A C

Dave, on my Holley, I have the vacuum port in the metering block capped.

AC

Rolling Thunder

Thanks AC, one cap coming up!

70L46

I think that's an excellent idea. Get yourself back to just the distributor, and once you get it running with that, try putting the MSD box back in.

Rolling Thunder

Okay, car still did not start. Now I have removed the distributor, coil and disconnected the MSD. I have installed the HEI and rewired the plug wires to the cap. There are three wires coming out of the HEI distributor to a factory connector. I know one is 12 volt key on power, and I assume one is for an electronic tach. Who can tell me which is which and which are necessary?

Pink
Black
Brown

Dave



[Modified by Rolling Thunder, 3:47 PM 8/12/2001]

bob

Brown is tach--not required--you need the others.
bob

Rolling Thunder

Bob - Can you tell me what the other two are? Just guessing I'd say the pink was 12 volt key-on. Is the black a ground wire or what?

Rolling Thunder

HEI is wired and works fine. I guess I'm brain dead. I have now found the other problems and will post what I found after I get it corrected and get over my embarrassment.

Oh what the heck, we're all friends here. I mentioned above that I had compression, fire and timing. I assumed the compression part. We won't go into the phonetic spelling of assumed, will we? At least on the #1 cylinder the exhaust valve was not closing all the way. My guess is, it's not the only one. I used the thumbroll plus 3/4 turn as called for in the assembly instructions for the engine, but that is undoubtedly too tight. When I backed off the intake, it made no change, but when I backed off the exhaust, I had excellent compression.

Somebody just shoot me, I'm too old for this stuff. Guess I should have named it Sitting Blunder. :rolleyes: Now to figure out a new basis for adjusting the valves.

Later guys, I'm back to the garage.

Dave

A C

Hehe :lol: At least it's nothing major. I am sure you are not the first person on this board to overtighten a valve.

AC

bob

The larger of the plugs has the ground and the pick up wires ( power to pick-up and wire from pick-up, this one from memory so don't count on it ). Glad you found your valve problem.
bob

BubbaJJ

Good thing you found it, I was just about to suggest that the cam was put in off time. When I adjust the valves on my BB, I use the thumb method and turn until I just start to feel resistance. Then I go about a third of a turn more. This seems to work just fine and I have had no problems and my valve train isn't noisy. It seemed that if I went past the third of a turn it went past the preload and was getting into loading the spring.

78Vette-SA

Dave,

Are these Crate Engines test run before shipping. I would think so. Just in case though maybe Bubba hit on something. You may want to pop off the water pump and timing cover and make sure the cam is installed correctly. This of course would be a LAST RESORT if you can't figure it out oterhwise.

If you don't get it by tommorow, we're all coming over to your house. :mad

marky mark

FWIW, We started up my newly rebuilt 427BB last Tuesday but not w/o some problems. They put the distributor (I have a Mallory Unilite w/mechanical advance and tach drive) in wrong ("off a tooth", they said). And carb float bowl turned out to be stuck (this is on a Quadrajet). A couple of light taps of a hammer solved the float bowl problem. They primed the carb with some gas down the throat and it finaly fired up, but not before back firing a couple of times before it started. They had turned it over a dozen tomes before they went for the carb "adjustment".Make sure you've recently primed your oil pump also.

After it started it ran o.k. during the break-in even being off a tooth.

I think your valves are likely your problem, but if it still won't start tap on the float bowls and prime that carb with a couple ounces of gas.

Good post! Best wishes on a successful 502BB!

Regards, mark