Technical Ford v8 engine start minimal wires

Try .017". You have ten times too much gap.

 

.170 would be a lot. Lets ***ume he used his .017 feeler gauge and missed putting down the 0.

 

I don't know. If the rubbing block were on the point of the lobe in this picture, it might well be closer to the .17 claimed:

 

If it is .170 they aren't going to close.
Then you have things that drive old auto shop teachers nuts and flunk the student and this gets a big freaking F. That rubbing block is on the flat and the points are still more than .017 by a long shot when they should be closed. Fail big time.

The point gap has to be set with the rubbing block on the high point of the TIP of the lobe of the distributor cam not the flat of the cam as it sits.

 

I like this thread as its very educational.

 

Thanks everyone. success.
I had the points at .017.
I did a lot of testing, resanded the points, removed and reinstalled wires, tested, coil changed, -I got spark.
I checked for spark at the end of a plug wire and i have spark there also. So i believe i am good.
I think the difference was when i resanded the points because nothing else changed.
I had the same wire configuration and coil and points and condenser. unless some wire was shorting, but i dont think that was the case.
This is a 64 galaxie parts car i bought for a doner for me for other parts. It is a crusty mess. I made sure to remove the fan and other accessories that would get in the way of testing the motor with wires. I cleaned up all grounds as i went along knowing it was crusty. The engine will be saved as a spare or sold after i am done with what i need from the car. But i thought i could use it as a learning experience for me. Because when i retire, there will be more-i hope. So thank for the schooling guys.
Now, you probably want to know it the engine started. I will pull it out of the garage once the snow stops and try it there with a small amount of gas incase something goes bad. I will report back.

 

Thanks for the follow up. The points do look very crusty, but one of the wires could have been shorted too. Either way, glad to hear it's got spark.
Have a fire extinguisher handy on startup and try not to have the exhaust pointing into a building.

 

Well guys, i took the car outside with a fire extinguisher.
it would not run on the carb and gravity fed fuel tank-probably needs a rebuild
so then i put some fuel down the carb and it started up. ran a few times like this for about 2-3 seconds. feels good to see it run.
Fire, yes, probably from the marvel mystery oil that was in the cylinders, overflow gas etc. i think the exhaust which is rusted off under the engine ignited it. I was ready and quickly put it out.
Thanks for the help

 

This reminds me when Nick from Nick’s Garage a couple weeks ago was trying to start 64 Galaxie with a 427. The owner had brought it to his shop in Montreal in a covered car hauler, and they could not get it to start. They finally were able to move it off the trailer (no power), and got it running and into his garage by having someone run alongside the car with the hood wide open spraying brake cleaner into the carb. It was comical, but it was like -18C out or something, and they were getting desperate after around 40 attempts to start it.

 

ok, next question. i think the mechanical pump is leaking gas into the engine. I noticed this right away. Instead of replacing the mech pump, i want to install an in line electric pump just for testing. Then i can reuse it later on other vehicles as needed to test.
Do i want a:
5-9 psi
3-6 psi
2.5 psi
I did a lot of research and cant find a conclusive answer

 

Ben, please think. When asking a question, what important things need to be included to get a good answer? The fuel pump supplies fuel to what component? Would this component be pressure sensitive and different components have different requirements?
Carb
Yes

 

I appreciate the comment.
i did do my homework, but in my haste to post the question did not give all the info. I am running a ford 2 bbl 2150 carburetor. I found that factory or a replacement fuel pump id between 4-5.5 psi. I also looked up what i could buy on line for an electric pump and found these three i posted. I am a learner so i did not think the 5-9 is a good idea and the 2.5 seemed low. So thats why i asked.

I did learn by trying to get this engine going that a gravity fuel tank-(small lawnmower tank that hold 1/2 gallon placed above the carb) is not sufficient to lift the needle valve and put fuel in the bowl. Maybe it needs to be higher with more gas ? i dont know. Thats when i went to use the mechanical pump. I noticed very quickly that the pump was leaking internally and stopped what i was doing. drained the engine and changed the filter.

 

Spring under the float

 

Goldilocks! Not too low, not too high!

 

Thanks