Well,it may sound like a stupid question,but me and 4 other buddies could not for the life of us remember which way an engine is supposed to turn.

Here's the problem,my buddy has an 82 F250 w/351W(The same truck I pulled my interior out of,see photo gallery),and he's trying to sell the motor.Well,he tried to start it,but it would just turn over.Somebody saw that the engine was turning over counter-clockwise(if your sitting in the cab),and we were thinking that it was supposed to spin the other way.Well,we hopped in another truck,and sure enough the motor spun clockwise(what we presume to be the right way).So,we all sat there for 2 hours trying to find out why it's spinning like that,but none of us know if it's right or not.Is it turning over wrong,or are we idiots?Are all engines the same in the direction they turn over?If it's wrong,I was thinking that the starter somehow reversed direction and is spinning the flywheel in the wrong direction.Could this be the problem?

Geez this sounds so stupid,but i'm dead serious.We even called the parts store,and they thought we were drunk.lol.

Thanks y'all.

 

Actually, some engines do turn clockwise, while others turn CC.

The problem could be due to (somehow) having a boat starter on the truck. Boat engines (automotive based) sometimes use a reverse rotation starter.
I've actually encounter that before. Both ways. A boat with a standard auto starter, and a car with a boat starter.......

Pop the dist cap and watch the rotor. Imagine placing the palm of your hand on the side of the vac advance fartherest away from the housing, and placing your fingertips on the housing. The direction your fingers point, is the direction the rotor *should* turn.

 

I don't think it has a boat starter on it,but it might be a possibility considering the kind of people that have owned this truck before.

That information shines a little bit of light on it.Does anybody know for sure what direction a 351W should spin?

 

Most American automotive engines do turn clockwise looking at the front of the engine. That's why on a front wheel drive car, you will find most of them have the front of the engine on the pass side with the belts and stuff. Honda engines do turn the other way, and that's why their belts and accessories are on the driver's side of the engine bay.

You can also look at the firing order of the engine on the intake manifold, and then watch which way the rotor is turning. The rotor should hit the firing order sequence as it goes around the cap.