The title says it all ! I put this motor together about 1 1/2 years ago and then went on with the car . This week was finally time to start it up . It,s a 351W with roush heads performer RPM cam MSD 6AL SS blaster coil and MSD magnetis pick-up distibutor Holley 650 double pumper and the battery in the trunk. The motor has been static timed at 10 degrees BTC ( yes on the compression stroke) I have a almost white spark a hint of blue. I rolled the motor over and the the rotor points to the proper cylinder with valves closed( valve timing seems right) and the carb squirts fuel . The starter seems to roll the motor at a good speed. Is it possible that the starter would work that well and have a weak ground that would prevent the ignition box from working properly under a load . Getting frustated any discussion might help THANKS
One thing I can think of is make sure you're using this firing order: 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8 That's directly from Edelbrock's installation guide!
To check your spark, hold your coil wire about 1/4 to 3/8 of an inch away from the motor. A good spark from a 6AL should be able to jump as least that far. You should also be able to hear a "snap" or "crack". Also, as simple man said, check your firing order. The cam determins the firing order. HO 5.0 and 351's are 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8 and non HO 5.0 and 302 are 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8
Rotor should point to #1 plug wire on cap...Not #1 cyl on engine. Re-check your distributors timing. I think you are off a few teeth...
Thanks for all the sugestions. I probably wasn't clear on the rotor . The rotor was pointing at the #1 plug wire. Apparently if I have good enough ground for the starter to work well ,I should be OK on the ground issue. I am using the 351W firing order( but I did try the 302 order, no go) I know that when I finally find this problem I'm going to kick myself. An old friend once told me THE SOLUTION ONCE FOUND IS SIMPLE
Having the 302 firing order on a 351 will not stop the engine from starting and running. It will only have a slight miss. Coryz28 might be on the right track with valve adjustment too tight if the starter is spinning the engine "at a good speed"
Make sure its not floaded. Pull some plugs to verify. For spark, with a 6AL, it will not SNAP, it will sound like frying bacon! You get 20 degrees (crankshaft) of spark below 3000 RPM. I would check it at a plug, to check the entire secondary ignition. Please don't get hit by it, it will hurt a lot. Also, make sure you wired with the firing order in the right direction on your cap. I know it sounds stupid, but it can happen.
Two things pop to head. 1. What cam are you running? most new production 302,351w cams run the modern H.O. firing order. 2. Auto part stores sell a cheap spark check tool that wraps around the outside of the wire. If the led flashes your getting spark, the really poor man way of test is using a timing light. If the light pulses your getting spark(however if maybe weak). Best way to test for fuel is start up stray. Few shots of that stuff will have the engine purr for few seconds then die. P.S. flat tappet cam? Pointless system? if using points check your dwell.
are you geting gas into the motor? how old is the gas in the car? you sound really sure about your timeing and spark but have said nothing about fuel. it takes three things for a motor to run, fuel, spark, and compression. have you tried starter fluid spayed into the carb?
Just a simple thought...I've seen guys {probably did it myself at one point} set the firing order on the cap thinking the distributor turns clockwise...Simple mistake
Thanks for all the thoughts Guys , I have checked the spark at the plugs ( I used a jumper wire clipped to ground and the plug I HATE BEING ZAPPED) As for the HO firing order I was uder the impession that it was the same as the 351W which I am using. The gas was bought Sunday and put into an empty tank. As far as the lifters mentioned earlier , before I tried to start the motor I used an old distibutor drive and a 1/2 '" drill to prime the oil system and I had good oil flow through the push rods and 60PSI ( seems OK to me ) I appriciate all the ideas I know I'm missing something. For my next step, I just bought an early distributor with points on E-bay and I'm going to by-pass the new system to see if maybe by some chance the MSD is failing under a load. Not much chance but I'm almost out of ideas .....THANK AGAIN
So you are not getting any backfiring, or popping out the intake or exhaust? Did you check to see if you are getting fuel to the carb? pull the hose off the carb and crank engine or turn on pump if electric. if you get gas there are you getting it into the engine? You might get some spray from the accelerator pump but maybe the jets are clogged. Try some starting fluid or carb spray to see if it fires up and dies. Also doube check the wiring to the MSD box. you may have hooked it up to a 12 volt source that only triggers when cranking or only triggers when key in run position. The duraspark cars had a power wire for each position going to the box. If you used the old wires from one of these cars to run to your MSD it might not work right. Run power to the box through a relay triggered by ingnition switch to make sure you are getting enough power.
I agree here as well. The coil power feed from the ignition switch comes from inside the car through a dropping resistor wire and is hot during run. The solenoid provides the power to the coil during start from the red/grn wire which effectively bypasses the resistor only in the start position. worth checking. by now after all that cranking, if you do have fuel getting to the engine, I'm sure the plugs are fouled as well as possibly have washed down the cylinder walls. ck your oil level to verify
