Failed first attempt at starting the binder after 20 years of sitting.

So the first attempt to start the old International has ended in failure.  I started out the day with high hopes of getting it running and having a video to prove it. I began by removing the hood so I would have good access to both sides of the engine.

 The 2nd thing I did was kill and remove the hornets and nest from under the front grill so I would not get stung like I did a couple days ago. I used hornet spray throughout the day to get rid of the stragglers trying to get back to their home.

 I pulled out all the plugs and checked out how they were burning. They looked like they have been in there for awhile but they weren't horrible. I cleaned them up really good and installed them. I will buy new ones and put them in after my first start up. I squirted oil in each cylinder as a precaution so I know it will blow some smoke out when it fires up. I will let these old plugs burn that oil out and then install some new ones.

 I spun the engine over a few times to by hand to get the cylinders lubed up and ready to go. I decided at this point to remove the valve cover and peek into the valve train. I was curious and wanted to get some oil on the rockers. I also figured I could make sure there wasn't a stuck valve at the same time.

I was amazed how clean the head is. There is no sludge buildup at all and all the valves worked properly. I also took the time to clean up the valve cover.

 This is quite a row of rockers. I also pulled off the fuel lines going into and coming out of the fuel pump. I turned the engine over and pumped all the old nasty fuel out of the pump and blew out the lines.

 Here I put some oil on all the cylinders.

 I was getting close now. I got the valve cover back on, the plugs installed, and a new fuel filter and fuel lines installed. Here is where I ran into some trouble. I put the battery in and checked the starter. The starter button did not work so I jumped the 2 wires and it started cranking, and cranking, and cranking. It wouldn't stop cranking until I removed the battery cable off the battery. I checked some more wires but it did the same thing. I figured I would remove the switch completely and use the remote starter switch I bought. It did the same thing. I am hoping it is just a wiring issue and not a bad solenoid. I love the way the valve cover looks. I think I will leave it like this and just clear coat it so it doesn't rust anymore.

 I also ran into 2 more problems along the way. I have no spark coming from my coil. I have voltage to my coil but nothing coming out of it. Maybe I have a bad coil. The other issue I have is that I have fuel leaking pretty good out of my carburetor. I figure that the float is stuck. That is a bad thing when I have to remove the battery cable to get the truck to stop cranking. The carburetor sits above the battery so when fuel is spilling onto it I get nervous when it sparks when I remove the cable. At this point I decided to pull the plug for now and get some things fixed. I am going to rebuild the carburetor so it will not leak. The kit is cheap. I am positive this engine will run so I will be doing this anyways. I also decided to get a new coil, plug wires, cap, rotor,  points, and condenser. I am not going to be chasing spark problems with old parts that I don't trust. I was busy the rest of the day with the family so this is where it sits as of now. I did remove the carb and found the numbers for the rebuild kit. I will get that coming in the mail and the rest of the parts are coming from Napa. Here is the old carb. It is in pretty rough shape.

  Hopefully this week I can get some things worked out so I can get it fired up next weekend. I think the service manual will be here soon and that will give me some insight in the starter problem. I think it has wiring diagrams in it which should help out. I am a little bummed that I didn't get it running but I am not defeated yet. In fact I am more excited because I know it will run. I just need to work out some little bugs. So until next post, Keep on truckin!