318 questions

My van had a 318 installed in it, I don't know much about it, the previous owner installed a electronic distributer and there a lot of wires that don't correspond with the manual. Does any know where i can find information about this engine where it came out of ? there are a couple of parts on the engine that i have no idea what the are.[img][/img]

#1 is attached below the engine

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#2 is attached to the side of the engine

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#3 is attached behind the coolant reservoir but is not attached to anything.

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#4 Not sure if this is a sensor [img][/img]


General picture of everything

The oil gauge and temp have never worked and i'm not sure if that's a compatibility issue with 318. any advice would help greatly

photo # 1 is a electronic voltage regulator it should be in the dog house or under the dash. photo # 2 is the starter relay. it should be in the dog house. photo # 3 is the same as photo # 1 photo # 4 is a vacume to the carb. on a newer engine. the last photo. the wiring job is amateur at best. . you need to go on e-bay and buy a service book for your year van, about $30.00 but it will not address the electronic conversion. give us some time to find the info you need.. or when Donnievan chimes in he is top notch. . i'm sure he will be in on this one.. all and all this can be cleaned up. BUT were else did the previous owner wire..

I have the service manual with the electronic diagram and I can get as far as the engine in how everything comes together. The rest of the car is ok a couple of dome light issues but thats fine.

let us know if you need help.

Dix is right... the starter relay and ballast are supposed to be mounted to the rear dog house panel. I'll take a pic for you tomorrow.

Here is where they are supposed to be mounted, the left lower side of the rear dog house panel.

#4 is an egr valve.

the egr valve was not used in the a100 engines. i'm thinking it could be left alone.

that's a good point donievan you are 100 percent correct. and I was wrong. I knew you would would chime in.......

Holy Franken Wiring Batman.

I have a '65 w/273v8 but the below should apply yours as well (but verify).

The oil and temp gauges not working may be that they don't have power. Pull the instrument cluster out of the dash a little (after disconnecting the battery) and see if there is a jumper wire from the fuel gauge to the oil/temp. IIRC the dash voltage limiter is inside the fuel gauge, it steps 12v down to about 5v and powers all the gauges in the cluster.

On my van the starter relay and ballast resistor are on the dog house rear panel. There should be an oil pressure sending unit screwed into your block just beside the distributor (where your relay now sits).

Here's a picture of mine showing all three pieces, my oil unit is right by the coil with a wire for the dummy light and a hard line for the mechanical gauge:




here's the wiring diagram for a 65 with a 273 v8:





you can get the bigger version if you need it from the "picture gallery" link in my forum signature.

Oh man this is great, thanks everyone. I'll keep you posted on how it turns out.