Technical Sbc first start troubles

Funny I didn't think it was inaccurate.
Static time rotor at 12*
Rotate distributor body to align rotor with #1 plug wire.

Maybe change "bring on around to 12*" to "back the crank up to 12* mark" ?

 

Vic, If you'd like to know what happened here, here's your answer:

Chevyguy must have had his HEI feed wire hooked to IGN 2, rather than IGN 1 , which I told him to do in one of his multiple earlier posts. Apparently he changed it so he now has "run" power after cranking.
(Squirrel's earlier wiring diagram also shows a pink wire at IGN 2)
I know, ..his explanation doesn't exactly follow, but it runs now, so not going back here.

As far as wiring it like a Chevy with points...No need to. Just because he now has a Chevy starter that may have an R terminal, doesn't mean he needs to use it for an HEI, especially with no wire in the harness.
All one needs to do is bypass the resistance wire in the harness at the ignition switch, and then wire the cap the Chevy way ( not the correct Pontiac way, where 5 & 7 don't cross ), and should be good to go.

 

If the clip on your timing light is on back to front you won’t get a flash. Mistake I made, there is a small mark or arrow on the clip that goes on the plug lead: The arrow/mark points towards the plug.

 

Okay so I've confirmed no 1 with the rotor just ahead of no1 cylinder and that all plug wires are in the correct order and rotation... The engine will fire up but it runs for a about 20 seconds really rough then dies and I can smell gas.... The carb is a new street avenger 570 with small jets so I shouldn't be too rich and the floats looks just right am I missing anything here? The engine won't rev at all just chops and sounds like a damn air plane lol then dies out. I have 6 psi on my fuel pressure gauge and the vacuum advance is plugged on the distributor thanks alot guys don't know how id finish this without the forum!

 

have you turned the dist while the car is running? forward and back? if you are a little off you will need to find the spot it like to run then check with a light, or use a vacuum gauge to get highest vacuum reading the back off 2 inches on the gauge as it reads.

 

Okay thanks for the info ill give it a try and see what it will do it won't run long enough yet to get a timing light to give a good reading on it but I'm going to try the vacuum reading

 

If this is a fresh build with a new flat tappet cam that needs to be broke in.....you better get it lined out fast and get that engine up to 2000 plus RPM or you could be in trouble.

 

That's what's really worrying me here

 

I would start by filling out your profile as to where you are. There might be someone close willing to help!

 

I'll second this....could possibly be a well seasoned Hamb'r close by willing to run you thru the basics.

 

Yes, that's correct. "Bring on around" to me implies continue turning in the same direction, which I guess is a crapshoot as well, depending on who is setting it up for the initial firing. I always turn them in the direction the engine normally runs.

 

Yeah, I caught that too, but I knew what he was trying to say.
You've got to be really explicit with some of the guys here, though . They haven't been doing this stuff forever and a day , like some of us have.

 

Haha yeah and thanks guys its been a huge help im in Texas near odessa ill update my profile so its public thanks.... So I got it started and running... So I was told to leave the cap off my radiator for the first while to let it burb out any air pockets so I ran it at 2000 rpm and varied it for about 10-15minutes and my temp gauge wasnt reading so I stopped it and it burped a gallon of coolant about 3 ft high from the filler cap....should I put the cap on and fire it back up??? I'm worried about that kind of pressure.. But it also should have registered on my gauge before it got that hot...why all the pressure I've never seen this before...thanks again guys

 

Oh and to update i advanced it a pretty good bit and also changed the new carb to an old holley that I know works and it fired right up so maybe that new carb did blow a power valve or something to that nature

 

Pull the thermostat and test it out in a pan of boiling water, make sure it opens.
I'm not sure you don't need a reminder now, but with a fresh startup, best to use just water to check for leaks and issues. Easier to clean up and cheaper.

 

Haha yeah hindsight 20/20 on that one I topped it off with primo antifreeze that's soaking the shop floor now lol ill test the thermostat now...it seemed like alot of pressure and scared the hell out of me from inside the car

 

Oh and it may be worth mentioning that it gushed the water during deceleration only

 

Hi
All I got to say, no wonder the guy is having a hard time with the information given.
Regards
Dave

 

You more than likely you had a air pocket in the cooling system.
When you fill it back up if you can take a heater hose loose that is high in the cooling system it will help.
If you don't have any heater hoses hooked up when you have the thermostat out fill the system to the bottom of the thermostat hole then install the thermostat and then top off the system.

 

You said it burped a gallon after you stopped it, and in a later post said that it only gushed during deceleration, so I'm not sure what the circumstances were. If you stopped the engine, the following can happen: When you shut the engine off the coolant stops circulating, and if the coolant is close to the boiling point some of it that is in contact with the hotter areas of the engine block and heads boils and turns to steam. When water turns to steam it expands by a factor of somewhere around 1600, so blowing a bunch of coolant out is not uncommon under the circumstances. Leaving the radiator cap on can prevent this due to the pressure in the system raising the boiling point of the coolant.

 

Awesome that's a great explanation thanks alot for that it makes more sense now I'm boiling the thermostat to test it out and will fill to the bottom of the thermostat and then top off the radiator and fire it back up and to clarify it gushed that gallon upon deceleration from 3000 rpm no load on engine thanks for chiming in on this

 

make sure the thermostat is in the right way there is an arrow pointing to the front....just checking
a new holley carb should not blow a powervalve, I've backfired through them a ton with no issues...

 

I know...It's hard to keep up with this whole saga :

 

Okay so after removing the water neck I found about a quart air pocket under the thermostat that explains the gush as we discussed before the new holley I put on runs the engine up pretty good 60 psi at 3000 rpm so far so good!

 

Get a thermostat with a toggler or drill a tiny little hole in it.

 

I've had fires in mine to without trashing a power valve, now the foam air cleaner I had is another story