351 C no start ..... help

Hi there once again, I was all fired up to start my engine today after a minor top end rebuild, (cam,lifters, edelbrock intake, 4 bbl Holley, Headers, and nice 351 valve covers)! Today I was ready to fire up the 351, and had my wife ready to video.... however the engine had other plans as it did not start, it kicked once and that was it. I have ruled out fuel as I undid the fuel line and it is pumping just fine, next spark issues. Firstly I have the small distributor wire going to the neg side of the coil, I have a 12 volt wire going to the +side of the coil from engine harness. I checked this and I do have 12 volts there. So I know I have 12 v going to coil. However when I connect the large coil wire (that goes to the dist.) to coil and dissconnect the dist. end and crank it over it does not shoot a spark when you place it to a ground. However again, I can put my meter on the dist. end of the coil wire and when I crank it over there is 12 volts, any ideas, sounds like a coil to me, but it did work when I had the engine going last!

It sounds like a coil. Do you have any spark?

It sounds like a coil. Do you have any spark?

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No I have no spark, no fire jumping from coil wire

If you have a multimeter try this

or you could swap coils.

Check the ignition coil primary coil resistance by connecting an ohmmeter between the positive (Black wire) and negative (Green wire) terminals on the coil. The resistance should be 0.4 to 0.6 ohms.

Check the ignition coil secondary coil resistance by connecting an ohmmeter between the coil output terminal and the ignition coil negative terminal. The resistance should be 5000 to 7200 ohms.

measure across the plus (+) and minus (-) terminals. It should be between 1.5 and 2.0 ohms.

ohms are approximate but you should get a low reading primary side

and a higher reading on the secondary.

no ohms means shorted. your wire colors could also vary but the

principal is there

good luck

Did you replace the points and condenser?

I got a bad condenser from the parts house. try sliding a piece of fine Emory cloth through the points to clean them, if that don't do it, put the old condenser back in and try that.

Shell - you say "it kicked once and that was it". Does that mean there was an explosion in the combustion chamber (which is how internal combustion engines work)? If so, you had a spark but it might have been totally out of time. In that case, I would re-install the dizzy and try again. If there was no spark and there was fuel delivery, check the coil, distributor components, etc. Let us know what happens.

Shell - you say "it kicked once and that was it". Does that mean there was an explosion in the combustion chamber (which is how internal combustion engines work)? If so, you had a spark but it might have been totally out of time. In that case, I would re-install the dizzy and try again. If there was no spark and there was fuel delivery, check the coil, distributor components, etc. Let us know what happens.

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Yes, there was an explosion for a second, I will get a new coil today and see what happens firstly, because I think there should be a good solid spark coming from coil which I do not have

Here we go again. I went to check coil and it is OK. I decided to then check points and condenser, I then realized the whole inside of dizzy where the points fasten to is floating, which I dont think is correct, so then I decided (as much as I didnt want to) to install the HEI system with integral coil I had bought last winter. So I connected the wire that was 12v on coil when I used points and let her rip! It ran sort of! it did flash right up but runs like a sack of crap and backfires I hope it is simply a timing issue. Do you think it could be 180 wrong? I am not sure what it should idle like with the new cam however, but I am sure better than it does!

If it's 180 off it will bang and sputter but will not run. If it runs it may be 1 tooth or so off. Does it get better if you rotate the distributor? Are all your plug wires secure?

Are you sure that the + wire is 12 volts ? I'm thinking that in the run position it is only 8 volts. HEI requires 12.

If it's 180 off it will bang and sputter but will not run. If it runs it may be 1 tooth or so off. Does it get better if you rotate the distributor? Are all your plug wires secure?

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+1 Start by bringing engine to TDC again with the dizzy removed, and rotate the rotor so it points to #1 wire, install dizzy. Adjust dizzy to best running position. Remove and rotate dizzy one tooth in the opposite direction of how you rotated it to run better. Post back here if I made any sense at all....

Are you sure that the + wire is 12 volts ? I'm thinking that in the run position it is only 8 volts. HEI requires 12.

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Don, it is 12 volts when I put my meter on it, however is it possible after the engine starts that it may drop back voltage to prolong the life of points?

If it's 180 off it will bang and sputter but will not run. If it runs it may be 1 tooth or so off. Does it get better if you rotate the distributor? Are all your plug wires secure?

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+1 Start by bringing engine to TDC again with the dizzy removed, and rotate the rotor so it points to #1 wire, install dizzy. Adjust dizzy to best running position. Remove and rotate dizzy one tooth in the opposite direction of how you rotated it to run better. Post back here if I made any sense at all....

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Yes, that makes sense

I will try that after work this evening. Yes it does run better when I turn the dizzy counter clockwise.

Hi there, I got the running and idling fair last night, now my issues are

1) I had smoke coming from the solenoid which invariably ruined the solenoid switch.

2) The car starts fine now and as I say idles fair but will only run for about 20 seconds and then it shuts down, unless you feather the gas. I installed a new Holley carb which is supposed to be factory adjusted, I am wondering if maybe the car is flooding itself out?

Hi there, I got the running and idling fair last night, now my issues are

1) I had smoke coming from the solenoid which invariably ruined the solenoid switch.

2) The car starts fine now and as I say idles fair but will only run for about 20 seconds and then it shuts down, unless you feather the gas. I installed a new Holley carb which is supposed to be factory adjusted, I am wondering if maybe the car is flooding itself out?

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What model carb? Electric choke? If so, it sounds like the choke may be coming off early. What happens if you keep your foot on the gas for maybe 60 seconds or so then let off? If it idles OK after that, I would suspect the choke needs to be adjusted.

Hi there, I got the running and idling fair last night, now my issues are

1) I had smoke coming from the solenoid which invariably ruined the solenoid switch.

2) The car starts fine now and as I say idles fair but will only run for about 20 seconds and then it shuts down, unless you feather the gas. I installed a new Holley carb which is supposed to be factory adjusted, I am wondering if maybe the car is flooding itself out?

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What model carb? Electric choke? If so, it sounds like the choke may be coming off early. What happens if you keep your foot on the gas for maybe 60 seconds or so then let off? If it idles OK after that, I would suspect the choke needs to be adjusted.

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BTW - I meant to say "on the gas to hold it at about 1700 RPM or so"...

Well. I wanted to thank you people from this group again for all your help while I was rebuilding the top end of my 351 C. After twisiting the bolt head off one rocker arm, having one defective lifter from Summit and God only knows what other issues I had, the engine is back in, together and runs. I took it today to get the timing set and it is at 10 BTDC with HEI system. I still have a small issue, probably a vacuum leak around the intake (aluminum) because it does not idle just right. Anyway, the mechanic will fix that tomorrow! I cant believe how good the car sounds, a real deep rumble with the lopy cam , I will make a vid as soon as I get it back! Here is what I did, a very mild top end rebuild.

I kept the 2V heads, put in a new higher lift cam, lifters, timing chain, Edelbrock performer manifold, Hooker Headers, Holley 600 4V carb, HEI, and nice new black valve covers saying "351 Cleveland" I cant wait to give her a good rip up the road! Ted from Prince Edward Island Canada

Congratulations, Ted! Can't wait to see the vid. Your setup is exactly the same as mine except I have chrome valve covers and the cam may be different (mine's a .218 - .224).

Congratulations, Ted! Can't wait to see the vid. Your setup is exactly the same as mine except I have chrome valve covers and the cam may be different (mine's a .218 - .224).

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Hi there, mines a .218-.228 from Summit (K5201)

Congratulations, Ted! Can't wait to see the vid. Your setup is exactly the same as mine except I have chrome valve covers and the cam may be different (mine's a .218 - .224).

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Hi there, mines a .218-.228 from Summit (K5201)

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Right on! Post a pic if you get a chance. Thinking it will be something similar to mine.

Hello again all Mustang peoples! I have just got car back from garage with timing set to 10 BTDC. The engine now idles like a kitten (well maybe a tiger) lol.... The 3" exhaust and mufflers seem to make it fairly loud! anyway, now the issue is.... when you stomp it, it sputters and misses and does not take off, like it should. If I lightly press gas, the car does not hesitate near as much and the 4bbls cut in perfect and off I go, it just seems if I stomp the accelerator, it hesitates. By the way it is a brand new Holley 4V. When it is sitting in garage with no load, it picks up perfectly. There is a brand new HEI system so I wouldnt think it is fire but what the Hell do I know lol!!!! The owner of the garage is a friend and it did run perfect in the garage!

Once again thanks for any help.

Ted