You don’t know if you were on the compression stroke the first time, sounds like maybeYou weren’t .

Z

PS. Take off the valve cover and watch the valve movement. Then you’ll know for sure

 

Figured that’s what I’d be told, was just hoping I could avoid removing the valve covers lol. Gaskets were just changed 3k miles ago, but I’ll try removing them to be sure it’s right.

 

You don't have to remove the valve covers. Remove the spark plug from the number one cylinder. Have a friend hold his finger over the spark plug hole. With the coil wire disconnected, crank engine. When your friend feels pressure in the cylinder, that's the compression stroke. Then carefully manipulate the engine until the harmonic balancer indicates TDC. Now your number one cylinder is at TDC on the compression stroke.

To get the distributor in the ball park, point the vacuum advance straight ahead toward the front of the car. This allow you to start the engine and allow it run smoothly which will allow you to set the timing with a timing light.

 

Alright, I’ve confirmed I’m on the compression stroke. I did just notice a partial tag on the side that say’s “Ignition Timing: 6degrees BTDC”. I stopped at the 6degree mark BTC, an removed the distributor cap, the pointer was positioned directly at cylinder #1. Would that mean the distributor is set correctly? Or would that indicate the timing is off since the harmonic balancer is not positioned directly at TDC?

 

A cheap timing light is going to be necessary to set or verify the timing. Is there any spark? Does the engine fire when cranking? Do you smell unburned fuel in the exhaust? You need fuel, air, and spark at the right time.

 

Yes, you really should get a timing light. They are not expensive. The 6 degrees is the factory spec. Likely, your Cleveland will run much better with more timing. Keep advancing it little by little and test driving. When it starts to ping, back it off a couple of degrees. You'll be in the ball park then.

 

I would check the cheap things first. Maybe the "mechanic" forgot to put the rotor back in. Make sure you have a good spark before pulling the distributor. Get a test light and a spark tester. Make sure the points are opening and closing and the gap is set correctly. You can do a quick points test by putting a test light on the - coil terminal (the one that goes to the distributor). While a helper cranks the engine with the key, the test light should blink. I would replace the new points and condenser with quality parts if there is no spark. You need to set the points before you set the timing. Good luck

 

I got a timing light on hand. It does have spark, fuel, and is getting air. It’ll crank over, but won’t start. After cranking for a little bit, it’ll backfire. You can hear it trying to fire over, but can’t quite get there. I just bought a new set of spark plugs that I need to install, I’ll try to get that done this week, an I’ll go through what y’all have suggested. Thanks for the advice

 

also get a dwell meter. all over ebay for like $15
dont try to set points with a feeler gauge

My 351C likes a 24 degree dwell
specs are 24-29 with 29 being the points are closed more

 

Take a piece of sandpaper and clean the face of the points. Even a little corrosion can cause ignition issues. A quick check of the gap will verify that it has what it needs to run, 1972 351c spec is .017" gap, 28° dwell angle. You can check the dwell once the car is running.

I'd also check the firing order. The distributor rotor rotates counter clockwise, as do the wires. Make sure your plug wires follow the 351C firing order of 1-3-7-2-6-5-4-8. To advance the timing, you rotate the body of the distributor clockwise.

Open the choke and work the throttle a couple times, you should see a healthy stream of fuel from the accelerator pump discharge nozzles.

If your timing, spark and fuel are all there, it should start.

 

Also you don't need to start the engine to read the dwell. With the spark plugs out the engine should crank fast enough for the meter to show the dwell with a steady reading.

 

Great idea . To get a more accurate reading, pull the "I" wire from the starter solenoid.
That will put the running voltage (thru resistor) at the points, instead of the starting voltage.

 

Thanks everyone for the advice, unfortunately the issue was exactly what i was predicting...10years ago when i rebuilt that carb, no one watched me close enough lol. It wasn’t getting enough fuel to start after all that time sitting, an turns out i installed the spring on the accelerator pump in front of the diaphragm rather than behind it...dumb mistake, but after figuring that out, a few pumps an it fired up.