Technical 1952 inline 8 not starting

Doesn't seem like it should build pressure on the exhaust stroke as long as the exhaust valve is opening, unless the exhaust system was plugged solid.

 

Thanks for the input.
So I checked to make certain that #1 cylinder was on the compression stroke or top tdc.
Held my finger in the spark plug hole and felt a lot of pressure basically blew my finger out.
Then checked with a flash light to visually see it come to the very top. Then set the values again…to make sher it’s not out 180.

I set the valves to 1 and 1/2 turns down after the play was taken out of the rods the shop manual calls for 2-3 turns.I had people suggest.3/4 of a single turn down(I tried this but no difference)so I guess I will keep trying things…

I did feel about 1/4 of the pressure through the spark plug hole on the exhaust stroke.

I checked to see if the distributor was firing number one on the compression stroke tdc and it was showing that.
I even took the spark plug out and stuck my finger in the spark plug hole to feel the pressure and I looked to see if the spark was “timed”at the same time, and it was.

Fuel is getting into the carburetor fine.
Sparks are strong
I cranked it till the starter started to smoke it didn’t even try to fire.
Sprayed starter fluid into the carburetor still nothing not even a sound like it might be trying to start…

what am I missing…

 

Are your sure that you are getting good spark to the plugs. It should at least spit or kick or something if it is getting spark.

 

Yea
I have pulled all of them it’s whitish red.

not hard to see even in the daylight.

 

Whitish red is not a good spark. It should be bluish and you should hear a snap when it fires a plug wire on a ground.

 

Ok

how do I get a good spark?
I replaced spark plugs
Rotor and cap
Coil
New battery
What else can I do?

 

Condenser. If it has a condenser on the coil for radio interference suppression, disconnect it for trial. Then make sure the points have good clean contact faces and are closing squarely.

 

Also if the above doesn't fix the spark, change the condenser in the distributor. You may even try running a hat wire directly to the coil, to eliminate bad wiring.

 

Been watching and wondering. Might get some s*** but.
Are we sure nothing got into the intake?
Great, now comes the howls. Decades ago when when we were sure tha all had been done;
Still no result we use either a tow or a pusher ( prefer pusher ) and make that baby recall what running feels like by dragging or shoving it for a good mile or two.
The 3 rimes I 've done it, it worked
So, just awoke and recall that this will be OK if you are using a hydromatic or a stick trans. Later auto matics dropped the use of a rear pump, which would cause damage to the trans if flat towed or shoved a distance

 

He either has a stick or a Dynaflow which does have a rear pump. It can be push started.

 

Sort thru the ignition and see if you can get a good blue-white spark from the plug wire terminal to a known good ground. Should be able to jump around a 1/4" gap.

Stop cranking the starter for extended periods. Hopefully you haven't "let all the smoke out of the starter" or killed the battery. Starter motors draw a ton of amperage, especially on 6 volt systems.

I'd want to check the cranking manifold vacuum at this point. Here's a link that explains the procedure and there's plenty of other online references too.

https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum...p 3-5 inchs of manifild vacuum while cranking.

Be sure the spark plugs are installed and disable the ignition for the test. Make sure the throttle is completely closed and disconnect and plug any vacuum hoses connected to the intake manifold. The engine should be able to pull at least 3" or so of vacuum while cranking. No vacuum means it can't draw the air/fuel mixture in to the combustion chamber.

 

You mentioned that the vehicle sat for 4 months, that’s plenty of time for rodents or bees/wasps to build nests, I would suggest verifying the exhaust is not plugged, disconnect at the manifold ( use care not to break bolt/studs) and use a shop vac to **** on the tailpipe, a leaf blower can work too but blow through from the front. I see you fired the parts cannon already but you made no mention of new plug wires, might as well at this point, may solve the weak spark.

 

As to condensers. Current ones can be bad out of the box. Even multiples can be bad. @squirrel on this site had a thread a while back showing the shoddy manufacturing processes used these days (https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/ignition-condenser-problems.1014719/.)

One brand that comes highly recommend is Standard FD72. If it will fit, I would get one. These are generally available from NAPA.

 

The car will start with a plugged exhaust, just will not run for very long and will sound very funny. When we wanted to mess with someone we would put a potato in their tailpipe. Push it in far enough with a stick so it couldn't be seen. The car would go a block or so until enough back pressure stopped the engine. Five minutes later it would run again.

 

Try this- pull the first 3 spark plugs and give each cylinder a robust shot of starter fluid. Replace the plugs quickly and try to start it. If it does not at least give you an attempt to fire up, you have inadequate spark.