Car won't start (still). I can't deal with this. Make me an offer and it is yours.

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65racecoupe said:
I have neither.

The comp. is 10.5 to 1. It is a 331 engine with 3100 miles.

When the car stopped, it was not violent, it just felt like I ran out of gas.

It is not even trying to fire when I turn the key.
See, we have eliminated a completely broken timing chain, but maybe it jumpeda few teeth. Even if it did you should get SOME attempt at firing.
OK, we can work around the timing light I think, if you can't borrow one from a buddy. We need to see the exact time that #1 cylinder fire , referenced to the timing mark on the flywheel.

You can see if you have ANY compression by pulling a plug and plugging the hole with your finger. Air should pop past your finger no matter how hard you push.
 
OK, Are you sure the plug wires are on right?? Maybe you actually repaired the original problem that caused the breakdown but mixed up the wires?? Did you remove the distributor for repair?? If so , could you have installed it with the rotor pointing to a different wire terminal than the one when you removed it?
If you have spark and good gas, you can try loosening the distributor and slowly rotating it one way while cranking the engine and see if it tries to kick. If not, try rotating the other way. If it starts sounding like it wants to start, suspect a timing chain problem. Remember that the ignition must be on and car in neutral if you are cranking the engine by jumping the starter solonoid.
 
Moving right along

meanroy said:
ok gas, spark, compression.

Now we need to find out where the timing is.
Can you borrow a timing light from a buddy?

Roy.

Oops missed that post.

Ok.

I think at this point you really do need to remove a valve cover, the 1 over cyl #1.

If you do this you can locate top-dead-center #1.
Having established this you can verify the timing mechanically.

Roy.
 
you said when it stalled it acted like you ran out of gas. maybe, like another member said, you have water in your gas or just a really bad tank of gas. try pouring a little bit of fresh gas or spraying some ether (starting fluid) into the carb and see if it tries to start. could be as simple as that. lemme know how it turns out. i know you'll get it running. good luck man
 
what carb are you running? most holleys should have about 6 psi and e'brocks and carters no more than 5 psi. you may have too much fuel and are constantly flooding the engine. if the fuel pressure is over powering the needle and seat the car will never start
 
My friend is coming over tomorrow. His friend has a timing light and a bunch of other tools.

Tomorrow is the last chance. If it doesn't start then I don't know what to do.

I am moving and I NEED this car to run.
 
this sure does sounds like a fuel problem. just because you are getting fuel pressure doesnt mean your car will run on it. once, and i know this isnt nearly the same, i got gas from a station and put it in my lawn mower and the mower wouldnt start, i drained all the gas and got gas at a different station and refilled it, and pesto it started right up. usually cars can handle this better than a lawn mower, but not always. u should have some kind of sputtering if its gas at all. did something in your carb blow out. have you tried spraying some carb cleaner in your carb? do that and see if the car tries to start or sputters... if it does, than its the fuel/carb! i know this is crazy, ive been there with an old 84 gt, but a friend with a fresh brain and a new set of eyes came over, and found my problem, a washer in the fast idle linkage.
 
Listen ,Do what some people have said here ,This is how i do it ,
1)PUll number1 plug out.
2)put your finger on sparkplug hole,have sombody turen it over ,and when you feel compresion ,then stick somthing in sparkplug hole that you wont drop in slowly crack engine with a breaker bar till you feel the screwdriver stop at top dead center.
3) Now make sure your distributor is pointing to the number one plug on cap,
4)If everything is cool there thenput the sparkplug in a boot and crank engine over and see if your getting a actual spark ,Place the sparkplug on cyclinder head or somthing metal grounded. If your getting spark then dump like 1/2 a areasol can worth of fuel in carb and crank it and see if it will at least fire :shrug:
 
65racecoupe said:
What are you suggesting I do after I get #1 to TDC?

I will check, but I am sure the rotor will point to the #1 plug wire.



YellowMach69 said:
Listen ,Do what some people have said here ,This is how i do it ,
1)PUll number1 plug out.
2)put your finger on sparkplug hole,have sombody turen it over ,and when you feel compresion ,then stick somthing in sparkplug hole that you wont drop in slowly crack engine with a breaker bar till you feel the screwdriver stop at top dead center.
3) Now make sure your distributor is pointing to the number one plug on cap,
4)If everything is cool there thenput the sparkplug in a boot and crank engine over and see if your getting a actual spark ,Place the sparkplug on cyclinder head or somthing metal grounded. If your getting spark then dump like 1/2 a areasol can worth of fuel in carb and crank it and see if it will at least fire :shrug:

This is another way to find TDC, and what I had in mind, just like YellowMach69 says, after you have found TDC #1 you can see where the rotor points. Should be #1 cyl.

I also think you should try dumping some gas in the carb and trying again. The problem with this is maybe the engine is seriously flooded. When you checked the plugs last were they wet with gas?

In any event, try it.

Roy.

PS, if you got spark shorting the plug wire to the engine , ithe engine is probably grounded ok.
 
Taking another shot at your problem. You say it just died, but not violently, while driving, which is usually an indication of running out of something, gas, air or spark. I think you've checked the spark adequately with the help from others. I assume you have been checking with the air cleaner off, so that pretty much takes care of the air issue. Only thing left IMO is the gas. The squirters might be pumping in gas into the venturis but not enough to start, who knows. How old is the carb? Did you try swapping carbs with a known good one? Take it slow, the answer is always something simple, especially if it was running properly before.
 
Just a thought,
I don't know your situation but I am assuming you have put a lot of money into your car and wouldn't do this. But I ran my starter cable to the battery side of my starter solenoid for awhile and one night it completely died in the middle of the street. My crane Hi-6 light turned on but no spark. I pretty much toasted my starter solenoid. I was getting around 3v to the box. I didn't see any of your other threads but make sure you use a voltmeter EVERYWHERE.