79B100
Member
1979 B100 with 318 LA
I bought it non-running, pulled the 318 and had it shopped: hot tanked, bored to 60 over, honed. Only the block and crank were good.
Installed KB hyper pistons to size, along with new rings, obviously.
Hughes Whiplash cam, timing chain, lifters.
Custom Manton pushrods.
Edelbrock RPM heads for 318 LA.
Hughes rocker arms for Edelbrock RPM.
Edelbrock 2176 intake manifold.
Edelbrock 4 barrel carb.
Everything else is new too: mechanical fuel pump, oil pump, oil pan, pulleys, alternator, etc.
Rebuilt 727.
Rewired the van with a Painless universal harness. The Powermaster starter is triggered by a push button. Ford style starter relay. HEI distributor is wired to a 4-pin relay. New Optima red top battery, fully charged.
THE 318 WILL NOT START.
I’ve been troubleshooting for a month.
The starter cranks. Everything spins. No weird noises. Voltage is good at distributor and starter. I swapped in a different distributor, in case ignition module was bad.
Timing is dead on. TDC of compression stroke at #1 cylinder. NOT 180 out. Changing to 180 causes backfire. I’ve reset many times. Twisting during crank does nothing.
Engine does nothing during crank. The crank sound is constant. No pops, coughs, nothing.
Spark is strong, white, and consistent at every wire and plug. Have tested with multiple methods.
The van is fully grounded, with new engine straps and component grounds. All connected to bare metal.
The new fuel tank has 10 gallons of non-ethanol. No fuel leaks. The pump is delivering fuel through the Wix filter to the carb.
The carb is squirting fuel. The throttle linkage is a bit crude for now, but everything is connected and functioning.
I have not changed the carb’s adjustment screws from factory setting.
The carb’s electric choke is receiving good voltage and is grounded.
I set valve lash to spec: .015. Valve trains appear to be functioning normally. Oil pump is primed, and top end is receiving oil. No oil leaks.
New oem exhaust manifolds are free and clear.
Starter fluid in the throttle body has no effect.
Even bank cylinders show cold compression at 110. Odd cylinders show 100. Engine has never run. Rings have not seated. I expect compression to increase after break in.
What is typical compression for newly built 318 vs broken in 318? I know these are considered low compression engines when stock.
I think engine should start at current compression. Yes? No?
Vacuum is ok at intake manifold. I have plugged the vacuum port on the manifold and am running the brake booster to the proper inlet on the carb. I have a pcv valve connected to the carb, along with the distributor’s advance to the non-emissions port.
After cranking, spark plugs smell like gas but aren’t wet. Very slightly wetafter prolonged cranking. I wonder if the fuel somehow isn’t reaching them. Could cam timing or valve dysfunction be preventing fuel delivery? Intake runners aren’t blocked, nor is carb.
Crank is maxing around 150rpm. This seems low to me. Depending on whom I ask, it is or it isn’t. Not sure how to boost this. Seems like brand new high torque starter with optimal current to rebuilt 727 should suffice. Engine rotates fine by hand. ???
I had a similar thread 3 weeks ago in the ignition forum, but have since added the starter solenoid and HEI relay. I don’t think the issue is electrical. ?
Though not pictured, I obviously have ignition wires connected in proper order at crank.
I’m running out of ideas. Thanks.
I bought it non-running, pulled the 318 and had it shopped: hot tanked, bored to 60 over, honed. Only the block and crank were good.
Installed KB hyper pistons to size, along with new rings, obviously.
Hughes Whiplash cam, timing chain, lifters.
Custom Manton pushrods.
Edelbrock RPM heads for 318 LA.
Hughes rocker arms for Edelbrock RPM.
Edelbrock 2176 intake manifold.
Edelbrock 4 barrel carb.
Everything else is new too: mechanical fuel pump, oil pump, oil pan, pulleys, alternator, etc.
Rebuilt 727.
Rewired the van with a Painless universal harness. The Powermaster starter is triggered by a push button. Ford style starter relay. HEI distributor is wired to a 4-pin relay. New Optima red top battery, fully charged.
THE 318 WILL NOT START.
I’ve been troubleshooting for a month.
The starter cranks. Everything spins. No weird noises. Voltage is good at distributor and starter. I swapped in a different distributor, in case ignition module was bad.
Timing is dead on. TDC of compression stroke at #1 cylinder. NOT 180 out. Changing to 180 causes backfire. I’ve reset many times. Twisting during crank does nothing.
Engine does nothing during crank. The crank sound is constant. No pops, coughs, nothing.
Spark is strong, white, and consistent at every wire and plug. Have tested with multiple methods.
The van is fully grounded, with new engine straps and component grounds. All connected to bare metal.
The new fuel tank has 10 gallons of non-ethanol. No fuel leaks. The pump is delivering fuel through the Wix filter to the carb.
The carb is squirting fuel. The throttle linkage is a bit crude for now, but everything is connected and functioning.
I have not changed the carb’s adjustment screws from factory setting.
The carb’s electric choke is receiving good voltage and is grounded.
I set valve lash to spec: .015. Valve trains appear to be functioning normally. Oil pump is primed, and top end is receiving oil. No oil leaks.
New oem exhaust manifolds are free and clear.
Starter fluid in the throttle body has no effect.
Even bank cylinders show cold compression at 110. Odd cylinders show 100. Engine has never run. Rings have not seated. I expect compression to increase after break in.
What is typical compression for newly built 318 vs broken in 318? I know these are considered low compression engines when stock.
I think engine should start at current compression. Yes? No?
Vacuum is ok at intake manifold. I have plugged the vacuum port on the manifold and am running the brake booster to the proper inlet on the carb. I have a pcv valve connected to the carb, along with the distributor’s advance to the non-emissions port.
After cranking, spark plugs smell like gas but aren’t wet. Very slightly wetafter prolonged cranking. I wonder if the fuel somehow isn’t reaching them. Could cam timing or valve dysfunction be preventing fuel delivery? Intake runners aren’t blocked, nor is carb.
Crank is maxing around 150rpm. This seems low to me. Depending on whom I ask, it is or it isn’t. Not sure how to boost this. Seems like brand new high torque starter with optimal current to rebuilt 727 should suffice. Engine rotates fine by hand. ???
I had a similar thread 3 weeks ago in the ignition forum, but have since added the starter solenoid and HEI relay. I don’t think the issue is electrical. ?
Though not pictured, I obviously have ignition wires connected in proper order at crank.
I’m running out of ideas. Thanks.