Well the long trek to get this truck going again with a few more ponies is turning into a real headache. Everythings in and attached correctly. Grounds are good. Fuel pressure is 40 psi. It is getting spark. The motor turns over and acts like it wants to start, but will only fire a few times and not run. What am I missing? Took the #1 piston to TDC and the rotors right where #1 wire is and the balancer says 0*. try starting it and nothing. Turn it over and move the distributor left or right slowly, nothing. I dont know whats going on!!!!!! please help

 

Are you confident that when you have No. piston at TDC it is on the compression stroke?

 

What have you done to it for more ponies? Sure the firing order is correct? I got mine mixed up after changing camshafts and it eluded me for the longest time. (5.0 is different)

 

How do you know when it is on the compression stroke? I thought TDC was TDC? When the pistions at the highest it can go. Am I wrong?

 

I have a 74 351w block bored .040 over. Stock intake and plenum and a stock bottom end. The heads are Gt40s with 1.7 RR in them and Flowtech LTs on them. The cam is a crane 444232 cam and the same as the origional firing order I believe as it was for the 351w?

 

To be on the compression stroke both valves have to be closed. The best way to verify this is to remove the valve cover and with No1 at TDC both rockers should have play. If one valve is open then you are 180 degrees out.

 

Quickest way to check TDC on compression stroke is to put your finger over the spark plug hole and bump the starter until your finger is blown off, then line up the balancer. Then check to see if the distributor is still lined up to #1.

The cam firing order looks to be the same.

 

Well it was on the compression stroke, but it isnt firing. timings at 0*. I pulled out the plugs and they were wet with gas. When cranked over the fuel pressure goes to 45 psi. Is that too much and killing the spark= wont run?

 

Are you sure the plug wires are on right? Are you sure the valve lash is not too tight?

 

The plug wires were gone over twice. They are on correctly and in the right spots on the distributor. Valve lash? Not sure what that is exactly. Please explain...

 

The valve lash is the adjustment on the rockers to ensure that the valves are not being held open very slightly on the compression stroke.
If the valves are held open, however little, the engine will have no compression on those cylinders.
You have double checked the firing order and that the dist is in right and I don`t think the fuel pressure is the problem.
running out of ideas.

 

Well I torqued the rockers down to the required torqe setting that the paper said. Should I loosen these up, or should I run a compression test on all cyclinders as a test prior to this?

 

No, if you torqued them down properly you should be OK.
You seem to have done everything right. As mentioned in a previous post the firing order for the 351 is not the same as the 302. Have you got a manual with the right firing order shown?
You say you have spark. Did you check the spark with the plug set on the engine or the spark at the coil.
Did you check the inside of the dist cap for cracks?

 

The cap and rotor are both new. I checked for spark at the plugs and there was good spark there. I dont see why this thing isnt running right now. There is spark and gas, why wont it run??

 

yes i have the haynes with the correct firing order and they were the same as what I had.