and other stuff.
Here is another angle.
In the image below, is this the pre-1970 analog voltage regulator?
Here's a closer look at the MSD system. Not sure what the fuses here are for and if any of the missing ones are necessary.
And here is a closer look at the right side. I am assuming one of those fuses is for the alternator. The purple arrow on the bottom left is pointing to an orange wire that says "ignition fd" that is not attached to anything, but it has always been like that. What is that square/rectangular thing that says "W07" in the purple circle? Is that some sort of starter solenoid? And the thing right below it that has a plug in it, what is that? Could the issue be the relay in between the flasher?
Anyway, I know it could be any number of other things as well. I have read some of the other posts regarding this issue and there is even one specific to a 1964 Polara, but I wanted to show specifically what I am working with. Anyhow, sorry for the long post and I appreciate any comments and recommendations.
So here is what I have done. I went out and bought a multimeter, battery tester, battery charger, and battery jumper. I tested the battery and the voltage was about 12.4, so the battery seems good. The battery tester did show it was at about 75%, so I charged it to full capacity. I removed the terminals from the posts and cleaned and reattached. I checked the wires going to the alternator and the wires from the battery. I don't think it's the battery or the alternator, because when I try to crank there is no dimming of the lights or the interior. I even attached the battery jumper, but it still wouldn't crank. No sound, no nothing. So I am guessing it may be the starter or a relay or some other electrical issue along the ignition system. Below is a photo of the engine bay. You can see the MSD 6A control box and coil on the left. The distributor is an MSD Pro-Billet. On the right you can see the fuse box (was it originally on the firewall?), some relays and other stuff.
Here is another angle.
In the image below, is this the pre-1970 analog voltage regulator?
Here's a closer look at the MSD system. Not sure what the fuses here are for and if any of the missing ones are necessary.
And here is a closer look at the right side. I am assuming one of those fuses is for the alternator. The purple arrow on the bottom left is pointing to an orange wire that says "ignition fd" that is not attached to anything, but it has always been like that. What is that square/rectangular thing that says "W07" in the purple circle? Is that some sort of starter solenoid? And the thing right below it that has a plug in it, what is that? Could the issue be the relay in between the flasher?
Anyway, I know it could be any number of other things as well. I have read some of the other posts regarding this issue and there is even one specific to a 1964 Polara, but I wanted to show specifically what I am working with. Anyhow, sorry for the long post and I appreciate any comments and recommendations.
