Jerry;
Do a search. There is a wealth of information on this topic. I static timed everything on my rebuild and used Tom's HEI as well. As stated above, you need to make sure that #1 cylinder is at the firing point. The searches will tell you what to look for. You want to be sure that you are not 180 degrees out with the mark on your flywheel. The rotor position when you install the distributor should be point to cylinder #1 spark plug wire. It is not so important that the rotor point in a certain direction away from the block. What is important is that with the flywheel mark visible and the #1 cylinder at TDC, the rotor points to the #1 wire. Make sure your wires are correctly installed as well. Check your rotor rotation and check all the wires to make sure that they are in the proper firing order. The rotor has to be at #1 when the valves on #1 are at TDC and you are on your flywheel mark. If so, the engine should start. As mentioned above, avoid prolonged cranking. A newly rebuilt engine should start right away if everything is right.
