Well, I thought I might be making progress. All I thought I had left to have a running slant 6 was to install the new wiring harness and replace the accelerator pump. Well, I got a nice new harness and installed it. I tried to start the car since it hadn't been run in 3 weeks. The best it will do is at full throttle slowly chug along. It was running fine before but just hard starting. I cannot figure why changing the harness would do anything. I rechecked every electrical component and the wiring. I get correct measurements and plenty of spark and it is still in time. It will not run unless at full throttle and it probably is running at about 50 rpm. I have worked on dozens of cars but never seen the likes of a slant 6. It is about one step away from the junk yard and the designer of the thing needs to be sent to Iraq. Before that however, you all have been extremely helpful. Any suggestions. I am thinking it is the carb somehow. Is it possible wiring would cause it? Perhaps if one is not correct. I retraced it and it seems correct except initially I think I might have had the wires switched on the ballast. Could that have fried anything? Also, the field wires on the Alternator, does it matter which one goes where? HELP!!!!!!!! I have had this car for over 3 years and it has yet to be on the road.

Keep a cool head.... it's just a machine, no "black magic" with these.

Is this points or electronic ignition? If electronic, my first thought is with the mag. pick-up polarity being "crossed", that will make the engine run super crappy. You may want to swap around the gray and tan distributor wires to see if that helps. (use some jumper wires to test this idea)

When in doubt, go back to the basics and re-check everything.
Compression, fuel, spark and timing of the spark.
That is all any engine needs to run.
DD

It is electronic ignition. You know, I didn't check those wires. I assumed that since the plug could only go on one way that it would be right. I'll give that a try. It is just frustrating having worked on so many cars and this blasted thing defies all logic and mechanical engineering. I'll still keep the USAF number handy...the slant 6 might make a good bunker buster bomb. Thanks.

Mike

You were right. I used jumpers to reverse the wirers to the distributor and it started. It is terribly out of time again which is weird but I will retime it after I get a more permanent splice in the wires. I hate to cut the brand new harness but I hate to send it back and wait again. Thank you again. In the mean time I had also swapped out the accelerator pump and it seems more responsive but will know more when retimed. Can I switch the wires inside the distributor? I haven't peeked in there either.

Mike

Go to a wrecking yard and cut off the plug from a distributor, and the other end attached to the car harness. With these two connecters, you can make yourself a little extension, and cross the wires within the extension. Plug one end of the extension into your harness, the other end into your distributor and presto chango your ready to go and your original harness stays untouched