Won't Start After Re-Assembly

After all the time spent on reassembly after the thorough cleaning and re-sealing of my engine compartment, lo and behold the engine won't start now. Typical. It ran awesome (but leaked like a sieve) before I tore it down.

Anyway, the items that were done include:

a) Disassembly and re-assembly of the engine. The piston/rod assembles went back into their respective holes, as did all lifters, main caps, etc.
b) The timing chain/gears were replaced with a new Cloyes link set. I didn't want to put the 60-year-old nylon gear back in.
c) The distibutor vacuum advance was replaced with a new unit. The old one didn't function.
d) Ignition timing is set to ~10° BTDC on the balancer.
e) No other engine or wiring changes were made.
f) Electrical system includes Summit CD box and inductive coil, and a Pertronix Ignitor module replacing the points.


The engine spins freely, and it acts like it WANTS to start, but will not actually start. a few burps through the carb occur while turning the key over.

I will be focusing on 2 items when I'm back at it tonight:

1. Cam timing. I cannot find a single piece of information on the internet on timing gear alignment on a Buick small block. I lined the marks on the cam and crank gears, 6 o'clock for cam and 12 o'clock for crank. I'm assuming that this provides TDC for cylinder #1 compression, but I haven't been able to verify this. I don't know if I'm 180° out in this configuration.
2. Distributor. Did I knock something out of place (inadvertently alter the gap etc) on the Pertronix Ignitor when I removed/installed the vacuum advance?

I'd appreciate any insight as to other itmes to look at. Thanks.

A few questions Tim, I assume you checked for fuel and spark? After aligning timing gears (#1 cylinder should be at TDC) did you move rotating assembly before installing distributor? Was rotor pointing at #1 on cap when installed initially?
I know these are probably redundant items, but a starting point to verify.

Tom

StageCat wrote:    A few questions Tim, I assume you checked for fuel and spark? After aligning timing gears (#1 cylinder should be at TDC) did you move rotating assembly before installing distributor? Was rotor pointing at #1 on cap when installed initially?
     I know these are probably redundant items, but a starting point to verify.

Tom
 

Thanks for responding Tom. In order:

1. I initially had a tough time getting the fuel pump to prime when I originally tried to start last Sunday, but it definitely is OK now. Fuel squirts from the accel pump discharge nozzles when I crack the throttle.
2. I performed the spark check per the Summit CD box troubleshooting guide. Spark is definitely present.
3. The distributor was installed without rotating the engine. I went ahead and verified this tonight - the rotor is pointing to #1 when the balancer reads TDC, with both valves closed. Actually, about 8° advanced.

New observation tonight - the pushrods don't seem to move the rockers very much when rotating the engine by hand. Maybe the lifters are insufficiently pumped up to open the valves enough to run? Are you aware of a way to pump up the lifters without top end disassembly?

Did you prime the oil pump? Packing oil pump full of Vaseline, assembling and then priming through distributor hole with drill motor and priming shaft. Spinning long enough to view oil at rocker arms. 215's do oil through the pushrod or through the block/head? Its been a long, long time since I was into one....

I never took the oil pump off the front cover, so it was not primed. I can spin the oil pump drive though. 215s don't get oil through the pushrods (they're solid), I believe the heads are lubed via the rocker pedestals.

You think pre-lubing is worth a shot?

Tim, I would do it just to be positive, if the pump has lost its prime you're lucky engine didn't fire. Leave everything as is and use priming shaft/tool (that's what I'm calling it) and spin with drill, within a few seconds you will feel the RPM's slow down as the gears are moving the oil, within 20sec to a minute or so (if pump is primed) you will have oil to the top end and see it. If no oil, then disassemble pump and do the Vaseline thing. If you have to prime, Vaseline only, NO grease! it heats and liquefies. I know there are other ways to do this but for you application with engine in vehicle, lube it with V if pump has lost its prime. This will probably not cure your non-starting issue but it should be done and in the process give you time to check all the other details.

Tom

Well, you can file this one under the heading "Really? That was it?"

So I used the oil pump priming shaft and drill motor to prime the pump. It took about 10-15 seconds for drag to be created while spinning the drill. I watched for oil to appear at the rocker pedestals, then spun about a minute after that. Put everything back together the way it was, installed the jumper cables, and turned the key. Fired right up un the first rotation, and went to idle like it had never been torn down.

So as it turns out, it NOT starting originally probably saved my engine from oil starvation.

When all else fails, pray...