you do know the #1 cylinder is on the passengers side of the engine not the drivers side as on the chevys. i made that mistake 22yrs ago when i switched to the blue ovals

 

Eric you may be 180º off on your timing.

John
jowilker


66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night,
you can hear chevys rusting away.

 

Since it is not backfiring, it probably is not a full 180 degrees off. Sounds like it might be off by a few degrees either way. A quick way to check is to bring #1 up to TDC again and pull the cap. Rotor tip should be pointing at #1 plug terminal. You can always move each plug wire on the distributor cap one place in either direction to get it fired up. Best piece of advice is just be patient. I just went though this same thing and I finally got it right after a couple tries.

 

I changed the plugs got it started but it wouldn't run for more than a couple of seconds at a time. Now it won't start the plugs aren't firing. I am trying to find an electronic distributor and stuff for it. Eric

 

I changed the plugs got it started but it wouldn't run for more than a couple of seconds at a time. Now it won't start the plugs aren't firing. I am trying to find an electronic distributor and stuff for it. Eric

Eric, How is it running for the few seconds? Is it able to rev up? Is is somewhat smooth?

I just put in a new 428 with heavy mods and converted the stock FE dist to Pertronix with Cap-A-Dapt kit and new wires and Pertronix epoxy coil. I had a REAL tough time getting it to fire. Don't forget the dist runs counter-clockwise. I finally put the timming light on and tapped it over until she fired the light and checked where the timming was, this ended up working. The problem ended up being three things:
1. the carb was rebuilt and way out of adjustment
2. the timming was off
3. the plugs ended up dirty after trying so hard to start it. I changed the gap from 45 to 35 and she starts much better.

The easy way to check for fire, is to crank the engine over with the timming light pointed at you and just go from wire to wire to see if each one is getting fire. Also be careful how long you crank that starter, once she gets hot, give her a break. I've replaced 4 starters last year getting the engine to fire up, because I got mad and wouldn't stop cranking long enough to let her cool down! Also check that you have 12+ volts to the dist and coil.

 

It ran fine. It was running pretty smooth it would rev but then it would like bog down. The carb hasn't been touched since it was running. I think it is the coil I am going to replace it and the plugs this weekend. What Kind of plugs should I use? Eric

 

Autolite #45 should do just fine Eric.

John
jowilker


66 F100s
In the still cool hours of the night,
you can hear chevys rusting away.