The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop 235 won't start

Have a 1954 235 motor that we just put into a 1946 Chevy 3/4 ton. It ran a few weeks ago just briefly while we had it sitting on an engine stand. Wanted to make sure it ran before we went thru all the work of putting in the 46 truck. So, thought today was the day it would run. For some reason it will not start, turns over well, has good spark, compression is about 85 to 90 (not great but should be enough to get it running). Has a Rochester carb on it, been using a little gasoline down the throat and a shot of starting fluid occasionally. Any suggestions or advice is welcome.

Thank, Tom

If it has compression and spark and will not fire regardless of fuel being provided it is most likely that either the plugs are fouled or the timing is off. Given that it ran breifly on the stand it seems likely the problem is not timing but all it takes to start is compression, fuel, and spark at the correct time in the cycle.

Clean the points. It's easy to do and doesn't cost anything, and often it solves stubborn no-start problems even though it seems like that there is "good" spark.
Next, I would make sure that there is gas in the carburetor bowl by looking down the carburetor while firmly operating the the throttle lever, looking for gas squirting in the carburetor throat via the accelerator pump.

X2 on cleaning the points; a little sandpaper will do it

Got it running finally, went and bought new spark plugs even though the ones I had put in a few days before were new AC43 plugs. Maybe just bad from the factory, I don't know. Put in new Champion plugs and we're off and running. Next is replacing the water pump that is leaking.

The fun never ends as they say.

Thanks for the replies. Tom

I've never experienced a situation where spark plugs were bad from the factory. These days, I suppose, anything is possible. I'd still keep my eyes peeled for other problems.

Hard to argue with success, however, if a new set of plugs worked immediately. And there was no fouling on the 3 day old AC43s?

I've seen several instances (3 or 4) where an engine refused to run with new plugs after ONE incident of serious flooding. Fired right up with nothing but a plug change in each situation! It seems that an invisible coating of conductive material of some sort coats the porcelain insulators and allows the voltage to leak away down the surface of the insulator without jumping the plug gap. I've also salvaged seriously fuel fouled plugs by lining them up on a piece of steel and heating the tips red hot with an acetylene torch.
Jerry

Interesting. I've never experienced that.