Rebuilt 289 won\'t start

I'm having trouble starting a rebuilt 289. Everything was done by the book. The engine will spit and pop like it wants to start. It's getting a spark. The firing oder has been checked and rechecked. I even tried the firing order for the 351. The timing marks match. I've checked to see if the timing was 180 off. The plugs and wires are good. The points are set. Everything looks right. Anybody got any ideas?

Did you set the timing for approximately 10 degrees BTDC? And, you're absolutely positively sure it's not 180 degrees out? Is your condenser new? What gap did you use on the points? How old is your gas?


Sorry, no answers...only questions.
[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

[addsig]

We set the timing a number of ways. I'm pretty sure it's not 180 degrees out. I did check that. I could be wrong though. This is my first rebuild. My condenser is new, and the gap is set at 0.017. The gas is new, but I'm not sure if the fuel pump is working. I've been putting a little bit of gas or starter fluid down in the carburetor just to get it started. When it's wide open it seems to spit and pop more. When it's closed, it just turns over.

Although the timing marks match, they may not be correct. The outer ring of the damper could have slipped around a bit over time. Sounds like you're close, though. Just try turning the distributor one way or the other to see if it makes a difference. The right way is to find TDC and put the mark on the damper yourself.

Have you ckecked the bowls on the carb? Is the accelerator pump working? to start my 302 I pulled the #1 plug and verified the tdc using the finger over the plug hole trick. THen I made sure that the motor was on the power stroke by checking the rockers. Then I made sure the rotor was pionting to #1 and it started. By the way the car just backfired out of the carb the first time I tried to start it.

Yeah. those are things I've done. It all seems to be right.
Bowls on the carb? What do I need to check?
I'm not sure if the accelerator pump is working. I need to look into that.
If I keep turning it over slowly like this, will it ruin my new cam shaft?
Thanks for the ideas!

For the carb, just make sure there is gas in the bowls. To see if the accelerator pump is working look down the throttle body and see if gas is squirting out when you turn the throttle. As for the cam, I am not sure but try to get it running with the leased amount of cranking possible. You may want to prime your oil pump again.

Ok. I checked it out again today. The accelerator pump is working. Gas squirts out on both sides.

Are you going the correct direction around the cap when you check firing order?

Not that an experienced professional like me has every mad that mistake.....but I have heard about it
[img]/phpBB/images/smiles/icon_rolleyes.gif[/img]

Yeah. I'm pretty sure I'm going in the right direction. But I think I will double check that just in case. Thanks for the idea.