Joined: Tue Jan 15 2008, 06:14PM
Location: Alto, New Mexico
Posts: 43
It has been over 2 years after a complete engine rebuild before I finally got the money to get my car out of storage and shipped 900 miles home to New Mexico. It was never started after the engine was installed by the rebuild shop in KC. It will not start here though #8 cylinder will pop (fire) every now and then. That seems strange since I would think that #1 would fire first. Here is what I have done so far: 1. Installed brand new electronic distributor kit, new battery, new coil, new ignition box and wiring harness, new plug wires, plugs, etc. 2. Engine mechanically timed--piston up on compression stroke (Used finger over plug hole as well as a compression guage) and checked that it is at top of the stroke with timing mark at TDC (0) on the vibration damper. Have done this three times. 3. Oil pump slot installed parallel to center line of cam as per the book. Checked it three times 4. Distributor vacuum can pointing toward engine center as specified and rotor points exactly to #1 cylinder wire on cap. 5. Distributor rotates smoothly counterclockwise as it is supposed to. 6. Followed plug wiring sequence in firing order for a 440 after priming engine 3 times for complete oil distribution. Firing order set by Mitchell Manuals for a 440 at 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 counterclockwise direction. 6. Have 12.96 volts at battery, starter relay, and coil postiive. The Stewart Warner added voltmeter in car shows 12.4 volts approximately but drops to 6 volts when cranking though the starter cranks the engine over really fast. 7. Primed engine 3 times with priming rod before first turning it over and can get 50-65 psi on guage, 20 to 25 psi just cranking it over with the starter. 8. Hooked up car to a running vehicle each time so electrical system will have 14+ volts and both batteries to draw on. 9. All cylinders show good compression--no bad cylinders. 10. Carb has gas and accelerator pump squirts when pedal is pushed. Choke propped 1/4 inch open.
HELP! Can the timing still be 180 off as a friend suggested? I feel that I must be missing something simple and am getting very frustrated. Any ideas???????? Too much money invested to give up.
Do you still have a ballast resistor installed in the ignition system? If it failed, it will crank until the battery is dead but never start due to no spark. That could be the simple thing that you overlooked. Get a spare and change it out, then see what happens.
Ballast resistor on driver side fender behind inner wheel house:
Joined: Wed Nov 17 2010, 03:28PM
Location: florida
Posts: 1311
Distributor may be 180 degrees out. If you know for sure its in right then disregard. If not , remove wires and distributor,and reinstall dizzy and turn half a revolution so slot in cam gear lines up and drop in.put wires back on in correct firing order.Do nothing else and try to start.distributor may be on down stroke and it will never start.
Joined: Sat Oct 16 2010, 09:56PM
Location: Brandon, MB
Posts: 364
Are you getting a reliable spark?
Ditto on the ballast resistor. Make sure that the electronic ignition box has a good ground. Also, check the gap between the pick up coil and the reluctor wheel, using a brass feeler gauge. Gap should be around .008", IINM.
Joined: Tue Jan 15 2008, 06:14PM
Location: Alto, New Mexico
Posts: 43
Many-many thanks for the responses. Ballast resistor was good but swapped it out anyway. Ignition box is grounded and reluctor is at .008. Fuel is OK and battery tests good. The spark is weak and intermittent however. I have not tried the 180 route yet because of an issue that I forgot to mention. When I mechanically set the engine timing by the book three times, each time the #1 piston was full up (once by dial indicator) the timing mark on the damper was almost two inches down the damper and I had to bump the starter every time to get the mark moved up to TDC on the pointer. Is that normal?? Can the damper itself be off and how would I correct that or does it mean internal problems? It is the orginal vibration damper if that means anything. I hate for this much time and money to become a failed project. IDEAS? IDEAS?
Many-many thanks for the responses. Ballast resistor was good but swapped it out anyway. Ignition box is grounded and reluctor is at .008. Fuel is OK and battery tests good. The spark is weak and intermittent however. I have not tried the 180 route yet because of an issue that I forgot to mention. When I mechanically set the engine timing by the book three times, each time the #1 piston was full up (once by dial indicator) the timing mark on the damper was almost two inches down the damper and I had to bump the starter every time to get the mark moved up to TDC on the pointer. Is that normal?? Can the damper itself be off and how would I correct that or does it mean internal problems? It is the orginal vibration damper if that means anything. I hate for this much time and money to become a failed project. IDEAS? IDEAS?
Yes your damper can be off by even more than that! if you are trying to set the timing using the mark on the damper that is that far off it will never start. The old rubber dry rots and allows the outer ring to separate and spin--better get a new damper and try again (you don't want that hevy metal ring spinning through your radiator at several thousand rpm)
Joined: Sat Oct 16 2010, 09:56PM
Location: Brandon, MB
Posts: 364
[quote] The spark is weak and intermittent however.
You could try connecting a volt meter (multi-tester) or a 12 volt test light to the Ballast Resistor, where the power is fed to the Electronic Ignition Module. Turn on the ignition switch and see what reading you get. Check to make sure that there's voltage in both the "Start" and "Run" positions. Try jiggling the key a bit and see if the voltage reading changes or the test light flickers or goes out. Leave the key in the "Run" position, not for too long though, and try jiggling, moving the ignition wiring harness slightly to see if that causes the voltage reading to change or the test light to flicker or go out.
You can test the Pick-up Coil by unplugging the connector from the ignition box and connecting an ohm meter to the two terminals of the distributor connector. If the pick-up is good, the reading should be somewhere between 150 ohms to 900 ohms or at least close. It shouldn't be 3 ohms and it shouldn't be 70,000 ohms. Then try moving, bending the wires carefully to see if the reading changes, meaning a broken wire or bad connection. Also, connect one lead from your ohm meter to the distributor housing and probe each of the two terminals of the distributor connector. You shouldn't get any reading at all.
Joined: Mon Oct 10 2005, 10:24AM
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 160
At a confirmed piston TDC, the mark on the balancer should ofcourse also be on the 0-mark. Most likely the damper-ring has slipped a number of degrees.
