we have the ignition horwired and the starter. we have spark at the plugs. when we turn it over it backfires through the carb and shoots balls of flames from the manifolds. the only thing i can think is that it's 180 degrees out of time.
The dots should be at the 3 oclock position with 12 pins between the dots. Why Ford did this I don't know! The only other motor like this is the 215/223 6cyl Ford.
backfires through the carbs and balls of fire from the manifolds?! sounds like its running right to me!!
Make sure the firing order is correct and ALSO in these engines the distributor rotates Counter-Clockwise. That'll screw some folks up too...
My engine used to run pretty good on 5 cylinders; that was actually before I realized that I was missing something... I actually drove it like that for nearly 6 months. That explained why 3 of the exhaust header pipes remained painted nicely while the others were all burned up. It also explained why I couldn't figure out how to time the thing!
As mentioned above, 12 pins between dots, with dots at 3 o clock. However at this position the #6 piston is on the compression stroke not the #1. If you timed the engine in this position then you are, as others have suggested, 180 degrees out.
Screwed me up the first time ... 'cause the only motor I had worked on before that was my 223, whose dizzy rotates clockwise.
any luck? We just fired my y-block for the first time since rebuild and blew out the brand new muffler. My ears are still ringing. Timing these things are a bitch.
It's also a remote possibility the damper could have moved also. That would throw your timing marks off.
Good to see that I am not the only one that lined up the timing dots wrong. I sure do remember the correct way now. Neal
I lined up the dots both facing 3 oclock with the motor facing up and then put 12 pins in between the dots. That is how I was told to do it and what I had also read in a couple of manuals. That would be about right?
Could be the distributor 180 out as you suggest, I have done that on other engines and that sounds alot like what they do. Good luck.
Must have towed one 20 miles with one kid sitting in the engine compartment turning the distributer until we finally looked in the book and put the dots right..........auto shop 1962. Carb looked like a BBQ grill when we got it running. Reading directions first is a sign of weakness
Ah, the old "12 pins" bit, shades of my own mis-spent youth trying to burn down my shop starting redone "Y"s! And yes, I do believe that you time the dist. to #6 when the marks are set right. Another one of Henry's light bulb ideas!
Start with 6 degrees BTDC. Then progressively step it up to 8 or even 10. I've found that most average Y-blocks run best right around 8-10 degrees...
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