No start, searched, accel pump?

wannabeSS wrote: But I have a question, if the motor was not at TDC when I had the dots lined up, then something is not right/broken with the gears/cam/crank correct?

depends if you where on the compression stroke or not with the crank when it was at TDC and also if you installed the gear on the end of the cam correctly. Some gears have different offsets for the timing and if you didn't read the instructions then you who knows. Don't bye it's the carb, then again alot of guys have know clue how to adjust a Q-jet to start with which is what a edelbrock carb is basicly takes a little more skill but once it's set you really don't have to mess with it unlike a holley carb which is easy to adjust but requires frequent adjustments over time.

and since it turns freely until it fires then seems to slow down the carb's not going to cause that but a timing chain installed incorrectly will.

81nautique wrote: 79, Is it time to pull #1 plug and check to see if when the piston is at TDC the valves are actually closed? I've been thinking thats the problem all along and you cautioned about this a few months ago when the chain was being installed. I think that would be my next step, only takes a few minutes and atleast you'll eliminate the question.

Going to check tomorrow

The starter not spinning fast enough is never the reason a well timed engine barely needs a bump to start

if your getting a steady stream of gas out of your accelerator pump now then the edelbrock is working more than enough to get that bad boy firing.

You have spark, you have gas, as chris is getting a little frustrated about there are only two other things that could be the problem, one is compression which I would check but is not likely and the most obvious thing is improper timing or my favorite mistake the spark plug wires routed incorrectly.

I have made every mistake possible in the past in routing spark plug wires and every time I was sure they were right, every time I changed a bunch of stuff that worked fine, and every time when I finally got it right I couldnt believe how easy it was to get an engine to start. Check here
and make sure, pay close attention to the rotation and numbering and once its right dont be afraid to rotate that cap a bit. Good luck.
-Joe.

Nice clarification alan, his firing order should be 18456273, the diagram I linked I to I was citing for cylinder numbering and rotation of the distributor which are the same for both L and R hand engines. I have have made both the numbering and rotor rotation direct mistakes before, damn fords number different, have number one in the wrong spot, and turn the distributor cap the wrong way... I will never figure out how I ended up with 5 v8 fords in my motor pool something went terribly wrong somewhere...

I don't believe the starter theory of rotating too slowly. By design, some of the old 40's engines rotated very slow, but if tuned correctly they started right up. And they had old style coils, plugs etc. Ever kick start a Harley. Kicking faster doesn't start the engine....proper timing and fuel make it start.

Not wanting to start a debate, but Edelbrock vs Holley is not his problem either. Both are fantastic carbs. I have both and am in means an expert and can make both work. Save your money and keep troubleshooting. You poured gas into the engine and it wouldn't fire so don't start looking into a fuel problem.

So you elimanated fuel as the problem. You say that the plugs have spark. So it must be the timing which could also be off if you ran the wires incorrectly.

How did you line the dots up when you istalled the new timing gear?

Does your starter just go dead or does the engine rotate? Are you sure the timing gear problem hasn't wiped out your cam?

Ok site was down yesterday for me, so i'm back today. When i clicked your link joe i was like thinking that i've been using the wrong firing order the whole time. But nope, i've been using the right one 18456273. Anyways for you guys not thinking it was the starter, i took the starter to a rebuild shop yesterday. The guy tried to jump it for 2 seconds and it was turning slow and got extremely hot. He pulled it apart today and he said some part (cant remember) was broke inside and the starter was shorting out badly, he said it's not even re-buildable. He told me to buy a new one online b/c it's probably cheaper than his cost. So i'm guessing the short was pulling a lot of power away from the rest of the electrical system including the coil. I said before how the coil didnt really have a strong spark like the stock coil on my car. So i'm ordering a new starter and ill let you guys know how it goes from there.

New starter did the trick, fired right up, guess i didnt need that mechanic after all. Thanks everyone for the help

Man, I've seen some starters cause really weird issues.