Need Some Idea's....motor wont turn over!

Not sure why you would have to reset the distributor later. Agreed it is in the way but that doesnt make sense why you would have to reset the distributor as you are not doing thing that would require reseting it. you would just need to adjust the timing a little maybe. I would have left it alone if it wasnt in your way.


regardless- I think the reason you are 'locking up' is because you are trying to crank the engine on a compression stroke and it is hard to crank it by hand or breaker bar as it is building compression. Given if there is something broken in the dizzy hole you really need to find out what it is and why it broke. If that gets cleared up then why not just crank it with the key? A few bumps and you would be on TDC.

also- how are you looking for TDC? meaning, how are you checking to make sure #1 cylinder is at the top? just because you point the rotor at the number plug wire doesnt mean the engine is TDC on #1. you need to make sure the piston is at the top where it is building compression. There are ways you can do this. I would take #1 spark plug out and either put you finger over the hole while someone bumps the starter with the key and feel for compression or you can place you pinky in there and try and feel the piston at the top. once you have verified the #1 piston is at the top then set the dizzy in there and point it at #1 plug wire.

good luck-

Pull all the plugs out sand see if the engine turns over easily. If it doesn't you have problems that need attention before proceeding any farther.

Putting the distributor back in is fairly simple. Pull #1 sparkplug, put your finger in the sparkplug hole,
crank the engine until you feel compression. Then line up the TDC mark on the balancer with the pointer
on the engine block.

The distributor starts out with the #1 plug wire lined up at about 12:00 with you facing it. Align the rotor
to about 11:00, since it will turn clockwise as it slides into place.

Align the distributor rotor up with the #1 position marked on the cap, slide the distributor down into the block,
(you may have to wiggle the rotor slightly to get the gear to engage) and then note where the rotor is pointing.
If it still lines up with #1 position on the cap, install the clamp and bolt. If not, pull it out and turn 1 tooth forwards
or backwards and try again. Put the #1 spark plug back in and tighten it down, put the clamp on the distributor,
but don't tighten it too much, as you will have to move the distributor to set the timing. Note that if it doesn't
align perfectly with #1 position, you can turn the distributor until it does. The only problem is that if you are too
far one way or the other, you can't turn the distributor enough to get the 10-14 degree optimum timing range.

At this point hook up all the wires, get out the timing light and start the engine. Set the timing where your car
runs best. Don't forget to disconnect the SPOUT jumper connector when you set the timing, and plug it back
in when you finish.

The HO firing order is 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8.
Non HO firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8