So ive been looking for a new daily driver for sometime now, i found a delta 88 that would be perfect dd. The catch is that i have to figure out why the car wont stay running and the owner will then fix it and give it to me. He wont let me work on it, not my car yet.

So to start we got it running about a month ago but it was choppy and wouldnt stay running. I told the owner to do a tune up. And to set the points to 20thou. The owners wife told me that would be a good idea since its been 30yrs since the last tune up. The owner will only use gm parts so it took a while to get the parts. He installed the points and new coil and cap. And now it foesnt even attempt to start when u turn the key nothing happens at all. I asked the owner if he set the points, he told me no. He said they come preset(ive never herd of that). I asked if he installed new wires and plugs. And he told me he only changes one part out at a time. (i thought it was weird but again its not my car) can anyone give me an idea of why the starter isnt engaging when u turn the key?

A bit of my background.... ive owned 70s and 80s cars before i know how to rebuild a carb and do a tune up with points and such, i went to school for auto mechanics and worked on an aircooled vw in school. The owner of the car is a I.T. guy and works on his own cars when he can.

My wishes..... the owner just let me have a day alond with the car, i bet it would be running and ready to be my new dd

 

Points do not come preset, they really need to be set with a dwell of 30 with a meter, with a feeler gauge to .016. When points are installed and set the timing needs to be set also from 8-14 degs BTDC@1100 RPM. Is the battery dead, could he have overheated the starter and/or solenoid?

 

you better find someone else to work on the car that can set the points correctly. the battery and charging sys needs to be checked if you have nothing....check for clean tight connections

 

Just buy the darned car - you already heard it run, so you know it does.

- Eric

 

The owner is my father in law. He wont let me buy it from him which is nice of him to do even tho i already offer to buy it. And he wants to get it running before he gives it to me. Its frusturating being a trained mechanic and i cant work on the car

 

I was going to see if he will let me work on the car on friday. And atleast try to figure out what he did or didnt do. Do i need to set the timing when i do new points? Or should i just check it and make sure its right?

 

The plot thickens...

- Eric

 

Dude it sucks!! I want that car soo bad. But when i told him he needs to set the points he tells me that gm oem points are pre set... which i know isnt true.

Then again he asks my opinon for his 63 pontiac when hes fixing it and then he'll ask a different mechanic the same question with me standing there and the other mechanic gives the same answer and he agrees with the other guy. It probaly has alot to do with the 4x4 i built and daily drive.(its not too pretty)

 

huh
Why are points adjustable if not to set them?
think about it

Sounds like you are confusing the starting system with the ignition though.

"And now it doesnt even attempt to start when u turn the key nothing happens at all. "

to me that says the STARTER is not TURNING THE ENGINE

if so you need to fix that first. Try putting it in P or N. Then the other.
if not, then please word things clearly so we can understand what is going on over the internet.

 

I apologize if it wasnt super clear. But yes i dont doubt the starter is bad. I was more asking about why it was running rough. Its hard for me to relay over the internet when the owner of the car wont let me diagnose anything or even work on the car. Thanks for everyones thoughts on this car. But unfortunately its looking like il never own that exact delta88.
The reason i asked u all about the ignition system is i thought the owner would listen to guys who build and take care if the cars. But i told him about how yal said the points dont come preset..... he didnt even hear me. Hes stuck in his ways and im not going to change him. So his delta will rot in his driveway for another 30yrs.
thanks again for all ur imput... il keep yal posted if anything changes.

 

you need to be a little more, ah, surreptitious.

get him to work on it with you.
develop a need for a store run
make sure you can't go
while he is gone, fix it

So, does the starter crank the engine or not?

Sorry, but a LOT of folks do not grasp the concept that the STARTING system is almost entirely separate from the ignition system &c. Unless the starter is spinning the engine, it won't start. If the starter IS spinning the engine, it may still fail to start if compression, spark, fuel, or timing are not correct.

 

No reason to be sorry. As stated in my first post i went to school for auto mechanics. I know how cars work and what systems do what.

As far as telling him to go to the oarts store to get such in such part he wont buy parts from just any parts store. If a part is needed he will look for said part on the internet til he finds an oem gm part for it then buy it. So its not a simole thing. For example i went to my parts store and bought the entire tune up for him in "stanard" parts when i brought it over he said those parts wont work in the car because they are not gm parts. Even tho he told me to get the parts for the tune up.

So all in all i waisted 2-3 hrs in driving time to buy the parts onky to return them again. My oarts store is not close to me.... im picky with what quality parts i will put on my cars.

 

Honestly, it sounds as though he may be a bit... insane.

Do personality disorders, schizophrenia or autism run in his family?

- Eric

 

Something to consider...if he's being this nit-picky just getting it running before he "gives" it to you, assuming that he actually intends to part with the car, can you imagine how critical he will be of anything you do to the car once it's yours?

You might want to consider what kind of relationship you have with him now and what might change if you get "control" of the car in the future.

 

This^^^^^^^^^^^will be a problem.

 

Yes ur right after talking with my wife more she agrees with yal. And i told her im going to tell him this weekend i dont want the car because we dont have the space.(we do have space for the car but not or the controlling side of it)

My wife told me today, after he gives any item to a person he knows he thinks now he can control that person and what they do with his item. So yeah im not taking the car cause i could never turn it into a sleeper. Or for that matter even own the car it will always be his.

For now i wont be owning a delta 88... maybe in The future just not his.

 

Thanks again for all ur imput

since he wont listen to me on trying to get his delta running anyways there is no point to continue trying to help him. Anything i tell him seems to be wrong, yet he asked my advise on what to do... it confuses the crap outta me. Why ask if u dont want to listen to a mechanic who knows what to do and what not to do.

 

I'd be blunt with him and tell him the truth. You don't want the car because you know in the future you would not see eye to eye on what your vision is vs his and don't want to stress your relationship with him over it. I can see an argument later when you buy a different project after giving your excuse to why you don't want his. Will his feelings get hurt, possibly but he'll get over it.

 

Sounds like a lost cause.

The only way that might have worked would be to buy the car or accept it as a gift and work on it elsewhere. "Must have GM NOS" and "pts need no adjustment" is bullshed, pure and simple.

All details like what parts went in and how would have to be kept from this person.

Oh well, lots of fish in the air, right?

 

Correct. Il be in the market for a cheap a$$ ride in the coming months. Im looking for free-1500. Should be able to find some nice wheels for that budget. Lol
again thanks for everyones help