I'll try to make this a short story but just want anyone responding to have all the details. I bought a 68 skylark from a guy who had someone else do an engine swap for him. Afterwards the guy doing the work could never get it to start and blamed it on the wiring harness. It all looks pretty good, they replaced the carb. fuel pump, as well as the distributor with new ones, all new fuel lines, plug wires, plugs. Once I got it home I found alot of the wiring had been disconnected at various points and several vacuum leaks. Once I plugged the holes and plugged all the wiring connections back together I tried to start it. No luck I then pulled the distributor cap and checked the timing marks on the crank, everything checked out, I checked the points, they look good and have the proper gap. I replaced the new coil with another new one. One thing I forgot to mention, the gas tank is not connected so I have a fuel line running from a gas can underneath the car to the fuel pump(unsure of the condition of the tank, and didn't want to take any chances).Now when I try starting the car it hits every now and then like it is trying to start, but still no luck, I have tried moving the distributor both ways with no luck, checked and double checked the timing marks and looked repeatedly for more vacuum leaks, changed the spark plugs, ran a hot wire from the battery to the coil. :ball: If anyone has any ideas please let me know.uzzled:
I forgot to mention that while replacing the spark plugs I checked compression on all cylinders and they were all 80psi +/- 5 lbs.
using a gas can under the car can cause a terrible fire/explosion if a spark from a starter, exhaust, or even a backfire through the carb gets to it. as for your motor not starting ... i would look into the points or condensor inside the distributor. but that gas can is really dangerous. all it would take is one spark to ruin your world.
Thanks for the tip! However when I say under the car I don't mean near harms way, it is placed under the front bumper on the drivers side, away from any sparks or exhaust. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I checked the points and they were in new condition and have the proper gap, condenser may be bad but is new as well. If I keep replacing all the new stuff, I'll soon have two of everything. Ebay here I come!!!
When you are cranking the engine, are you getting any sparks to the plugs? Sounds more like a fuel problem to me. Are fuel being sprayed into the carburetors venturi when you move the accelerator? Per. :beer
I haven't gotten to work on the car anymore as of your ideas, but I hope to get to mess with it tommorrow. I'll post what I find, and thanks to everyone who posted advice. o No:
If you have spark and it is a Q jet . Chech the fuel filter in the neck fitting. Hold the line fitting with one wretch while removing the fitting with another. Suspect crude may be present which means it is in your tank.
Hokey smokes Batman! Yuk is 100% on the money here! Carl- do not fool yourself one second longer...under the bumper on the driver's side is not safe! I have seen sparks coming from the most unlikely places under cars. Please do not think that all's well! Are you certain that your rotor is pointing toward the #1 terminal when at TDC on the #1 piston? Easy check- take an old distributor cap, and knock out the #1 terminal. Drill it out BIG, so you can put the cap on, and look inside. You should see the rotor under the #1 terminal at TDC on the #1 piston. Crazy reasons for no start- 1) distributor gear's roll pin broken (happened to me- twice) 2) neutral safety switch screwy, and/or dirty contact on tranny. Shift through gears in the auto. tranny a few times 3) bad coil wire 4) fusible link broken 5) left feeler gauge inbetween points (I have done this) 6) timed 180* off
..... Shouldn't your compression be around 140-150.... or do you mean that your pulling 180...?? Because if its only 80psi, then I'd be checking that out. o No:
Are you sure your getting enough gas to the carb? Have you tried to prime the carb by pouring a SMALL amount of gas directly into the carb just before you try to start it? I have done this several times using a top off a spray can. Fill it @ 1/3 full and pour it into the carb. Then try to start it. It will have enough gas to run for @2 or 3 secs that way. Another thing, are you sure the fuel pump works? If it's not pumping enough gas, it won't get enough to start or run. I ran a motor before just sitting ( actually chained down) on a small trailer. If you by pass all the electrical BS, it can be done. All you need is power to the coil and distributor. Just need to make sure you have the electrical power, gas and timing. Just a few things to try. Dan:3gears:
Possible to be 80 lbs, if new rebuild job. I had 1 I rebuilt when I was in school ( many years ago) that only had 80 lbs compression when I was trying to fire it back up. It should have had a bore job, but I was on tight budget. So it got new rings, bearings and gaskets only. Took me almost 2 weeks of working on it after school to get it to fire up. I ran it for a week, then rechecked the compression. It had jumped up to almost 140 lbs compression then. If it has been rebuilt, and sitting for a while it may be low to start. Again, not knowing what exactly was done inside doesn't help at all. Just my thoughts. Dan
All sounds like good advice! Most of these ideas I have tried, and like you Dan, I have run an engine on the ground before. I'm somewhat new to Buicks but all principals should be the same. I am getting spark, and I'm fairly sure the timing is right, could be 180' out but I'm not getting any backfires or anything like you do when it is out of time. Doesn't seem to be picking up fuel, I have poured fuel into the carb. and suspect that to be some of the reason for the low compression numbers(cylinder wash down). I'm not sure what was done to the engine internally, the guy that I bought it from totally trusted the guy doing the work and then later regretted it badly, he didn't know anything about working on cars, that's why he had this guy doing the work for him. I know with a chevy fuel pump it is possible to install the pump without getting it underneath the fuel pump rod, however a buick works directly off the camshaft doesn't it? it is possible to screw it up when installing it? However when I poured gas directly into the carb. it still didn't start, but as I stated earlier, it does hit from time to time and almost starts. I still haven't had the opportunity to work on the car again since I first posted this. I bought a 68 GS hard top Saturday to get some of the parts I need to put the convertible back together( it is totaled in the right front) I figured I'd use some of the parts to make mine a GS clone. Then I took the wife and kids to a firework display, today mostly had family functions cookout and such. I have tommorrow off so I hoped to get to turn a few wrenches but my wife has to work so I'll be watching the kids, Where does all the free time go that you had before you have kids?lol. Thanks guys for all the time you've taken to send me your ideas I'll let everyone know once it's running. Hope all had a great 4TH!:beer
I hope you figure it out:Brow: As i said in my last post, I did a cheap rebuild job on a 283 chevy sb. It too only had @ 80lbs compression per cylinder. It drove me nuts trying to get it to start the first time. We checked and re-checked everything we could think of. But when it started, it was probably the most reliable motor I have ever had in any caro No: Good luck. Dan:3gears:
OK, I am confused now...did this get a rebuild, or a swap, Carl? The Buick oil pumps that I am familiar with (you didn't say what your engine was, i think) is the type that runs off the distributor. In my experience, you can't screw it up, because if it wasn't enagaged properly, the distributor wouldn't be seated on the timing cover fullt, and that half inch gap would be very obvious, between the cover and the land on the distributor housing. The simplest way to re-install the Buick distributor in this kind of setup is to take the oil pump cover off, and remove the gears. Then install the distributor. Now you can mate the drive gear to the distributor, instead of the other way around, which can be maddening. If you're getting spark, then have you checked the fuel pump? I have had broken fuel pump arms in two buick engines.
She's running!!:grin: I checked the fuel pump and it was not pulling a vacuum, so I removed it and actuated it a couple of times with a vacuum gauge connected and it was working. I reinstalled it and it fired right up. I'm not sure why it didn't start when I tried pouring fuel into the carb, unless it just wasn't enough. Anyway she's running now. When it first started the oil light stayed on for a few seconds which had me worried but it went out after a few seconds and during repeated restarts it didn't stay on again. The lifters are a little noisy but I figure that will clear up with a little running. Buick valves are non-adjustable aren't they? It runs pretty smooth other than the lifter noise, I'm just glad to hear it run for the first time. After I work out some of the bugs I need to remove the fuel tank, clean it and reinstall. Then bleed the brakes. After that at least I will be able to move it around under it's own power. Then maybe I'll be motivated to start on the body work. I'm just glad to see some progress! Thanks to all who gave their suggestions and ideas, I appreciate all the input! I'll try posting a photo of the car but I want to warn you she ain't pretty.But you have to start somewhere!:beer :laugh:
Having the light stay on for one or two seconds on a cold startup is standard in my experience. The stock rockers are probably non-adjustable, although I still don't know exactly what engine you have, lol. Glad to hear it started.
Glad to hear you got it started:grin: You may never know exactly why it didn't start before, but at least it's running now. Good luck with it:Brow: Dan:3gears:
Sorry 462CID for not adding that it is a 350 Buick out of a 71 Skylark. I was told that it had been rebuilt prior to the engine swap.
