I put my 6.6L 400 from my 1969 into a 1980 Pontiac LeMans, went to start it last night after finishing and it turns over but won't start. Today I put the motor at TDC, the #1 cylinder is pushed all the way out (stuck a pencil in there till it was maxed), the timing marks on the harmonic balancer match up to the indicator on the block, but the rotor underneath the distributor cap isn't where I had read the #1 cylinder would be firing. I was under the impression that if you were standing at the front of the car looking at the distributor cap that #1 was at about 1 o clock. The way this TDC is looking as got it pointing at about 5 o clock. What am I missing here? The motor ran great when I pulled it I can't imagine the distributor timing is that far off. I know the firing order is 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2, but it doesn't do me much good if I don't know where number one is on the distributor! Help please!
Help with Distributor '69 Pontiac 400
- Thread starter Hickson856
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Could be that you are on the exhaust stroke and not the compression stroke. Try it with your thumb over the hole and feeling compression. Also make sure you have the wires in the correct spots on the cap, a pontiac rotor turns opposite to a chevy. Bin der dun dat!
Yeah I double checked the wires and I'm definately on the compression stroke, still not starting! Any other tips?
#1 is wherever you want it. By that I mean when you determine TDC for #1 cylinder, you can place the distributor in the block and orient it any way you wish. The factory just happened to orient it such that the rotor points to the firewall at about the 1 o'clock position for easiest plug wire routing and advance canister placement. When you remove a distributor from the block, the gear on the bottom rides along the camshaft gear and turns the shaft a little. Same when you install it, you must anticipate the cam gear engagement and add a bit of travel to where it will end up. Go back and find your TDC by watching the valves open/close to be absolutely sure. Then insert the distributor and orient the rotor where you want it. Make sure your #1 tower on the cap lines up with the rotor as best as you can. It will start and then you can time it properly. Another trick I like is to remove all the spark plugs and time it while it's cranking.
Thanks for all the information, I've come to the conclusion that I feel it's an electrical problem, the #1 cylinder isn't where the factory had placed it, rather it faces the #1 cylinder (at about 4 o clock rather than 1), I'm assuming this is from someone before me changing it out, it is what it is. I've never pulled the distributor and it ran great before the swap so I was hoping it was something simple like point gap etc. The plugs, cap, rotor and wires are all new, I did change that out in the swap, and I had gapped the points but still no spark to my engine. So being that it's 2012 I was going to change from points to HEI, I've found there's a conversion kit from Summit Racing that you can change from points to HEI without having to pull the distributor, it's all contained under the cap, and it's only about 60 - 80 dollars, anyone have any experience with this or should I just invest in a new HEI distributor?
Many people use the conversion; Petronix is probably the most popular.
BUT, you could be throwing $$$ at it for no reason.
I'd recommend that you find out what the problem is before changing out any more parts.
Start with the basics.
I know there is good advice that's been posted on the other (Pontiac) forum.
Follow those directions and you should be able to diagnose the problem.
Did you change out all those ignition parts when you were swapping the motor into this car? If so, you'll need to confirm that the work was done correctly.
Is the coil connected properly?
Is the rotor installed properly? It SHOULD only go on one way, but some of the aftermarket parts could be forced on in the wrong position (180 degrees out).
Test for spark; the spark should be blue. White or orange indicates a problem (possibly a bad coil or improperly set points).
If you have NOT pulled the distributor, don't pull it now. If it's still in the same position. as it was when the engine was running, you should be able to get it running again without pulling the distributor. (Unless you had a huge backfire and jumped a timing gear tooth)
BUT, you could be throwing $$$ at it for no reason.
I'd recommend that you find out what the problem is before changing out any more parts.
Start with the basics.
I know there is good advice that's been posted on the other (Pontiac) forum.
Follow those directions and you should be able to diagnose the problem.
Did you change out all those ignition parts when you were swapping the motor into this car? If so, you'll need to confirm that the work was done correctly.
Is the coil connected properly?
Is the rotor installed properly? It SHOULD only go on one way, but some of the aftermarket parts could be forced on in the wrong position (180 degrees out).
Test for spark; the spark should be blue. White or orange indicates a problem (possibly a bad coil or improperly set points).
If you have NOT pulled the distributor, don't pull it now. If it's still in the same position. as it was when the engine was running, you should be able to get it running again without pulling the distributor. (Unless you had a huge backfire and jumped a timing gear tooth)
As far as I understand it everything it correct, the positive side of my coil got wired to the original ignition wire that ran to the distributor on the previous motor, the negative side is connected to the wire that comes out of the bottom of the distributor.
The rotor was put back on the same way the old one came off, (it's also got a square and round keyway on it so it can only go the one way).
I'm getting no spark at the sparkplug, but I checked with a voltmeter and I do have power at the coil, so somewhere between the coil and the sparkplug I lose my juice, hence pointing the finger at the distributor.
And I never pulled the distributor, and it ran fine before so I agree to just leave it alone, it should be fine. So with all that still on the right track for changing some parts? Distributor vs points to HEI conversion kit?
Incidentally I'm located in Pittsgrove, South Jersey.
The rotor was put back on the same way the old one came off, (it's also got a square and round keyway on it so it can only go the one way).
I'm getting no spark at the sparkplug, but I checked with a voltmeter and I do have power at the coil, so somewhere between the coil and the sparkplug I lose my juice, hence pointing the finger at the distributor.
And I never pulled the distributor, and it ran fine before so I agree to just leave it alone, it should be fine. So with all that still on the right track for changing some parts? Distributor vs points to HEI conversion kit?
Incidentally I'm located in Pittsgrove, South Jersey.
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