got a 350 in a custom im building and it wont start, i have spark, the timing is dead on. i changed the oil before i started it and it looked fine no metal or slivers in the oil. it seems to be turning over kinda slow and i have a new battery installed, and have even tried a different battery with the same results. anybody have any ideas, could the timing chain cause these problems? the donor car i took this from had a rock shoved in the tail pipe if that helps. thanks alot.
Points or HEI? Do you have enough spark? With any older engine before you install it I think should have new gears and timing chain but that shouldn't slow the turning over part of it.I'd be looking at the starter next. just my .02
Yeah you cold be very right about that, I guess I answered faster than my brain could think this morning
Always start with the basics. Fuel, ignition and compression. You didn't say that it was getting gas. A squirt or 2 of starting fluid in the carb of an engine that has not run in a while can save a lot of cranking and dead batteries. 9 times out of 10 it's a basic problem that get repeatedly over looked while chasing wild geese all over the country side. Check and double check the basics before the big chase. If any of the components were changed from the last time that it ran like a carb or a distributor triple check them.
Tommy said exactly what I would have. You need fuel, ignition and compression for an engine to run. I'd add, check to see if you are getting fuel through the carb by working the throttle while looking down the throats. NOT while it is cranking. If no gas carefully pour gas in the float vent tubes to get gas in the float bowls. This will usually let the engine start and run long enough for the fuel pump to pick up gas from the tank. You did put fresh gas in the tank? The biggest problems I've seen with small block Chevs (or most any other engine) not starting are distributor 180 degrees out of time and wiring to the coil not hooked up so that it is getting good voltage to the coil when you are cranking it. If the engine has an HEI and the car was non HEI check the voltage to the coil. Check all of the battery connections especially the connection to ground on the block. Make sure it is going to bare metal on the block and not bolted to painted metal. Again check the fuel to the carb.
figured it out, clogged cat. convertor, cut it off an it runs fine. quadrajet needs rebuilt but other than that it runs like a top.
The biggest problems I've seen with small block Chevs (or most any other engine) not starting are distributor 180 degrees out of time ............... thats my guess as well! and really easy to do!!! 180 out i mean!!!
Glad you got it sorted out. For future reference, one obscure thing I ran into on a friend's Chrysler 440 once was bad plugs. Went through the littany of 'no spark, no fuel, timing off, timing 180 out, blown out distributer gear, bad wires, blah blah blah. Busted my head on that car for several hours. I finally had a revelation when I had my buddy cranking it with one plug pulled out and I saw the spark shoot through the cracked porcelin insulator, not across the tip of the plug. Hmmm - one bad for sure. I wonder about the others. I checked 2 more with the exact same results. Long story short, he got some new plugs, put them in, and started 1st piston over. The concept is simple (suck, squeeze, bang, blow), but getting everything to happen in the right order can sometimes be a challenge!
If it still has the vapor canister hooked up to the carb., that was a common problem that killed cats. It was most likely removed when the front fenders were removed but when it went bad, it sucked fuel into the intake below the carb base making it run very rich and clogging the cat. It acts like the carb is flooding with black smoke etc. It was common for the Y pipe to get so hot that it glowed red.
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