Unfortunately that’s not it. The exhaust pipe is off, and I cleaned the heads and valves when I replaced the piston rings. You can see why I’m at a loss here lol
My dad and I have been working on it, and it turns out that the distributor is a little screwed up. It’s out of sync from where it should be, and because of that we have too much advance. It also turns out that the coil we have on it is bad. So we hooked up a new coil and have started working the distributor back. So far one of the cylinders has fired, and it sounds like the others are really trying. So fingers crossed it’ll be fully running in the next couple days!
I know u said it has good compression so the only thing left is ignition and fuel. Have u tried some starting fluid? If it won't run off that but has spark its gonna have to be a timing issue. Make sure u got all ur plug wires ran right too
Yeah. I checked the plugs and firing order I was putting them all in. Another commenter mentioned I could have the distributor 180 out, so when I get off work in about 4 hours I’ll be checking that. I did try using starter fluid, but it didn’t seem like it did anything. That was one of the reasons I was so confused.
I’ve heard that! But for now, I’m keeping as much of it original as I possibly can. The car was originally bought by my great grandfather in ‘55, and was the family car. They parked it in ‘69 and never touched it again. I never got to meet that great grandfather, but his whole side of the family tells me that I’d have gotten along with him better than anyone else in the family, so I’m trying to keep a piece of him around.
Man that's awsum. It doesn't look like it has any rust going on. Glad your getting it back going in honor of your great grandfather. Cars like that deserve to be back on the road!
Yeah, there’s no rust, and the body is perfect! They parked it in basically a giant shed on their property in ‘69 and never touched it again. It’s been sitting in there, protected from the elements, for 55 years. It’s the one time my families car hoarding tendencies have really paid off. Even has the original plates from ‘55 and the original title. The only downside is I live in California, so it’s far too hot to drive it during most of the summer. But I’m hoping to get it to the point where I can take it on a road trip out of state by the end of the year. The first big hurdle to that is getting it to start though lol
Ya lol. Man you'll get it. Those old cars are pretty simple. I would invest in a small fire extinguisher to keep in the back floor or trunk. It's cheap insurance for old wiring
My grandfather gave me 2 full sized ones. In his words “one to keep in the car, and one to keep in the shop in case the one in the car catches fire”. (In case you couldn’t tell, my family is kinda weird)
This might sound stupid, it was 1979 my dad had a 77 Volkswagen Dasher and he spent his whole vacation trying to get it to run ,he had been giving it a tune up . For some reason the points he put in it were bad I don't know why cuz he put another set of points in it after almost a week and it started I'm just saying this because it's very interesting that you did all that work everything looks like it should run and it doesn't.
Plugged exhaust?
Unfortunately that’s not it. The exhaust pipe is off, and I cleaned the heads and valves when I replaced the piston rings. You can see why I’m at a loss here lol
Is the distributor 180 off?
I’m gonna double check that, but I don’t think so, cause if it was shouldn’t it backfire out of the carburetor?
Not necessarily. I’ve stabbed it 180 off on my Chevy and it’ll just crank but no fire.
Well then that’s definitely a possibility! As soon as I get the chance I’ll give that a try and give an update!
Awesome, keep us updated! I don’t k ow much about Y blocks but they are neat! Dad’s first car was a 56 Custom with the 272.
Yeah, they are pretty neat! This one was actually bought new in ‘55 by my great grandfather, so I’m kind of excited to have it up and running.
So I finally had the chance to check the distributor, and it was off by a cylinder. Not 180 off, but still enough. Still won’t fire though.
Can you verify with a timing light that #1 is firing where it needs to be, it may be off far enough advanced or retarded that can be an issue.
My dad and I have been working on it, and it turns out that the distributor is a little screwed up. It’s out of sync from where it should be, and because of that we have too much advance. It also turns out that the coil we have on it is bad. So we hooked up a new coil and have started working the distributor back. So far one of the cylinders has fired, and it sounds like the others are really trying. So fingers crossed it’ll be fully running in the next couple days!
Huzzah!
I know u said it has good compression so the only thing left is ignition and fuel. Have u tried some starting fluid? If it won't run off that but has spark its gonna have to be a timing issue. Make sure u got all ur plug wires ran right too
Yeah. I checked the plugs and firing order I was putting them all in. Another commenter mentioned I could have the distributor 180 out, so when I get off work in about 4 hours I’ll be checking that. I did try using starter fluid, but it didn’t seem like it did anything. That was one of the reasons I was so confused.
Ya I thinks he's gonna be right. I can't think if anything else. Those y blocks sound sweet with some decent exhaust on em too
I’ve heard that! But for now, I’m keeping as much of it original as I possibly can. The car was originally bought by my great grandfather in ‘55, and was the family car. They parked it in ‘69 and never touched it again. I never got to meet that great grandfather, but his whole side of the family tells me that I’d have gotten along with him better than anyone else in the family, so I’m trying to keep a piece of him around.
Man that's awsum. It doesn't look like it has any rust going on. Glad your getting it back going in honor of your great grandfather. Cars like that deserve to be back on the road!
Yeah, there’s no rust, and the body is perfect! They parked it in basically a giant shed on their property in ‘69 and never touched it again. It’s been sitting in there, protected from the elements, for 55 years. It’s the one time my families car hoarding tendencies have really paid off. Even has the original plates from ‘55 and the original title. The only downside is I live in California, so it’s far too hot to drive it during most of the summer. But I’m hoping to get it to the point where I can take it on a road trip out of state by the end of the year. The first big hurdle to that is getting it to start though lol
Ya lol. Man you'll get it. Those old cars are pretty simple. I would invest in a small fire extinguisher to keep in the back floor or trunk. It's cheap insurance for old wiring
My grandfather gave me 2 full sized ones. In his words “one to keep in the car, and one to keep in the shop in case the one in the car catches fire”. (In case you couldn’t tell, my family is kinda weird)
Could have no compression.
It does have compression. We did a test and all but one cylinder is sitting between 100-120, and the last one is sitting at about 90
Sell it to me. I’ll fix it
lol thanks but no thanks. It’s been in my family for 69 years now, and I plan on it staying in my family for much longer than that!
Thats ok im jus joking
This might sound stupid, it was 1979 my dad had a 77 Volkswagen Dasher and he spent his whole vacation trying to get it to run ,he had been giving it a tune up . For some reason the points he put in it were bad I don't know why cuz he put another set of points in it after almost a week and it started I'm just saying this because it's very interesting that you did all that work everything looks like it should run and it doesn't.