need help identifying this Correct Craft

Rick,
Get some volt readings at the battery (on the posts - not the cable terminals) and then all the way through to the starter during cranking.

Here is a diagram for you - pulled from another site, but it looks to be comprehensive.   Also to note, the distributor is shown in a schematic location, your dist. looks like it is in the back of the motor by the flywheel...   This Schematic diagram looks as if the dist is in the front of the engine... cylinder location is the same, compared to the flywheel, the diagram is just a bit confusing.

rilee29 wrote: I am starting my firing order with #1 on the cap in the middle pointing at the carb. Clockwise, 12756348. ...anyone see something I'm not?

Firing order is reversed.

Need to verify which terminal on the cap is truly #1. It could be any of them. Get to compression stroke of #1 cylinder and see which terminal the rotor is at. That's #1. and CW from there. 18436572

Thanks again Ken...

He needs the reverse rotation firing order which is how he says it's hooked up now.

That would be 1 2 7 5 6 3 4 8.

And rilee that LM designation just means it's a Chrysler marine engine and tells you nothing about direction of rotation although it certainly seems that you have a RR engine based on your rotation observations.

Like Eddie and DesertSkier I have the feeling you haven't correctly found TDC for #1 cylinder and then oriented the distributor wires so that the terminal the rotor is pointing at is by default the terminal for #1 spark plug wire, then go clockwise from there with the Reverse rotation firing order..

Just a feelin

KenO

Sounds to me like a good inspection of the distributor wire from the coil negative terminal where it enters the distributor and replacement of at least the points and condenser would maybe solve your problem.

And making sure you have a distributor body ground to the engine

So maybe my ignorance is showing out a bit here, but I have never heard of having a distributor body light up a test light before.    How can that be possible?     Seems to me that the light would flash on momentarily if the spark was jumping to ground if there was a problem with the internals of the distributor, but that would also suggest that touching the distributor during cranking would give you one nasty surprise.   If the light lights when standing still (which is what it sounds like to me from your description above), I might be tempted to think your battery positive and negative are reversed...   If the positive was going straight to the engine block, it seems like you would get this result.   Since this is an old boat without electronic parts, You might be able to do a positive "ground" without having to send parts back to the factory to have the smoke reinstalled .    Seems like this would make the starter spin backwards too and without having much power.   If I am totally off base, I would love to be educated.

8122pbrainard wrote: Dreaming wrote: So maybe my ignorance is showing out a bit here, but I have never heard of having a distributor body light up a test light before.    How can that be possible?    Kris, It's got me confused as well. It's got to be the way Rick described it??

i could say something like "this should be intuitively obvious to the most casual observer" but I'd be lyin".

It wasn't much of a description of how he did this, but it's coming from the battery one way or another.

I guess he'll probably have a better description coming along soon though.

I'm still struggling to understand a bit of it myself. The points and condenser are new. They were installed by the previous owner who owned Taylor Marine in Salt Lake. Obviously the smart ones had trouble too. I bought a new coil and ballast last night and that's when I noticed the magic leaking. Test light lighting was an accidental find but in any case, everything got shut down. I know power to the casing should not happen so I am looking for a electronic conversion plate for the distributor. I hate hunting down 50 year old problems. Off to the parts house again......btw...I have a wiring schematic so wiring has all been checked by me and another person for correctness. I'll post later when I find parts.

Test light was resting about an inch from the distributor wire on the case when I turned the key to the run position. Within seconds I started to see smoke at the ballast too so I shut down and disconnected the distributor wire. Everything was OK then. I assumed the wire was shorting internally in the distributor. I have a dvom. You guys are awesome to even take the time to brainstorm with me! Thanks a ton!

Well sooner or later somebody will ask if it's a marine distributor so it might as well be sooner like right now.

Is it a marine distributor?

Donald80SN wrote: If you do have a Reverse Rotation Motor, the gear on the distributor will have to be different for the Reverse Rotation. Maybe you are planning on this. .

Yup, it's a RR:

rilee29 wrote: So the starter spins the motor ccw.looking at it from the front. .

A 318 Chrysler doesn't have a gear on the distributor, the gear stays in the engine and there is a slot on the top. The end of the distributor shaft has a short male stub on it that fits in the female slot. Kinda like..........well never mind. Bound to get some comments on that description.

KenO

How do i get pictures on here from my phone? Cut and paste option doesn't seem to exist?

KENO wrote: 8122pbrainard wrote: Ken, Just so you don't have to further describe male shafts fitting into female slots, here's the picture: Thanks Pete You could have at least shown a marine distributor though

No problem Ken.
I did try to find a picture of a marine but none I could find showed the shaft end. For those who may not know the difference, the one shown is an automotive since it has a vacuum advance. It's the round diaphragm chamber on the side. Marine units are mechanical advance.

KENO wrote: A 318 Chrysler doesn't have a gear on the distributor, the gear stays in the engine and there is a slot on the top. KenO

Wow, I did not know that. Very cool.

Donald