Slow87

I just finished installing my headers yesterday, and now my car wont start. The motor turns over really fast and shoots HUGE flames out from my headers. No back firing coming from the carb if that matters.

I decided to pull the smog and ac stuff while I was at it. Pulled my dizzy in the process to get to some things. Now everything is put back together, and I don't know where I went wrong. From what I've read, my timing must be off. Here is what I did

1. Found #1 TDC by pulling spark plug #1. Covered hole with thumb and turned the motor till I felt air and lined up the marks on the timing pointer and balancer.

2. installed wires on dizzy in 18436572 (clock wise) with #1 wire at 5'oclock position.

3. Installed dizzy and made sure rotor was pointed at the #1 wire.

Is any of this wrong, or did I miss a step? First time dealing with a distributor. How do you know if it's installed 180* out? I also read it should point at wire #6 not #1, but never tried that.

Damon

If you felt compression at the plug hole and then rolled it over (clockwise) to TDC you should be on #1 firing position. I also assume you got the plug wires going to the plugs in the proper firing order (18436572).

But remember that by the time #1 hits TDC the plug should already have fired. Sounds like it might be a little retarded (firing a little late). Crank the distributor CCW a little ways (advancing the timing) and try again. And remember it's always better to be a little too far advanced than retarded when first firing up a motor- you can always set the final timing with your timing light after you get it started.

If you go too far advanced the motor will tell you- it'll try to "kick back" against the starter.

Slow87

I went and double checked things today. I read that the intake valve on cylinder #3 and exhaust valve on cylinder #5 should be open at #1 TDC. I pulled my Valve cover off and checked it. When I line it up, all the valves looked about closed. So I rotated again and it looked like just #7 intake was open, and I read that is when #6 is at TDC. So does this mean my HD and mark are off? I'm going to go set things up by the valves and I will let you know how it works out.

urbanhunter44

iTrader: (3)

Yep. Get a piece of wire and stick it in the spark plug hole.. like a coat hanger. Something big enough you can't accidentally drop it in there. You'll feel the #1 piston at TDC. Once you have your timing lined up, advance it a little and fire her up!

Slow87

Sweet Jesus, she started right up! Apparently my HD must have vibrated super far apart. (I have the original two piece) . Super excited, hopefully my neighbors don't mind the ruckus at 6am! Thanks for the help guys!