trying to get cleveland running

turtle5353 · Sep 30, 2011

Hey guys, i recently pulled a 351 cleveland from a 72 convertible. The motor was running when i pulled it, but now i am trying to get it to run for a guy that wants to buy it but cant get it to fire. Ihave the motor sitting on a pallet on the floor in garage. I hoooked up the starter to the to a push button start going to a battery. Have a switched 12 volt lead going to black side of coil and red side going to the distributor. It has the old points distributor. Now by all rights shouldnt this thing fire up?? I did accidently hook up the switch hot to the wrong side of the coil first,so i hope this didnt damage the coil or distributor. What do you guys think???? ran good when i pulled it.

Thanks Kevin

Fordication · Sep 30, 2011

Is it turning over and did you ground the engine to the battery?

thundertc64 · Sep 30, 2011

Dist. to - on Coil and switched 12 volts to + on coil and it should fire up, if hooked up backwards try another coil or check points.

coilwire · Oct 1, 2011

I may be wrong but shouldn't the starter selnoid be hooked up somehow?

Jim

thundertc64 · Oct 1, 2011

I may be wrong but shouldn't the starter selnoid be hooked up somehow?

Jim

as long as there is 12 volts going to + of coil and engine grounded solenoid isn't really needed

turtle5353 · Oct 1, 2011

Its turning over fine. battery is grounded to block just like it was when i pulled the motor. distributor is hooked up just like it was in car, i never touched that. so all i have to do is hook a switched 12 volt lead to other side of coil. thats what i have now. But the first time i hooked up the power i spliced into the distributor lead and tried to start it like that. then i saw i had it backwards and unhooked power lead and put it on the other side of coil. I just dont know if that may have damaged the coil or points or condensor in distributor. Would really like to get this thing to fire up cause if it does then its sold. I hooked everything up just like it showed in my 1971 ford repair manual. Just thinking bad coil or something from being backwards on 1st try OOOPS! Also when i use a test light it gets really dim when checking for power thru the coil. I check the power lead going to distributor nice and bright when it comes out other side its really dim.?? Im not much of an electrical guy. thats all the black magic!!

thundertc64 · Oct 1, 2011

Its turning over fine. battery is grounded to block just like it was when i pulled the motor. distributor is hooked up just like it was in car, i never touched that. so all i have to do is hook a switched 12 volt lead to other side of coil. thats what i have now. But the first time i hooked up the power i spliced into the distributor lead and tried to start it like that. then i saw i had it backwards and unhooked power lead and put it on the other side of coil. I just dont know if that may have damaged the coil or points or condensor in distributor. Would really like to get this thing to fire up cause if it does then its sold. I hooked everything up just like it showed in my 1971 ford repair manual. Just thinking bad coil or something from being backwards on 1st try OOOPS! Also when i use a test light it gets really dim when checking for power thru the coil. I check the power lead going to distributor nice and bright when it comes out other side its really dim.?? Im not much of an electrical guy. thats all the black magic!!

I would try using another coil , points and condesor , possible damage from hooking up backwards

71_badmach · Oct 1, 2011

Try cleaning the points with sandpaper, or maybe disconnect a plug wire and see if you are getting spark? If it makes you feel better, I hooked mine up wrong once too, got some nice smoke for a little while, but it worked afterwards.

Also, dumb question but you do have fuel going to it?

turtle5353 · Oct 1, 2011

Yeah i have fuel going to it. i also dump a little into the carb when i crank it to get it to fire. I checked the plugs and no spark. Im gonna get another coil off my brother and try that. Hope thats all it is because i dont want to buy anything to get it to run for the guy. i will clean up the points too and set them, but it did run just a couple weeks ago. Well we will see what the hell goes ! Thanks for the input guys. probably wont mess with it any today, going to watch a couple buddies and my brother and niece in a demo derby in ohio at carroll fair grounds in carrollton today. They are running compact cars, fullsize cars , trucks, and my brother is even running in the lawnmower class. Should be fun!!!

marks73 · Oct 1, 2011

Grab his condensor while you're at it

turtle5353 · Oct 2, 2011

Got it fired up and running!!!! All it needed was a new coil. Put the coil on and it fired right up. Sounds good too, open manifolds are LOUD!! Only ran it about 30 seconds but it sounds good and fires right up. Thanks alot for all the input guys. Now to call the guy that wants it and tell him come and get it. Thanks again! Kevin

trying to get cleveland running

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