[nova}{]

a friend of mine picked up a 454 and were having trouble getting it started. i set the timing and cleaned the carb. we checked and its getting gas and spark. it has an hei dis. using a conversion for a msd master blaster coil an edelbrock carb. it says 1406 which i belive is a 600 cfm. is that enough for a 454? it should be plenty enough to get it started right? if i did set the timing on the exhaust stroke then i can just spin the rotor 180 degrees right? when i did it i pulled the valve cover and wathced the intake valve open then close so i knew it was on the compression stroke. im using the battery out of my nova with a 350 it has about 850 cca is that enough for the 454? we dont know how much compression it has. but the only thing left we can think of is it not cranking fast enough. itll crank for a second then sound like itll start to pop off then stop then almost pop off again. any ideas?

[Greg T]

You're going about it all wrong. Set nuimber one cylinder on TDC compression stroke, then using the timing mark, advance the mark about 10*. Now stab your dist in with the rotor pointing at whichever tower you want to be number one on the cap. Start with that tower and wire the cap in this order, clockwise: 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2. Snug up the dist just a little to prevent it from spinning around when you crank. After it fires up set the timing to whatever specs you like.

[nova}{]

thats exactly what i did

[Greg T]

Then move the dist around a bit while cranking. SLOWLY!!! See if you can find a spot where it fires. I do it another way. I TDC #1, advance 10*, stab the dist in where I want it, remove #1 plug, install #1 wire on it, and ground it.
DO NOT CRANK ENGINE. Turn on the key and watch the open spark plug while you turn the dist. When the spark snaps, put the plug back in and it's close enough to start.

[70chevelless]

Battery charger? how is the starter? If every thing is right it kind of sounds like its too advanced.