Door is now bent and engine won't start

[shifty]

Okay, so this turned into the weekend from hell.

The HEI swap in the truck today was a failure. To make matters worse, the driver's side door was wide open and pinned my girlfriend's arm against a 4"x4" support for my back deck when the truck rolled backwards a bit b/c the e-brake wasn't set all the way. We're not sure if it's broken, but it bruised really badly within a few minutes.

Now the door won't shut correctly. The truck won't start. Need help with both.

Door: I need to understand what the problem is. There is no clear sign of damage to the cab...so I guess maybe the hinge is bent? I'm not sure. Kinda pissed about the door, but at least it didn't get ripped off completely. Basically, the 'block' that the latch catches is sitting too far towards the front of the truck.

HEI swap: Man, I'm lost. I'm getting both spark and gas, so I guess the timing is off. I swear I'm doing everything right . Here's what I did: I popped out the old dizzy and old coil. I removed the yellow wire from the starter to the coil. I left the purple and ground wire on the starter. I ran a new ign power wire from the firewall to the HEI dizzy. I removed spark plug on cylinder #1. I put my finger over the cylinder #1 and turned the cooling fan to crank the motor until it started to push my finger out and the mark on the harmonic balancer was lined up with 0º on the timing marker (proper way to find the beginning of compression stroke, TDC, right?). I took the cap off the dizzy and inserted it with the rotor pointing at cylinder #1. I put the cap on the dizzy and wired it up starting with #1 and moving clockwise around the dizzy (153624). I inserted the rubber spacer and spring into the dizzy and inserted coil, attached the red and yellow wire, ran a ground strap like the instructions say and also grounded the black ground wire on the coil. I removed the vacuum advance line and capped it off on the dizzy. I turned over the engine. It cranked, but never started. To make sure I was getting a spark, I removed one of the plug wires, stuck a screwdriver in the plug wire and had my girlfriend turn the engine over. The plug wire is sparking in rhythm, so I know the dizzy is working. What am I doing wrong?! I don't get it....

If you know what happens when you open your door too far or if you have suggestions about the timing or what happened to the door, I would like to hear it. Should I take the door off by the hinges to see if there is damage to the cab?



I hoped this weekend would produce better results. This sucks.

[LUV2XCLR8]

Man That Sucks, I Wish I Could Help But I'm No Expert By Anymeans

[69ride]

Just a shot in the dark but did you know that #1 on points type dist. and #1 on HEI are in different locations? You probably checked that. As for the door, no friggin clue.

[NPilot1975]

Also, make sure you are not 180 degrees out on the distributor. If you are, it will turnover like mad, sound normal, but not start.

[farside847]

take care of the girl first, she will help you through the rest.

[jhow66]

When you say "#1 cylinder" are refering to the cylinder it's self or #1 terminal on dist. cap?

[shifty]

Originally Posted by jhow66

When you say "#1 cylinder" are refering to the cylinder it's self or #1 terminal on dist. cap?

I mean # 1 cylinder - the front-most cylinder of the engine. The dizzy cap isn't numbered! You mean there is a correct #1 position on the cap? I had two people tell me that as long as the rotor was pointed at #1 cylinder, you could pop the cap on with the rotor touching one of the plug points. and you're good to go. Is this not right? How would I know what is #1 on the dizzy cap?

Originally Posted by 69ride

Just a shot in the dark but did you know that #1 on points type dist. and #1 on HEI are in different locations? You probably checked that. As for the door, no friggin clue.

No, I wasn't aware of this. Does anyone have a shot of an L6/250 HEI cap and the numbering? I must be missing something.

[dtlilly]

To H3ll with the truck, is you lady friend okay?

Do you have power to the new dizzy? I ran a jumper from the battery to the HEI in my 250/6, just to be sure I was getting power to it. The door? it may have bent the door hinges.

[shifty]

Yes, for everyone that asked, she is ok (we think). She just got back from Vancouver - she had to manage making a commercial for Cingular. She came back with either Bronchitis or Pneumonia. Got a doctor friend (never thought I'd say that!) coming over tomorrow to check her out for the sickness. We'll have her arm looked at also.

DT: I gotta have power to the dizzy. No power == No spark. I'm definitely getting a spark. I will try to do the battery thing tomorrow. I thought about that tonight, but ... I had to cook dinner for the woman (homemade creamy tomato soup + grilled cheese + beer...great way to fight a cold!) I can give it a try tomorrow, but I wanted to post here and get some thoughts. I'm totally lost I want my truck to go!

[kwmech]

Power to the dizzy while cranking, and just the key on right? Want to make sure the wiring from the inside is correct. Double check the timing, if you haven't already could be off 1 tooth.

[shifty]

Only power to the dizzy when key is turned forward, yes. Not constant power. Double check the timing how?

[dtlilly]

So you have spark and fuel, but it's not firing off? Even if you are 180 degrees off, you should get a spit and spudder. Makes me wonder about the carb.

[shifty]

Brand new carb. It worked previously.

Something I left out: every dozen or so turnovers of the starter I hear a ginel spitting sound, sounds almost like air forcing out of something. I haven't been able to locate it yet.

[dtlilly]

Are you sure you have spark coming out of the plugs?

[shifty]

I stuck a screwdriver in the plug wire for #4. I held the screwdriver shaft near a ground source and it sparked, then it knocked the living crap out of me when I moved it away. If it's not sparking, then I have a very active imagination

[screamin_c102]

OK first you need to pull the cap on the dizzy and set it aside.

Rotate the engine with your finger in the #1 plug hole. The pressure at top dead center will push out your finger and let out a hiss.

Look at your balancer and verify that your timing mark is at 0 degrees. If it isnt then back your engine up by hand using the fan or a bar.

Now see where your rotor is pointing and mark the outside of distributor at the spot where the rotor is pointing.

Install the cap and verify that one of your plug towers is lined up with the mark you just made(you can turn the dizzy slightly if needed).

This is now you #1 post, start your firing order from that point, working your way around the distributor.

Remember you want the compression to push your finger out hard. You can be 180 out (exhaust stroke) and still feel a push, but it will be weak.

Good Luck with this and your lady.....

[shifty]

Will do, skii. It's raining outside here in ATL right now, so I can't go out and check (everyone is asleep too )

screamin - I did exactly that when starting up. I turned the cooling fan until my finger wasn't getting sucked in anymore. I rotated the fan just a hair more until it barely pushed my finger, then noticed the line on the HB was near the 0 mark. So, I finished lining it up to zero and went from there.

[dtlilly]

LOL, I use a jumper wire that I stick in to the end of the plug wire that is long enough for me to hold and crank the truck at the same time. I got usd to feeling the heartbeat of a Chevy!!! LOL

[screamin_c102]

Originally Posted by shifty

Will do, skii. It's raining outside here in ATL right now, so I can't go out and check (everyone is asleep too )

screamin - I did exactly that when starting up. I turned the cooling fan until my finger wasn't getting sucked in anymore. I rotated the fan just a hair more until it barely pushed my finger, then noticed the line on the HB was near the 0 mark. So, I finished lining it up to zero and went from there.

You could be on the exhaust stroke (180 out) the piston is still moving up during this stroke but the exhaust valve will be opening. It will still push your finger just not as much.

Remember tht the cranks spins twice to the cam spinning once, thats why you can have the pointer lined up with 0TDC on the marker and still be 180 degrees (1/2 a revolution) out of time.

[shifty]

It's possible I could be out by 180, I guess. Would it just be easier to take the valve cover off and look at it this way? It would only take an extra 10 minutes to do this. I have a spare cork one-piece felpro gasket to replace the existing one.

I hope I haven't messed anything in the engine up from my attempts.

[screamin_c102]

Na those sixes are bulletproof. If you pull the valve cover make sure to watch the #1 intake and exhaust valves. Once both valves are closed and the pointer is on 0 there is no room for argument, thats TDC.

Have a good night

[krue]

Quickest way to check for 180 out is to put the #1 wire on the post opposite the one it's on now and wire the dizzy with that as the starting point. If you were 180 out, now your dead on!

[shifty]

so ... you're saying ... with my current 153624 setup, swap it to be a 624153?

someone told me a perverse way to remember the firing order on my engine tonight. 15 is too young, 36 is too old, 24 is just right.

[krue]

What I am saying is if you are 180 degrees out, move the wires 180 degrees. Problem solved.

[69 Short Fleet]

You might want to double check your plug wires are hooked up correctly (to the right terminals on the cap) and this prob sounds identical to the one I had last summer... I was off by 2 cylinders (dist.), hope your gal is OK also. Doug