Was installing MSD's GM blaster coil and Accell cap and rotor today. Put in the coil and started to see how it would run, and it ran fine. Put in the cap and rotor and it started, but was running rough. Checked my vacumn lines and fireing order and they were fine. Went to start it after working on it for a while and now it won't even start. Car was running fine before I started working on it but it was getting a little hard on fuel. Engine is a 350 TPI. What could be my problem?

 

*edit* nm, read wrong

I'm going to assume the ignition (cap, rotor, etc) were the only things you touched? Not the whole unit?

 

Check, recheck, and triple check the firing order. Then have somebody else check the firing order. Do you have the correct connections to the distributor and coil?

 

Check your base timing. I was fooling around with my timing tonight (long story), and I'd been down to the distributor and all, and when I had it back together all it would do was crank, so I thought I'd done something wrong. Only problem was the distributor cap was a little bit to far advanced, so it wouldnt even start. Try tweaking the cap (with the clamp bolt loose) and try and start it.

Another thing to try....find compression stroke TDC on #1 cylinder and see where the rotor is pointing, and if it's going to the right spark wire.

Also, check you've still got fuel pressure, just to make sure.

 

What does this mean? How can the cap be advanced and not the distributor?

 

I think he means that the cap was not clamped into the right spot, sort of like how you can clamp it down backwards so that the firing order is off by 180 degrees

 

Yeah...but I misstated anyways, I meant the dizzy was clamped down so the timing was too RETARDED, not advanced, although I've also had it too far advanced before and have it not run. It takes a lot less in the retard direction to prevent the engine from running though.