Hey,
heres my problem, bought the car from auction, 90% of my tools are packed up so i can't do a compression check, So,

it's an '84 z-28 with the HO 5.0, half the emissions are taken off, i put new plugs/wires in it and brought #1 to TDC, and hooked up the plug wires from the rotor's position at that point around. but it won't fire up on the gas, or starting fluid. it has gas, has spark, what should i look for? my mind is worn out and i just don't have the patience to sit down and look at it right now and figure it out, i'd like to just rip the 305 out of it, cut all those wires out and toss a nice pre-emission 350 in it....but since i can't afford that, and this is the only day this week it isn't suppose to rain from what i'm told, any advice would be helpfull.

 

Check for distributor and/or spark plug wires being 180 degrees out.

In other words, with the pointer at TDC, you could be in the #1 or the #6 firing position. Just bringing it to TDC and assuming the rotor is pointing at #1 has a 50% possibility of being in error.

 

Pull the #1 spark plug, put a piece of paper towel in it. Disconnect the coil wire and crank the engine over until you hear/see the paper towl blow out. That means the piston is on the way up for #1. Once the paper towel pops, you know your in the right area.

 

the wires are set properly, any idea on why my distributor won't come out? it feels as though the gear that splines with the cam is stuck? the rotor spins freely, but i can't pull the damn thing out of the engine!

 

Assuming you have the distributor clamp out of the way, built up oil breakdown crud.

 

yes the clamp is out of the way, the aluminum part spins freely, isn't from builtup crud... it feels as though the shaft is stuck down in the engine.... i'm going to take the hood off tomorrow if it doesn't rain, give me more room to work and maybe get me in the spirit to work on the car...

 

The only things the shaft interfaces are the cam drive gear and oil pump drive shaft. Chances of them holding the distributor in are next to nil (assuming you are turning the rotor/shaft counterclockwise as you pull up on the housing).

You can have crud build-up that will allow the housing to spin but not come out of the block/intake.