My 1953 3100 1/2T truck was running better and idling like a champ. The only issue was that is was not restarting when the key was turned off. Had to wait like 10-20 mins to restart. Starter seemed a little weak the restart phase.

So....I decided to pull the original starter, the brushes were worn, armature was OK according to my growler, but didn't want to fool with replace the starting gear as it has some chipped edges.

I purchased a really nice remanufactured starter along with replacement rotor, condensor, plug wires and ignition coil.
Points looked good and gap was OK for used. Bought a really heavy-gauge fabric covered 6V battery cable from Optima 6V to the starter. Sounds like an ideal electrical tune-up.

Marked the distributor cap, took pics and then drew a schematic of the spark plug wires and their location relative to the cap before disassembly. grin

Installed everything carefully and it runs 100% worse than before. Check the wiring, the plug firing order, everything was as I had recorded. It runs but sounds REALLY rough, and stops on its own with a loud, almost metallic grinding sound. Doesn't idle at all, just sounds bad.

Sounds out of time now (did I rotate the distributor perhaps just slightly when putting it all back together) Will it start or run out of time? IDEAS?

I never removed the distributor from the block. Now, I don't know what to do. Starting is harder than ever and just doesn't sound right anymore.

NEED A MECHANIC.
Will pay good money for some hands-on assistance. Want to learn, but need a trusted guy who doesn't mind coming over to my garage and working on the 216 at my house. Live in Mandeville, LA.

I just need these issues resolved and I believe that I have reached my level of competency and patience at this juncture.

Please consider helping me out if within 300 miles. Will pay for mileage and hourly rate . I don't want it towed out to a "shop" that doesn't know how to work on these trucks and end up getting shafted without learning anything.

Thanks so much!