cut fuel (like disconnect lines at carb) pull plugs, turn over then reconnect everything.

OR

use seafoam. great stuff

 

Does that even happen normally. I have an 85 and fuel is only pumping when the engine is rotating. No flow happens until cranking occurs.

 

i've pretty much tried everthing but seafoam, unplug the fuel pump, pull the plugs, crank it till the mist is gone, clean the plugs, crank it again, put it all back together, put some oil in the carb, plug pump back in, start it up, then BANG! then it tries to fire up, and then dies.

is there anything i can do to the timing as like a baseline before i start it, so i know it will run?

oh, and djessence, the fuel isn't supposed to pour into the barrels, he was seeing if mine did that cuz maybe that was the problem.

 

All the times you have had your plug wires off are they routed the right way!

 

Are you pouring oil in the right carb holes? I recently struggled with mine, had been sitting two years...
Took alot of F-in around with it to get her running good..

 

oil in the carb holes, wires double checked every time. i know what the wrong way sounds like cuz i had them on wrong before. i think i'll have to go buy some seafoam and sea ( ) if that works.

 

make triple sure that you dont have your Leading and Trailing wires mixed up.

 

Nice post very funny. Glad your ok and it can be fixed.

You sure some punk didn't stuff a potato in there? We did that in the 70's a few times. I remember my friend (get's the guild from me to him) put a potato on a 72 Thunderbird exhaust lol..

 

any one have any ideas why my trailing ignition is being the way it is?
when you crank there's no spark, but when you let off the key, both plugs spark good untill the engine stops turning?

and if anyone has pics of their dizzy where the bolt is to lock the timing, so i can see if mine is remotely close would be great too. or i'll just go screw around with it and see what i can come up with.

 

maybe a bad ground??

 

if it doesnt spark while cranking but sparks when the key is in the "on" position it is the ignition switch. I have had a bad switch do the same (and weirder things as well)

Take the electrical switch off the back of the ignition core (1-2 screws depending on style)

you will notice the white part of the switch that contains the moving pieces is attached the the black part (the contact board) by 2-3 little clips.

push the clips with a screwdriver to disengage and carefully separate the back from the white housing. there will be tiny springs, so i suggest doing it over a towel/table.

once you have them apart marvel at how it actually functioned at all with all that corrosion/**** on the contacts. Clean all the copper pieces with carb/brake cleaner or gas and make sure all the springs are still good.

Re- assemble the same way you took it apart. then drive around.

if you need pics to help with the switch i can send detailed ones, its pretty simple inside though.


isaac

 

thanks, that will be one of tomorrow's projects then.

 

those pics are intense!

 

ok, today, i took my air cleaner off, again, and saw that my float bowl vent solenoid was unplugged. now i know it was me who did this because i was messin around under there when i took the carb off. so i figured, hey i'll check if this thing works. so i turned the key on, and tried to plug it and unplug it, and i got nothin form the solenoid itself. all i heard was the check relay clicking on and off when i touched and untouched the two plugs. so now what do i do? i would assume this is what's causing all my flooding. and i haven't checked the check valve in the return line yet, come to think of it, so i guess i will have to do that too.

 

dude, this would be so helpful, because i took mine apart today, and it exploded and parts went everywhere. it turns out the copper pieces inside look like brand new, so it would be sweet if i could see some pics on how it goes back together.

 

possible fuel buildup from somewhere possible emmisions sys malfunction. Just hit me, you had an EXPLOSION next to your gas tank!

 

bump

 

Wow that is impressive. I've never seen anything like that. Hope you get it figured out soon. Free bump.

 

So, if I read right, your rear rotor ignition only fires some of the time? Is it the entire rear rotor or is your leading or trailing ignition firing some of the time? If it's solely your rear rotor that's not firing right I'd be tempted to say that its not an ignition issue...anyone feel free to comment on anything that doesn't make sense, but leading and trailing are separate, and it would be odd that just your rear rotor wasn't firing right...

Just out of curiosity have you tried pop starting it? Maybe even try the redneck method of pulling it behind the car with a decent sized/length tow rope and popping it that way and seeing what you can get out of it...and don't be afraid to pop it multiple times behind the tow vehicle...let us know what happens!

 

yea-ps thats some of the funniest **** as far as muffler carnage goes. freakin awesome.

 

man, if i could bump start it, i would've by now, but the car doesn't have a driveshaft in it yet . anyways, it was only in one instance that the back rotor's plugs were burnt, and that was when it ran for the longest. now my issue is the trailing ignition. it only sparks when you let off the key. so i took apart my ignition switch, and parts exploded all over the place. i put it back together the way i thought it went, and tried to crank it, and i got nothing. it turns the car on, but doesn't crank it. Any ideas/pictures/tips on this?

 

It sounds like you have a few things going on.

1. sounds like timing is way off. I know you checked the wires, but also double check your GM HEI setup. You might have something crossed. Is the distributor original to the car (had ignitors on the side) or are there no places for ignitors ('80 style)?

2. the vent solenoid, check to see if you have power there with a voltmeter/multimeter when the key is 'ON'. This can cause flooding if disconnected.

3. The trailing working only when releasing the key sounds like the ignition switch. However, leading should do the same unless you have tied the leading ignitor/coil power into another place. If you need a good switch, I have a couple spares.

Good luck.

Kent

 

original dizzy, but i did find a couple marks where the bolts were on the plate where the bolt is that locks the timing. so i moved it over to the other one.

vent solenoid is open, with no plunger, so the carb is always vented.

all the coils are fed off the old power wire from one of the old coils.

a good ignition switch that is not blown apart would make my dreams come true, as i am at a stand still with where i can go right now. the car won't crank.

i know, i know, i can get under the car with a screwdriver and make it crank, but the way this thing has been backfiring, i DON'T wanna be under the car when that happens. serious injury or death may occur. (okay, not death)

 

do you have stock cats? the might be plugged or clogged
Who rebuilt the carb? it may have not been rebuilt correctly and still performs the way it did before the rebuild?
To set your timing it's easy let me know what your next steps are

 

stock exhaust, minus my muffler of course, so, stock cats.

i rebuilt the carb myself, and it no longer dumps fuel into the barrels like it did before.

my next step is to put in an ignition switch i am getting from kent, and see if i can crank it over again.

as for the timing, i have no idea where it should be as a baseline, and i don't see a timing mark on the eshaft pulley to line up the timing if it did run?

so where abouts should the dist. be for it to start up?