350 hei not starting

I know there are many old threads on this and im sorry for adding another but im stumped after reading some of the old threads i tried a few fixes but no luck yet. my 350 spits gas out of the carb and does not fire up. i have already adjusted valves (2x) and double checked my firing order (countless times) i have been sticking an allen wrench in #1 till it wiggles the least amount and my mark is about where it should be then drop my hei in pointing at #1. this usually works for me and the car was running fine before. timing chain? i also heard a clunk the first time i tried to start it and now it wants to act like the batt is dead when i try to start even though i have 12 volts. can it jump timing? (roller chain 1 month old). motor is mostly stock 1979 350 in a chevy caprice


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Hmm, lots to think on here! LOL

Spitting gas out the carb (when cranking?) is indicative of valves being too tight and not closing all the way OR the cam being out of sync with the crank.

Blowing flames out the carb would mean that you have ignition but at the wrong time.


Not sure on the "allen wrench" thing. I assume you are looking for TDC? I personally use a finger in #1 hole and then bump the starter until my finger blows out, then turn the balancer by hand/wrench until the timing marks line up.

You might also try removing the cap and cranking it over, watching for SMOOTH rotation of the rotor. If it's jerky or stops for a second, something broke!

Sounds to me like valve adjustment is way off OR it's out of sync. Those would be my first places to re-check.

Mark

polly locks are in the same spot they were at before and i have adjusted them twice to be sure. i will check the rotor as soon as soon as i can get someone to crank it for me. thanks for the advise i will keep you posted.

Tell me more. Was this a HEI conversion ? If so , I suggest putting a timing light on and squeezing the trigger as you crank. I recently converted mine and found I had the power to the coil/dizzy coming from the wrong ignition wire from the column. As i let go of the key I got backfire and gas spitting out the carb because the juice was being supplied only on ignition and it fired, NOT when cranking. I went thru all the things you have gone thru before figuring it out. It had the bypass resistor and when converting, it is eliminated and the wire to the starter "R"contact is removed. This motor ran fine with the old points dizzy.

Are you absolutely sure you have the power wire on the correct terminal, & that it is on the terminal? It will look like its plugged in when its stuck beside it,don't ask me how I know .
Shane

its had hei since i've owned it and all the wires are good. i have always adjusted valves when they had new lifters. is there any diff in the adjustment of hyd lifters when they are new and used? i have made sure the rotor spins smoothly but still spits gas, gotta be the valves. im gonna adjust the valves just until the push rods have slight resistance then tighten my poly locks instead of an extra quarter turn to see if it will start for me

fired up first try thanks for the advise guys. jmark hit the nail on the head with the valves, thanks again

Thanks for posting back the fix, glad it's working!