Aftter lots of upgrades, she won't start...just cranks

Excuse the long post...but I need some serious help.

I am doing a new thread and a recap… Hopefully this will trigger something that I may have messed up...something new to try that will get the car started. Going nuts here. Many months ago, the Comet was running great. A buddy at work had an extra Edelbrock 4 barrel carb, so I took it off his hands and decided to do an upgrade….and the snow ball begins… and I can’t start the car now. She just cranks. Keep in mind, I am learning as I go and have never done anything this extensive on the car… so excuse the rookie mistakes and this taking forever to complete.

- Installed new Headers

* Initially when with the Doug’s Long Tubes…but after installing passenger, I then discover they don’t fit a column shifter (Shop had selected them and said they would fit). Returned them and MONTHS later the Doug Thorley’s came in…fit like a glove. We’ll I haven’t put the rest of the exhaust in yet…or the QTP Cutouts

- Discovered the ignition wire to Coil is resistive (It took forever to figure this out), installed a 7 circuit Painless Wiring Relay (Returned the Petronix so everything could have its own circuit)

* It triggers off the original coil resistance wire

- I replaced the factory intake with a Edelbrock Performer

- Installed the 4 barrel 600 CFM carb

* Grounded to itself

* On its own relay, power with ignition only

- Replaced the points distributor with a Pertronix Flamethrower D130700 Distributor

* Grounded to the hold down bolt

* On its own relay, power with ignition only

* Crankshaft is at Top Dead Center, Distributor rotor is pointing to #1 cylinder, Distributor cap plug is aligned to number one cylinder as well. Firing Order is 1, 5, 4, 2, 6, 3, 7, 8…going counter clockwise.

* Had Distributor tested at speed shop, a wobble was found on shaft and was replaced with a new one.

- Replaced original coil with Pertronix Flamethrower II

* Grounded to distributor hold down bolt

* On its own relay, power with ignition only

* Gets extremely hot when key is in ignition position for extended period of time and when cranking.

* Had tested at local speed shop…came back fine.

* 11.8 volts when in ignition position

* 10.7 volts when cranking

* Tested ground by connecting multi-meter to battery positive post and negative of coil, 12.7 volts.

* With a spark tester connected to #1 plug, no spark is seen.

- Installed new Red Top Optima Battery

* 13.1 volts – no ignition

* 12.3 volts – in ignition position

* 11.3 volts – when cranking


So...a few dumb questions. The battery ground goes to engine, see photo, should this be to chassis?

The timing pointer....am I looking at the correct one? I am using the top triangle 'pointer'

Thanks for the help, thoughts, things to try...

 

Hard to say on the timing pointer my car uses the bottom one you have pictured , dont know why you have 2 pointers must have been something that was done after factory. Do you know what cam it has if somebody switched cam to the 351 or roller cam firing order the pointer may have been for that.

The ground wire is going to a good location but there should also be a point that the ground on the engine goes to the chassis of the car, many people use a strap of braided wire and take it and ground it on the cowl area but any place that it contacts the chassis is okay

 

It's an all original 302, California car.... no upgrades on engine aside from what I have just done. Was my dad's car.

I thought that it looked like two pointers. I'll try the bottom one tomorrow morning.

Were these originally grounded to engine or chassis?

If the timing was that far off would the car just crank with no spark?

 

Car would still have spark regardless of how far timing was off or even if firing order was different. Sounds like it maybe a problem with the relays not operating correctly when in cranking mode but when in run mode they work I would check and see if they are doing what they should be doing when you are actually cranking the motor over.

I dont know anything about Petronix units but if you could run a wire from positive of battery to positive side of coil then try to start it that would eliminate a bunch of possible problems. Basically the unit in the distributor sends a signal to the coil to send fire to the plugs and to do this it has to have a hot wire and a ground wire. Make sure cap is good and rotor is good. You could also check and see if you have any fire coming out of the coil wire

 

Mystery solved... I had coil and distributor grounded to the hold down bolt per instructions... tried putting distributor +/- to coil +/- and she fired right up!

Nice it's time for a beer!

 

Sounds like an easy fix now you can enjoy your beer

 

......

 

Now I have a coolant leak at front right of oil pan gasket... not sure where it's coming from.

Must have disturbed something when engine was jacked up to get headers in?

 

Weep hole on water pump, thermostat housing, gasket on water pump or timing chain cover. Should be an easy one to find hopefully not a freeze plug

 

Thanks a Yellow. Love all the knowledge on this forum. I'll track it down tomorrow AM.

 

Could be the most obvious and just be a hose loose or rotted----- KISS (keep it simple stupid) not aimed at you just a term used to not over look the obvious

 

I don't think it gets cold enough in Riverside to pop a freeze plug! I wud look for some of the other things U mentioned. I had a problem like that plague me for 2 years; I had coolant building up on the right side on top of the water pump housing next to the dizzy. I finally discovered it one day while tighting a bolt on the drivers side of the pump housing.
I had replaced the pump a year or so earlier and I guess it needed to be re-torqued. I had constantly been looking at a heater hose, thermo. housing. I was that bolt on the other side of the engine being loose, causing my leak.

 

Wasnt thinking about it being cold enough to pop one out but thinking more about it decaying

 

That makes sense; I had not thought about decaying factor. Since the engine was in pretty decaying state, looking at the enclosed pictures -- that is a distinct possibility.

 

Found the leak! It was at the bottom of the top radiator hose. Unfortunately, when I took off the hose, it took the hose nipple with it!