Hot Rods Not Starting (here's one for ya!) RESOLVED

My Roadster issue:
Was running fine, all at once it stumbled......coughed, some backfire, shook, would not move in gear.....then quite!

59A Flathead, Bubba crab, Holley 390 4bbl, '35 3 speed top loader, electric fuel pump, 12v system.
Prior, it would fire up with fuel pedal once to the floor......boom, running.

What I have checked:
power to the starter but just spins and spins w/o fire up.
ignition system checks out Ok (test light to coil and ground, test light to both coil terminals ign on and starter button engaged) have spark to the plugs so I have fire. Fuel to the carb...........but no start?

What am I missing to check?
Suggestions.

 

Give engine a spin with starter and distributor cap pushed aside...see if rotor rotates. You may have had a fiber timing gear...

 

timing slip?

 

sorry and to add.....newly rebuilt flathead V8........

 

My guess too. Hell I even had a steel gear take a dump on me a few years back. it happens.

 

Ok
Geez, that's not good news if it happens to be that!

Rotor has to be turning as I get spark to the plugs!

 

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Gettin spark at the plugs is no sign,,,The spark must be there at correct timing...Not a big deal to pull the front cover and check it out

 

How many miles since rebuild?

 

My gut says the weak link is your electric fuel pump. An engine needs three things to run. If you have got air and spark then....

 

ok
Well, it's a bit of a job in this setup. Pretty tight quarters.

less than 100 miles on build

I have fuel to the carb.

 

Before you pull the front off of it pump the carb and look down the throat. See if it is squirting fuel too the carb doesn't necessarily mean fuel to the runners.

Its going to be something simple and you'll go well hey I'll know what to look for next time.

 

Fuel test, crude, field expedient: While cranking shoot a flammable aerosol like WD40 or carb cleaner down the carb. You will get at least some violence and an attempt to start if no fuel. You may also lose some hair, eyeballs, etc. if you don't keep your head well back...
Spark at plugs largely exonerates timing gear, as usually the crap fiber ones lose enough at failure to leave the cam stationary...I suppose it MIGHT have picked up the next tooth.
Is spark fat and blue (good) or thin and yellow (dying coil)?

 

Beaner: I poured fuel into the carb, ignition on, pedal to the floor and no go. That always starts my old 63 Tbird.

Burt: Good blue spark. Haven't tried ether.

Prior to this issue......it ran really strong and fired up in 1/2 sec off the button.
It was the shudder and shake and small backfire then stall that seemed strange.
Not sure what else to check on the carb?
When I pulled the line into the carb from the pump I expected fuel to run out but it was pretty dry......not bone dry but not soaking wet either. Yet, when I pump the throttle it's squiring fuel into the front two of the 4 barrel and nothing in the rear two.

 

Is it possible the fuel pump is weak? I did notice the power wire to the pump was loose. I tightened it but not real happy the way it was made. I do hear it buzzing with power to it. That may not mean a whole lot.
So, maybe some fuel to the line but not enough?
Still does not explain me putting fuel from a can down the carb and no fire?
Just weird!

 

Take the cap off and check the rotor is rotating correctly. Just had a y block that had all the right ingredients to run , futzed for a while and discovered the tab that locates the rotor on the shaft was badly damaged and the timing was where ever it wanted to be.

 

Shudder, shake and backfire have all the signs of sudden timing malfunction

 

I'll pull the dizzy cap and have a look.

 

Get a smoke supply source (lit cigarette) and hold it just ahead of the carb airhorn.
Crank the engine, if the smoke does NOT go down the carb while cranking, the timing gear has parted ways with TDC!
Easy test.
...and before some of our PC supervisors yell "Fire! Fire!" the cherry from the cig won't ignite if gas fumes aren't prevalent...

 

It's that Bubba crab. They'll do it every time!

 

If the timing gear has jump a tooth or two,the only way to tell is to LOOK at it..as I said in a previous post

 

LOL in a garage I worked in when I was in high school we kept a can of gas around to drop cigs into, just to freak people out.

I have lost an eyebrow or two looking down a carb when one backfired though.

 

Pulled the cap, turns fine.....I tried to start it again and it caught but just for a second then quit again. Almost like it is starving for fuel.
What to look for with a new Holley 390?

 

LOL! Is that what's happening in your avatar photo???

 

Go to youtube there is more videos!! Pete

 

Pulled the site plugs.....just a drip or two from the front.....quite a bit from the rear.

 

My 57 Pontiac did exactly the same thing. I spent a full day [in the cold Portland rain] diagnosing the problem with no luck. My buddy, Jim says it sounds like the coil...nah, it's never the coil. He says he has a spare coil on his workbench and 4 hours later it give it a try.....was the coil even though I got a spark with the old one.

 

Have you checked all the plugs?

 

Sounds exactly like what happened on mine when the condenser failed. I would still get spark, but it would not run.

 

Is it gasoline? or water...

 

Interesting situation, hmmm .
Can't wait to find out the cause.
If it is a timing problem, a compression test should show valve timing and movement problems.