Doug&Deb

Back then you were supposed to enter and exit your car curbside. That’s why the interior lights don’t come on when the drivers door opens. Makes sense from a safety standpoint.

That’s the one. Yes one timing cover bolt goes there. Don’t forget the small rubber pieces that go under that saddle. They usually come as o-rings with the oil pan gasket. You need to cut two pieces. You’ll see two grooves on the saddle.

The pump should pull without priming. If you can rebuild the pump I recommend that over replacing it. The new ones are not well made. It’s possible that the ethanol ruined the diaphragm. A good rebuild kit should have ethanol resistant parts and should last for a long time. 

It’s okay for some threads to be showing. The plug is tapered. Snug it down and you’ll be fine.

Turn the engine by hand with the plugs out and your finger on number one plug hole. Keep turning the engine until it pushes your finger off. Then check where the timing pointer is. Pull the distributor cap and see where the rotor is pointing. That will be number one cylinder. Place the rest of the wires 1 5 3 6 2 4. As for the rubbing block that’s the plastic piece on the points that contacts the hex shape under the rotor. Rotate the engine until the block is on the widest part of the hex not the flat. That’s where you adjust the points gap.

If you have any doubts at all about any brake components replace or rebuild them. You can’t put a price on safety. 

It keeps the idle from dropping too quickly when you come to a stop. Dodge intended the car to be driven in high gear without shifting. When you come to a stop you don’t need to disengage the clutch. The dash pot keeps the car from stalling. There is an adjustment on the stroke of the piston. The spec should be in the service manual. 

You may be better off rebuilding the ones you have than going aftermarket. 

The center hole is recommended for most conditions.

Marty send me your address. I found an extra solenoid in my unorganized parts stash. I’ll gladly put it in the mail tomorrow.

I recommend starting from scratch. Remove the plugs and wires. With the plugs out you can turn the engine by hand using the fan. Place a finger on the front spark plug hole until the compression pushes it off. At that point the timing mark should line up with the pointer. Remove the cap and the rotor should be at the 7 o’clock position. I normally remove the distributor at this point when replacing points. It’s much easier to work on and adjust the gap. Replace the distributor and plugs. The firing order is 1 5 3 6 2 4. Make sure all the wires are seated properly on both ends. This should get you running again. After the engine has fully warmed up check the timing with a timing light and fine tune the adjustment if needed. If you don’t have a service manual I highly recommend one. If not someone here will have the data you need. Good luck.

Originally there was a cork seal. I replaced mine with a rubber o-ring. Just measure the distributor shaft and the counterbore in the block and find the correct size o-ring.

If you want originality try YNZ harnesses in California. I’ve not used the entire harness but I did buy the trans harness. I have no complaints. The connectors are correct and the instructions were easy to follow. Rhode Island wiring is the other company that supplies. I’ve never heard anything bad about them either.