[jimbo63]

I have been trying to restore the engine on this 63 since dec 2008 and today I finally got it all ready to crank and do a valve lash adjustment and it wouldnt turn over.

I posted a video clip on photobucket if it helps
http://s387.photobucket.com/albums/oo320/msgdesign/engine/?action=view&current=WontCrank1.flv

There has been alot of new and rebuilt parts installed since 2008.
Being new to auto mechanics I have been trying to spruce up the original engine 194 and thought i would dismantle and clean, repaint and replace things as i went along.

The cylinder head i removed and had rebuilt by a shop.
I rebuilt the carb with a kit from NAPA
removed the points and installed the Pertronix HEI conversion
installed a new fuel pump with new lines from pump to carb

The rest of the engine and compartment was cleaned sanded and repainted.

Where should i begin now?

 

[ces63ss]

have you checked for compression on every cyl?
are you getting fuel out of the carb?
do you have ignition out of the wires?

 

[jimbo63]

have you checked for compression on every cyl?
are you getting fuel out of the carb?
do you have ignition out of the wires?

Is there a way I can check for compression without it running?
How do i check to see if fuel is getting out of the carb?
The pertronix coil and hei conversion I installed according to instructions, is that what you mean?

 

[ces63ss]

easy way to do a quick compression check is pull the plug out on 1 cyl. stick a rag in the hole and crank the engine over and see if the rag goes flying. do the same to the other cyl.

as for fuel, just grab the lever on the carb and pump it, see if fuel comes out.

ignition, pull 1 plug off the spark plug and have someone crank the engine over and place the wire end near a good grounding point and see if you can see spark.


did you change the power wire coming out of the firewall to the distributer(the power lead)? that wire is a resisted wire and wont give you full 12v.

 

[Rroxon7]

Pull the coil wire from the dist....check to see if you have spark.. Try a little gas in the carb as a primer..see if your carb's even getting gas...if it still won't fire check your timing...

 

[jimbo63]

easy way to do a quick compression check is pull the plug out on 1 cyl. stick a rag in the hole and crank the engine over and see if the rag goes flying. do the same to the other cyl.

as for fuel, just grab the lever on the carb and pump it, see if fuel comes out.

ignition, pull 1 plug off the spark plug and have someone crank the engine over and place the wire end near a good grounding point and see if you can see spark.

did you change the power wire coming out of the firewall to the distributer(the power lead)? that wire is a resisted wire and wont give you full 12v.

Ill give the rag trick a shot for the compression.
To check the fuel will it need to be cranked? Or can I pull the throttle lever and see fuel jetting out of the top without trying to turn it? I assume it jets out of the slanted spout on top?

On the plug wire you mentioned placing the wire near a good grounding point, how do you do that safely to see the spark--if its there?

Thanks for helping sorry for all the questions

 

[ces63ss]

on the carb question, no car doesnt need to be rotating. just give the lever a couple cranks and see if you get fuel.

the plug wire, just have someone crank the car over and stick a screw driver near the end about 1/4" apart and hold the wire behind the boot and the srew driver on the plastic handle, dont touch metal part yourself and see if you see sparks.

How about the wire, did you replace it?

 

[jimbo63]

on the carb question, no car doesnt need to be rotating. just give the lever a couple cranks and see if you get fuel.

the plug wire, just have someone crank the car over and stick a screw driver near the end about 1/4" apart and hold the wire behind the boot and the srew driver on the plastic handle, dont touch metal part yourself and see if you see sparks.

How about the wire, did you replace it?

Sorry, yep I had some help from another Nova member who sent me a 14 guage replacement wire with the connector to the firewall so i replaced the balast wire coming from the firewall that also had a lighter gauge red wire that looped back to the starter. So now the 14 gauge red wire goes from firewall to coil and no longer loops back to starter.

Btw, I pulled the throttle lever and shined a flashlight down the carb and saw and smelled gas pumping in.

Ill go try the screwdriver and rag test now, although i did buy a compression gauge but havent used it before.

 

[tnblkc230wz]

Is anyone trying to help your starting it? It shoulds like it is firing a little. Get someone to turn the distributor a little while trying to start it. Make sure you pump the gas a little. If you are use to fuel injection, carbs are a little different. They require a couple of pumps of the gas pedel before starting the car. If these don't work. Hear is what I would do.

1. Make sure your are getting gas by pumping it and see if it is squirting gas.
2. Pull a plug and touch it to ground. Crank the engine and see if it sparks.

Once your verify you have spark and gas, the next steps can be determined.

Edit: BTW that is a nice looking engine bay

 

[ces63ss]

you can use the compression tester and get a beter answer as far as compression goes. The rag trick is a quick and easy way to gauge it.

 

[jimbo63]

Is anyone trying to help your starting it? It shoulds like it is firing a little. Get someone to turn the distributor a little while trying to start it. Make sure you pump the gas a little. If you are use to fuel injection, carbs are a little different. They require a couple of pumps of the gas pedel before starting the car. If these don't work. Hear is what I would do.

1. Make sure your are getting gas by pumping it and see if it is squirting gas.
2. Pull a plug and touch it to ground. Crank the engine and see if it sparks.

Once your verify you have spark and gas, the next steps can be determined.

Edit: BTW that is a nice looking engine bay

I can see and smell gas down in the carb when i shine a light down the barrel and pull the throttle so it looks like its getting gas.

I took the center plug off the distributor and took a wrench with a plastic handle and had a gap of 1/4 inch and had my wife crank it over and got a nice zap in the hand holding the plastic handle I didnt see any spark but sure felt it.

Touching to ground...if i take off a plug wire am i supposed to have th plug in as well to touch to ground? Cause the boot recesses enough on the spark plug wires so that I wasnt sure if the spark would happen. What other than a screwdriver would be a good ground to test

Also, how do you turn the distributor a little while trying to start it?

 

[ces63ss]

pull one of the plugs install it on the wire and lay it on the fender so it gets a good ground(plug). crank it over and see if you see sparks.

 

[tnblkc230wz]

pull one of the plugs install it on the wire and lay it on the fender so it gets a good ground(plug). crank it over and see if you see sparks.

Yes or to the side of the engine. You should see a spark across the gap in the plug. Make sure you are wearing leather gloves or use a thick rag to hold the wire so you don't get shocked.

 

[ces63ss]

Yes or to the side of the engine. You should see a spark across the gap in the plug. Make sure you are wearing leather gloves or use a thick rag to hold the wire so you don't get shocked.

man getting shocked is part of the fun:turn:

 

[tnblkc230wz]

Also, how do you turn the distributor a little while trying to start it?

You can turn it left or right 90 degrees

 

[jimbo63]

Ive checked all 6 plugs against ground and placed an aluminum foil ball as a plug to test to see if it popped out.

All 6 checked out for both spark and compression.
I tried also to move the distributor a bit with the cap on and felt no movemnet left or right.

what next?

 

[tnblkc230wz]

I tried also to move the distributor a bit with the cap on and felt no movemnet left or right.

what next?

You need to losen the distributor so it will turn like you are setting the timing.

 

[jimbo63]

it might be worth noting that I had the distributor completely out during the engine rebuild/paint and at one point I tried to pull the harmonic balancer with a puller tool that only rotated the crankshaft and didnt pull the harmonic balancer.

I later realized as I was trying to reinstall the distributor that the timing was now off by the rotation of the crankshaft. So I looked at the shop manual and saw that the timing plate had a pic of where the mark should line up and I matched it.

Heres a pic of the alignment

I had checked that the 1st cylinder was at top dead center with the line matched up to the plate that is shown in the photo. So as far as I know this has helped to get the timing back to its original state.

Ill try and loosen it again and do the twist test later this week.

 

[tnblkc230wz]

Your alignment is off a little. The line on the balancer should be even with the 0 with the engine at TDC. The distributor should be pointing at number plug for just slightly after it.

 

[jimbo63]

Your alignment is off a little. The line on the balancer should be even with the 0 with the engine at TDC. The distributor should be pointing at number plug for just slightly after it.

Ok, so I'll get the 1st cyl to be TDC. What should I do if the hash mark on the HB isnt pointing to 0?

Also you said that the distributor should be pointing at which number plug?
And what am i looking to make sure its pointing to it since Ive converted to the pertronix HEI?