I bought a rundown '91 RS 5.0L V8 to try and restore it. So far I have replaced the battery, fuel pump, fuel pump relay, air filter, belt, spark plugs wires, fuel, and spark plugs. I also replaced the entire distributor yesterday. When I try starting the car, the starter turns all the pulleys normally. Eventually the belt stops moving and the car stalls until I turn the key off and then back on. Flames also sometimes come out of the carb.

I am going to replace the starter in the next few days to see if that helps. Does anyone know how to fix these problems or have any ideas on what to check next?

 

*IF* you have a 91 RS 5.0L V8 then it has a Throttle Body Unit as it should have been a TBI car unless you've switched to carb. All-In-All it sounds like combustion is happening in your intake manifold if flames are shooting out of the TBI which could be spark igniting excess fuel vapors or a HOST of other things.

MOST IMPORTANTLY: I wouldn't try starting that car again or throwing parts at it until a problem area has been identified so proper troubleshooting can begin. Everything you mentioned as replaced seems general in nature but the dizzy. When you installed your distributor did you get the installation / timing correct? I understand that can cause catastrophes.

 

Sounds like your distributor is positioned 180 degrees off.

 

make sure the rotor is facing the same direction it was when you took the distributor out,this is why you make note of were the rotor is pointing before removing the distributor with a mark

 

Once the dist has been pulled, it's pretty hard to figure out where it was before, if you didn't already make note of it.

Telling someone to time-travel into the past isn't real helpful. While good advice for what to do NEXT time, it doesn't help solve the problem about THIS time. Let alone, initial assembly of an engine, where the "before" state of affairs is non-existent.

To stab a distributor:

• Remove the plug & coil wires from the cap. Unplug the primary connectors from the dist. Remove the dist.
• Find the firing instance of #1 TDC. Keep in mind, each cyl comes to TDC TWICE during the complete engine cycle; once at firing, and once at the end of the exh stroke and the start of the int stroke (exh valve just closing and int valve just opening at the same time). Cylinders come to TDC in pairs at the same time; in a V8, they are the cyls 4 positions apart in the firing order (for the SBC, firing order is 18436572: the pairs therefore are 1-6, 8-5, 4-7, 3-2) Easiest way to do this is to remove the spark plugs, unplug the injectors if so equipped, have your assistant bump the starter in small increments until you feel compression starting to occur in #1; next instance of the timing marks aligning is #1 firing, IFF the timing marks are accurate. You can verify the timing marks somewhat by watching the #6 valves at #1 firing, or the #1 valves at #6 firing: they should both be just barely cracked open, by the same amount, at the other cyl's firing. I advise against EVER trusting the marks unless you have verified it mechanically before the heads are installed to the block.
• Leave the engine set at about 20° before #1 TDC, while turning it forwards. That is, don't try to find exact #1 TDC then turn it backwards 20°. If you don't have a timing mark, you can do this most readily by watching the #1 valves as described, then from that point, turn the engine 3 90° increments with a crank-turning tool, and ¾ of another 90° increment.
• Look down into the hole at the oil pump drive shaft. With a large screwdriver, turn the pump drive shaft to where the slot in it as about 30° from straight front-to-rear, in the direction of rear pass side to front driver's side.
• Set the rotor in place. Hold the distributor in your hand over the hole in the intake with the dist body in the position it needs to drop in at. Which if memory serves, for the small-cap dist, is with the flat side of the cap, where the connectors are, straight toward the driver's side (with the flat side of the ign module pointing straight front-to-rear).
• Turn the dist shaft to where the rotor points straight to the driver's side, then turn it about 30° clockwise from there. It should be pointing about to the #2 plug wire terminal on the cap, if you compare it to the cap. Take the rotor off and set it aside.
• Drop the dist into the block. The shaft will turn clockwise as it drops in. It should engage the oil pump drive shaft and slide over it, and insert fully into the block, touching the intake. If you set the rotor in place it should be pointing about 30° toward the driver's side from straight ahead. Remove it.
• Install the bolt and hold-down. Tighten them until the dist is largely secure, but you can still move it by hand.
• Watch the little star wheel teeth in the center of the dist below the rotor. While pulling up on the dist shaft and rotating it fully CCW against the gear with one hand, rotate the dist body until the teeth align, then turn the dist body just very slightly CCW from there, like maybe about the thickness of the tips of the "teeth".
• Tighten the bolt.
• Assemble the rotor, cap and primary wiring to the dist. The cap should be in a position where there's a gap between plug wire terminals at the straight-ahead point: #1 is the one just to the driver's side of straight ahead. Install the #1 wire. The remaining wires go around the cap in the firing order; 18436572, clockwise. BE CAREFUL!!! Identify them with certainty. Some are very easy to get mixed up, most notably #5 & #7. Be patient, thorough, and accurate. Route them as neatly as possible, with #3 & #6 passing behind the dist, and #5 & #7 above #6. Install the coil wire last, making it nest down in between #7 & #2.
• Re-enable the injectors.
• Put back together anything and everything else you took apart, completely. COMPLETE the job COMPLETELY, BEFORE touching the key. No "test"ing, no "just wanna hear it run", no "just wanna make sure", NONE OF THAT. If you did the job right, according to these instructions, and didn't screw it up, it will be right. GUARANTEED. No "testing" is necessary. All "testing" and "verification" should be done DURING the assembly process, such that when you reach the end, there are no mistakes.
• Close the hood.
• Start the car. Test-drive. Adjust the timing if necessary to where it runs the best it possibly can (EFFF "mark" and "tab" and "light" and "spec", and especially so if you found during the earlier processes that it's not accurate) "Best running" is YOUR choice (NOT the factory's) of some combination of best power, snappy throttle response, good gas mileage, running temp (too little advance makes a motor run warm), and freedom from pinging. You'll also notice the exhaust tone changes as you tweek it. Usually you can get pretty close to optimum if you advance the timing by turning the dist body clockwise in small increments until it starts to ping while going up a hill in high gear at the slowest speed you would ordinarily drive it at realistically, then back it off until it quits, then back it off a little more. That's not necessarily going to be "perfect" but is a good starting point for further tuning. Adjust it like that, then tweeek to your taste. The overall idea being, you ASK THE MOTOR WHAT IT WANTS by listening to it and experiencing the results of small incremental changes, rather than trying to TELL IT WHAT IT'S GOING TO GET COME HELL OR HIGH WATER just because you think that's what it should have.

If you're building a motor and can do this while the timing cover is off, #1 firing is the point where both dots on the sprockets are at 12:00. The point where we would usually assemble the motor, "dot to dot", is actually the #6 firing instance of #1 TDC; exactly one full crank rotation from #1 firing. We merely build em that way because it's easier to see.

 

pure gold post by Sofa. as expected. read carefully.