well S@#! here i go. 94 corvette auto trans 60,ooo miles. car ran great, stock short block, TPIS camshaft, AFR 190 heads w/TPIS computer programming until i blow the stock motor. car has been sitting for 2 years without motor, just installed new 383, AFR 210 heads, new fuel system, vortech t-trim are the major new items. everything else as is. i can NOT get this thing to start...... i have tired everything i can think of, did every test possible i can do with your basic weekend warrior tools not once but twice. i don't expect to drive this car down the road but it should start. i'm looking for somebody with skills that i can talk too. i have picked every brain @ work and everybody i possible know. i'm stumped..... if anyone out there can direct me to somebody i can call or call me i could use the help. i'm not a cheap a@@, i will pay for the time if i can get this car too start. trying to do this via e-mail or posting back and fourth will take forever. please any help.... PM or anything....

thanks Brett

 

Brett, the car is cranking over?? you've checked for spark, fuel, and compression??
My phone#'s on the club roster give me a call.
Denver

 

I would not try to start the car without a mail order tune droped in for the current set up but anywho. If the car has been sitting for two years what injectors did you install with the new motor? The reason I ask is I had installed an LT1 that had been sitting for over 2 years and 7 out of 8 injectors where locked up. Is the car getting fuel (Are the plugs wet?) If not I would start there. The way I found the problem is I pulled the fuel rail and placed each injector into a cup and hooked +12VDc to the hot side of the injector and ground to the other (Had a toggle sw on the hot side), then I ran the FP untill I got 42 PSI and fliped the Sw while tapping the injector untill it began to spray.

 

Tell us what you have checked.Air,fuel,spark is all it takes.Do you have fuel pressure at the schrader valve?Are the plugs sparking?More info needed.

 

Take a deep breath and forget everything you have done to the car up until now and start afresh, this is how you will get this engine running. I can give you ny number if you want but it is overseas but Ill work at it ffor free.
OK lets get started at square one. The first thing you have to determine is if you have fuel and spark. Check the fuel at the sharder valve on the manifold, if you dont have a preassure guage just take a paper clip, with the ignition on and depress the valve center to see if gas is getting to the fuel injectors.
If you dont see fuel I will guide you through how to troubleshoot the fuel pump. At some stage in the future you will have to check the actual preasssure but for now keep moving
If you have fuel then lets check for spark by removing one of the spark plug wires and inserting a screwdriver and holdong the metal part of the screwdriver about 1/4 inches from an exhaust manifold bolt. If you have no spark we can begin to troubleshoot the ignition system.
If you have spark and good fuel preassure we will look at the timing. If the timing is right we will check the compression.
With these checks we have all of the bacics covered and will be able to pinpoint where the problem is and zero in on this until we have the engine rumming.
The good thing about diong it on this forum is that you will usually get alot of help from other members who may have experienced the same problems you are having, especially after we can pinpoint where the problem. This forum is full of knowledgable people who are aeger to help another Corvette owner.
Hope this incourages you to fix this baby yourself
Best regards
Jerris

 

i have spent days checking everything, fuel yes, spark yes, fuel pressure yes. i have something so simple over looked it will cause me to shoot myself. i had questions as if the camshaft timing was off and it's not. all cylinders are making 135 lbs. tons of spark from the coil. the only thing i have not checked is spark to every plug wire but i'm going to do that next as soon as i leave this posting. i'm using the stock injectors, i know they are way small but it should start the car. this thing will not even fart, cough, sputter or anything. i even changed the 2 year old fuel. i ran 12 volts to each injector on the bench and they all open and let fuel through. i'm almost crying...

 

You do have an Opti don't you? It is possible to install it a couple of teeth off and it will not start or sputter.Don't ask how I know.

What about the VATS system it will disable the car if it doesn't get the right feedback.Clean your key.After sitting for such a long time corrosion can occur.

 

With all the testing you have done you can definately get this baby running. I am not sure if you checked for spark at the plugs yet but you need to . You said it wont even cough, the problem may be something simple like you have left off the rotor inside the distributer or the cap may be bleeding off the spark from your ciol of there is no spark at the plugs.
If there is spark at the plugs, pull one of them to see if they are getting fuel through the injectors.
Remember keep it simple and do one thing at a time and eliminate it.
Jerris

 

here's a question: how does one check timing? i would like to know if spark timing is correct. i feel this is my problem. i did do this, timing light on a cylinder and turning motor over. the motor should make compression and timing light should should lite, right? it seems to me when this happens the timing light is a little behind the compression.

plenty of fuel ( twin 255 pumps in tank ), gauge is showing plenty of pressure. i tired 38 lbs all the way to 70 lbs.

over the weekend i tried the ol starting fluid and nothing.

spark is there and at every cylinder which i just checked.

 

opti spark yes. installed the same one i had when motor broke. from what i know and did the opti spark can only install one way???? the upper timing gear is splined and opti spark the same. the shaft can only go one way, RIGHT? this would be my 5-6th time installing a opti spark and the shaft between the 2 can only go in one way, RIGHT?

 

Did you install the opti, did go on easy?? Its is possible to misalign the gear.

 

right on, no fuss at all....

 

Did you do anything to the opti after your motor blew??

 

nope, it has just been sitting.

 

You have fuel, is it getting into the cylinders via the injectors?
You have spark. You have compression.
Either the injectors are not fireing or your ignition timing is way retarded.
The bad news is yes you can get the Opti installed off timing, but since this a difficult thing to correct lets complete the simple things first.
Pull one of the sparkplugs and see if it is wet with fuel.
Check the wires at the injectors while cranking with a test light to see if the ECM is sending current to the injectors and pulsing them.
If you have an LT1 type manifolld you can easilt pull the fuel rail and crank the engine to see if they are spraying fuel. Be carefull as this will spray fuel all over the top of your engine, try to put the rail in a bucket to catch the fuel or hold a towel close to them to shield and catch the fuel.
If the fuel is getting into the cylinders you have pretty much isolated the problem down to the Opti being installed 180 degrees off.
Keep at it
Jerris

 

Do you know, is it the original opti? was it oily on the outside? so you did not open it up?

 

it's the orig. opit spark. did a new cap/rotor before old motor broke.

 

fuel, spark, oxygen = somethin has to happen

 

Is the ECM sending current to the injectors?

 

i have done a real good test on the injector fire. i'm only going by the plugs having fuel on them and also did the starting fluid try also. i just find hard to understand that this motor will not even bark, fart, cough, back fire, just nothing. turns over like the coil wire is just off. stumped for sure...