The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop Spinning my wheels, looking for a second opinion

Starting things off I’ve been wrenching on a 1959 Chevrolet 3100 for a little over 4 years now trying to get the ol’ girl affectionately named “the pit” back to a daily driver. For a little over a month now I’ve been on the home stretch trying to get her running... and after some missteps (small electrical fire) I’m at a stand still. What I’ve done so far is.

1. Replaced the cap, rotor, condenser, coil, points (gapped to .019), spark plugs (.035) & wires
2. Rebuilt the starter and replaced the ignition switch/ solenoid
3. Re-wired the ignition harness and replaced the resistor
4. Rebuilt the carburetor and fuel pump
5. Adjusted the valves

After all this and having a fresh charge on the battery I can get the engine to turn over but it won’t start. Every 5th or so attempt the engine might sputter a bit but won’t idle. What am I missing?

If it's been setting, you may have a stuck ring. Have you checked the compression?

Have you turned the distributor one way or the other while cranking?
Have you verified TDC, and that the distributor is pointing at the right plug at the right time?

Are the spark plugs firing?
Are the plugs wet from NOT firing?
Have you tried a 12 volt battery on the starter ( if 6 volt ) to spin the engine much faster?

"Engine starting 101"

Gasoline engines need the following to run - - - - -check everything; assume nothing.
Compression
Fuel
Spark
Timing

First of all, do a preliminary valve adjustment. Forget "specifications"- - -with each cylinder at top dead center on the compression stroke, gently adjust the rocker arms to zero clearance, back the adjuster off 1/4 turn, and lock the nut down. Repeat for all cylinders. You can get around to an accurate adjustment once the engine is warmed up. Now test the compression. An engine with at least 65-70 PSI compression on all cylinders will start and run. 90-100 is better, but not absolutely necessary.

Check the initial timing and the firing order. Turn the engine clockwise at the front until the exhaust valve on #6 cylinder is fully open- - - -the last valve in line back by the firewall has the spring fully compressed. Keep rotating the crankshaft until that valve spring relaxes and the next one in line (intake) barely begins to move. NOW- - - -THIS IS IMPORTANT- - - -use the distributor cap tower the rotor is pointing toward as your #1 cylinder- - - -NOT #6. Follow the firing order around clockwise with the rest of the plug wires for an order of 1-5-3-6-2-4.

Set the static timing. With #6 cylinder at TDC and the firing order arranged as above, turn the distributor housing clockwise until the points close. Now turn the housing CCW until the points barely open. Lock the distributor housing down and reinstall the cap.

Check for spark: remove the coil wire from the center of the distributor cap, turn the ignition switch on, and crank the engine with the end of the wire held about 1/4" from the cylinder head or the block. You should get a strong, rapid spark. Reconnect the coil wire. Pull the #1 spark plug wire off the plug and use a spare plug grounded against the head to check for fire at the plug. Insulated pliers for these two tests are recommended unless you get your jollies by getting zapped by 10,000 volts or so.

Pour an ounce or two of gas down the carburetor, or make sure the accelerator pump has a good squirt, and crank the engine up. it WILL start if all the above is correct.

Most of the boneheaded blunders I do (yes it still happens after 60-sonething years of tinkering with engines) are because I ASSUMED something was right instead of checking it!
Jerry
_

When I am starting an engine for the first time, I find small incremental changes in the timing help me to get it going. That is what I suggest.

My second suggestion for the future is this. If you don't do this kind of work very often, next time try doing only one thing at a time.

To add, with the flywheel on the timing mark, or harmonic balancer on the set static (initial)timing mark, rotor positioned on number, and distributor turned to allow THE POINTS to be just barely OPEN. This is the sweet spot for starting your engine for the first time.

Some are not aware there is a timing mark. It is in a hole in the flywheel. I marked the little bump with chalk to make stand out.

Thanks for all the advice gents, I’ll report back with an update.

Alright... compression isn’t that good 90/90/90/60/0/40. Guess I’m in for a rebuild now. Thanks for all your help, I didn’t even think to do a compression test.

Do a "wet" test with a couple of ounces of oil in each cylinder. If the compression comes up you've got piston ring problems. If it doesn't you might get by with a valve job. Low compression on side by side cylinders can be from a leaky head gasket. The zero pressure cylinder sounds like there's a badly burned or stuck valve.

Jerry

Engine Starting 101 - for me that is a keeper, thanks for posting

General update for you, pulled the head and removed the valves. Exhaust valves on cylinder 4/5&6 all had a lot of carbon build up and pitting on the mating surfaces. Valves look like the surface of the moon. Spent the weekend cleaning everything up and going to get them resurfaced this week. Hopefully next weekend the ol girl runs.