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First startup in almost 30 yrs, a no-go

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N

Nader

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Air, fuel, compression, and spark. That's all it really takes, right? I thought I had everything squared away, but after half a can of starter fluid, all I have to show for the starting effort is a tailpipe full of ether.

I had a new/old fuel pump that came with the car, and it appropriately sucked up fuel from the plastic gas can and pushed it into the carb reservoirs. I'm not familiar with this old type of pump, but it seemed to shut down after the bowls were full up. Does that sound right? Anyway, there's fuel in the carbs. Whether that fuel is being aspirated into the manifold and cylinders is another question. There could very well be plugged passages, but shouldn't the starter fluid have resulted in more than a rare "pop"?

There is spark on all cylinders as proven by my inline spark checker light bulb. Is it timed correctly? I don't know for sure.

Is there compression? I think so. I'll check with a compression tester later.

I think I'll pull the carbs and put them through a solvent dip. I welcome any further suggestions.
 
Yep, it stops pumping when the bowls are full and starts again as they deplete. You should not need the ether, and too much ether will wash the cylinders. Yes, you should get more than the occasional pop. Plus before you attempt to fire up an engine that has sat for a long time you should not only spray some light oil into each cylinder but you should also turn the motor over until you have oil pressure. This can be done with the plugs out. Do you have oil in the dashpots? As I do not know of your mechanical abilities and experience I do not wish to offend you but must warn you against dropping the S.U.s wholesale into the solvent tank. It is my understanding that you have a Haynes manual, I do not have that manual at my disposal but recommend that you read the section on the carbs before dismantling so that you understand their process. They may also not be adjusted at all. you may wish to verify that the linkages are doing what they should. These carbs are extremely simple and can be understood fairly easily. If the ether [starting fluid] wouldn't fire the cylinders you no doubt have another problem to address, timing. You will succeed. There are real old hands here that truly know their stuff [not me]. You have come to the right place.
 
Did you take the rocker cover off and see if valves are following the cam (not stuck open). Rough static timing can be checked by setting V in crank pulley 3/4" before Top Dead Center by bumping the starter and seeing if rotor is pointing to cylinder #1. There are more sophisticated ways to do this. Use the Down loaded shop manual from Andy's link in a recent post to adjust carbs etc.
 
When you remove the valve cover you should drizzle some oil upon the innards, though they should be well oiled by now. The factory manual is considered better than the Haynes, even without the cutaway diagram on the cover and the greasy photos that the Haynes has.
 
Yikes ,don't take it out on the carbs just yet. I think its like has been said , the timing is off. Either slightly or absurdely.
 
Thanks for the responses. I hope it's the timing tomorrow, that would be an easy fix.

All the moving parts were well oiled before my attempts at starting the engine. Hosed down the cylinders as well as the rocker and throttle shafts with Kroil, and everything now moves freely. At this point, the engine builds 40 psi of oil pressure with the starter alone (per the dash gauge).

I'm anxious to hear this exhaust note that everyone raves about.
 
Whip a plug or two out and see that the electrodes aren't just swamped in Kroil. I've spend an afternoon unsuccessfully starting an engine with oiled up plugs. Looooots of smoke out of the exhaust afterwards!

While the plugs are out, put #1 in a couple of threads and turn the engine over on the fan until you hear air hissing out. Keep going until the timing pointer lines up and see that the distributor rotor points at #1.

Andy.
 
Confirmed the plug leads are in their correct positions, and the ignition timing is correct with the #1 plug ready to fire when the crank pully notch is at its designated mark, TDC. Pulled the plugs and they make a nice fat spark, but dry, no sign of fuel. So I think this is a carb issue. I previously confirmed that there's fuel in the carb reservoirs, but I don't smell any gas at all despite long periods of cranking.

Oh, the last thing I did was add oil to the dashpots, and now the slides are very stiff. Too much oil?
 
Did you pull the chokes open?

If you previously sprayed in half a can of starting fluid and it did not even pop, why do you think it is the carbs?
 
You're positive you were on the "compression" stroke when you checked the timing? I didn't read that from your last note... It could still be 180 degrees out of rotor time to the no. one plug if its on its exhaust stroke.
 
Agree with the post above as a possibility except the plugs are dry, you have gas in the carbs, maybe not getting proper vacuum to pull in the fuel (vacuum leak) are all carb and manifold connections tight?. You have gas in the carbs, also make sure that you have gas in the jet where the carb needles go, pull the dashpot and piston and look in the hole with a flashlight, if there is gas in there it should be getting sucked into the motor and the plugs should be wet, although gas does evaporate pretty quickly.
 
If he has compression and spark at the right time , shooting a little starting fluid into the carbs should cause it to fire instantly. Of course he still may have carb issues but the engine will fire on the starting fluid. I just fired up my 4.2 E-type like this . It had been sitting for 2yrs.
 
Okay, quick update, I've got zero compression on all cylinders. I can see through the spark plug holes that the pistons are going up and down, and the valve train is bobbing appropriately. This is weird, because I recall getting a puff of air through the spark holes a couple weeks ago when I cranked the engine. That's why I assumed I had compression. Hadn't really touched the engine since. Prior owner had replaced the head, and I assumed he adjusted the valves. I'll check that next. Bear with me.
 
That's funny, Bob. You're absolutely right, this thing was so happy to run, it didn't want to stop when the party was over. I haven't seen this kind of behavior since my Dad's old '74 Dart.
 
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