mopar777

hey guys i have a tough one.
last week i was firing up the 440. all we changed were heads and a cam.
last week it fired up and got it to run, but then we shut it off cuz the carb was dumping too much gas down the motor.
week passes. fix carb. now everythings back together and now the car sounds like it doesnt even want to run. granted the carb took a dump and kind of floods. but it did last week and it still ran.
all i did throughout the week was change the plugs and put the wires back on. check the wires 4 times against the book, and even brought it up to top dead center three times and wires we correct. but the car doesnt want to start now. the vacuum advance is out on the distributor. but nothign we do gets it to fire again. any ideas?

440roadrunner

The three things any engine needs to run is

SPARK. Good hot spark at the plugs at the right TIME

COMPRESSION. This means the rings have to be doing their job, and the valves cannot be out of time. So if the engine cam drive is worn, it may have "slipped" or someone installed it out of time, or the valves (solids) are too tight

FUEL. This means not too much, and NOT stale, so if there's any chance that the fuel in the tank has been sitting a few months or a year, prime it with some good fresh gas right down the carb throat. Use a squirt can/ bottle, don't use too much

DO YOU UNDERSTAND how to "static time an engine? The difference between "no 1 ready to fire" and so called "180 out", or "no6 ready to fire?" Any chance you have that screwed up?

I would be tempted to do the following:

Run a compression check on the starter, squirt about a tablespoon of oil down each hole, and run again. If there is ANY doubt about the plugs, install fresh ones.

Crank the engine, and inspect the spark. Crank with the key, not by jumpering the starter relay. This places the ignition switch "ignition bypass" into play and gives you a hotter spark. After confirming a hot spark at the coil, move to a couple of plug wires, and rig a gap (such as an old plug) and make sure there's good hot spark at the plugs. Inspect the rotor and cap for moisture, debri/ dirt, cracks, carbon, or other damage

CHECK the timing marks on the balancer. Do this by buying or making a 'piston stop' like this:



Make sure the no1 piston is "down a ways", disconnect battery ground, and install in the no1 hole. Wrench the engine around until it stops against the device, then make a temporary mark onto the balancer directly under TDC on the timing tab.

Do the same CCW. You'll now have two temporary marks on the balancer, and true TDC will be halfway in between. If the old mark is correct, that is where it will be.

Now stick your finger in no1, bump the engine until it blows your finger out on compression. You might want to do this twice or more to get the feel of it. You want to STOP the engine just as you are sure you are feeling compression.

Now transfer visually to the balancer, and you should see the marks "coming up." Bump/ wrench the engine until it's about 5-10 BTDC for a fairly stock cam, or 10-15 or so for a "hot" cam.

Now you have the marks correct for starting, "no 1" on compression. Remove the dist. cap. I always mark the top rim of the distributor housing directly under the no1 plug tower. Rotate the dist first "retard" (CCW for BB/ RB, CW for SB) and then bring it back until the points JUST open, or if electronic, align the reluctor tip with the center of the pickup coil. "Spring" the rotor against the mechanical advance and let it snap back, which will confirm the advance is working and free.

Now button up the cap, reinstall the no1 plug, make sure a squirt of gas is in the carb throats......

and start the engine.

mopar777

thanks for the reply
the post was a little bit confusing to understand.

basically. all we did, as i had read on other forums.
was. brought the piston up to top dead center, and dropped the cam in accordingly, then turned the balancer manually a little reverse so that the line in the balancer matches the line "0" on the damper timing. then installed the cap so that the #1 plug wire top is directly above the rotor tip.
everything lined up perfectly. is that not correct??

im just wondering what happened during the week. all i did was take out the plugs, let it air out, changed the oil, and put the plugs back in and the wires on, checked the wires and such several times.
what changed within the week to now it doesnt want to start?

how is #1 located on the dist. cap? or its just that you have the #1 plug line up with the rotor when you put it on?

Maxy

Could well be ignition switch or perhaps connexions on solwnoid - it may short out completely so check it out

440roadrunner

THIS, but a few things

First, when you install a cam as shown "in the book" with the marks "meeting" at 6 oclock and 12 oclock, the engine is really ready to fire on no6 NOT no1

When installing the dist. it's important that you have it on the right STROKE, IE "one TDC" is correct, "the next revolution TDC" is no6

Last, you don't really want to set static timing at TDC. You want to set it before TDC, depending on your cam

But I guess you had it running? Any chance you crossed up the plug wires? do you have good spark when starting? Tried some starting fluid?