As the title says i've got a 1982 z28 camaro with the lg4 4bl 82k original miles.it has sat for about 8 years now with a blown engine..or so i assumed.was running it hard it overheated without me knowing until it started to noticeably lose power and the rpm's started dropping no physical damage to the outside of the engine...only visable damage was the black smoke that chugged out of it the fact the oil was mostly gone and what was left was jet black and the #2 cylinder had oil blown up through the valve stem seats pulled the heads they checked out and so did the pistons the antifreeze was missing aswell and it tried to crank several times before the starter gave out and it just sat...ran it for about 15 mins @ 3400rpm on the highway prior cold winter night snow came later..

Replaced the engine with a proformance(autozone part#vc05) series remaned unit from surefire the dizzy cap rotar button plugs wires starter water pump temp gauge 'electric 2 mechanical' caliper's pads brake hardware radiator battery intake bolts thermastat upper and lower rad hoses cleaned the intake manifold and exhaust manifold...removed the smog pump as it was dead and capped the vacuum leads its a v belt config so i didnt need another belt..the car came with factory ac..i've removed the old radio am only the wires are taped and capped..only wires ran into radio where cut...tripple checked..

Not throwing any codes.....could a body ground wire touching the base of the distrib do this?...its just an additional block to body ground no systems are tied to it..all vacuum ports on the carb and intake are either in use or capped.brake booster line was disconnected prior to purchase for unknown reasons and the steel tube was crimped shut..

The plugs are not getting spark did the screwdriver in the plug wire test...its turning more than fast enough to get started tach is reading 500rpm's...all other electronic systems besides the firing end is working as expected...dizzy and timing i believe are correct..#1 @ tdc rotar pointing towards #1 cyl quadripple checked firing order with chiltons manual.

I am thinking its the distrib or before but not sure how to check that part of the system and what all the components are...been jumping all over the place hearing different things from different people for other peoples cars...but most of it doesnt seem relavent.. timing check...no crankshaft or camshaft position sensor already checked all wiring is correct according to the schematics and prints i've found..There wasent any damage to the harness when i had the engine out either as i checked it thoroughly..

There will be more problems in the future i'm sure but i'd like 2 start with why isnt it firing...any idea's any diagnostic tricks that will let me bypass stuff to see whats wrong?? input would be greatly appreciated..stick around help me get it running and i'll buy the guys with the best answers dinner...i'm already over $5000 into this project...no cheap parts either all mid grade from either autozone or napa....mostly 'premuim duralast parts' victor gaskets....oooh i tossed the rubber seal on the back of the intake manifold like several people suggested and replaced it with a thick layer sensor safe blue rtv......sounds like its cranking realy well at the start then it bogs down and gets a little louder after a few seconds of cranking...

 

Triple check everything again. Even the simple stuff. Is there spark at the plugs? You need three things to make a car run, air, fuel, and spark. Unless you live in space, I'm sure it's getting air. Make sure it's getting fuel and check spark at one of the spark plugs or even all of them (you can buy an inline spark plug tester for cheap too).

Also, make sure you didn't install the distributor in backwards. They can only go in two ways and if it's 180* off, it won't run. Also, although unrelated to your no fire issue, make sure you prime the oil pump before running the engine. We've had that a few times at work were people would forget to prime the pump and then come back asking why their new engine just failed.

 

I've read your post a couple times and didn't see any mention of a the coil. Have you checked
for juice there?

 

thinking maybe the air coming out through the carb problem is related to an intake valve or multiple intake valves being stuck open cause they where over tightened @ the remanufacturer who was supposed to set a useable valve lash..is this likely?

@hardTOPJoe No i havent...could i use a 500v ac/dc test light? its a coil in cap hei w/ computer controlled advance...

@Mkcoconuts There is NO spark on the no.1 cylinder used the screw driver in wire above a ground method...I Even touched the metal shaft on the driver while cranking absolutely nothing...( Could be fatal dont try this at home).
Getting fuel for sure air isnt restricted by any dirt or anything either.What wasent replaced was cleaned.I Spent weeks degreasing blasting washing rinsing drying and painting parts..

Oh and i just hooked the engine up to the starter and cranked it for a few right after adding oil with no fuel or spark to prime the oil pump and immediatly hooked everything up for my 1st try hope thats okay..read that was 1 way to do it and watched a few video's where 'mechanics' suggested it..1st solo engine swap its taken 8 months so far been as careful as i know how every step of the way taking pictures of everything i pulled off and where it came from taking notes and tagging stuff reading and watching everything related i can find before moving to the next step.got the old thick hardback chiltons manual and the new chiltons/haynes manual the all data used youtube forums like this google the autozone swap guide for some info as it had a few details others didn't..such as a starting point for tearing down and out the motor.

still something could be wrong with how everything was setup even tho it looks like the pictures doesnt mean the dizzy wasent turned and some other little things

 

Get a test light on the power supply wire of the distributor and check to see what volts you have with the key on, and in the start position. Make sure you have the wire plugged into the "BAT" terminal on the cap. It's possible you may have an issue with your ignition switch, or wiring. If you have no power, you can run a temporary wire from the battery to the distributor. Even if your distributor was out of time, which you swear it isn't, you would still have spark, just in the wrong place. Timing and valve lash is not the cause of your no-spark issue.

 

Follow 69's advise then test your coil if it's getting power to the dizzy. Double check the cap and button. HEI's are bad about burning caps, especially cheap ones like AZ brands. Use AC Delco or better on critical parts. Store brand parts fail all the time.

 

Checked its getting power to the coil.11.8v in start position same as the reading at the bat terminals...battery is weakened from cranking over 2 large engine cars prior and sitting so ..got high resistance on the coil's ground strap 10k+ at any given spot 2 any given spot. no detectable resistance from the coil's leads when disconnected....going to try and check the pickup coil and module next be back in an hour or so with the results...the cap and rotar are new msd parts most expensive one autozone had like $90 for the cap and rotar came with a new ballast resistor and rubber mounting plate think i should check them anyways?

kdj6930 i'd normally be with you on that but...this project was slatted for 3 months and $3000....i am now over $5000 into it and 8 months since i started...at the point where money is tight so ac/delco or high end msd ect isnt exactly affordable...cheap parts will be replaced with oe spec or better latter on the goal now is 2 just 2 get it moving under its own power instead of push power lol

Thanks for the replies guys realy

 

You have an HEI distributor, correct? You don't use a ballast resistor on them, wire it straight. MSD supplies a ballast resistor with their coil for use with the old points type distributor, and Mallory Unilite distributor.

 

okay wired in without ballest resistor...still the issue seems to be the pickup coil while cranking it's only testing @ 0.3v when it should be 3v according to my repair manual's so i'm going to order a new one today...sorry for the delay my helper kept me waiting.

will be 2 days before it gets in ...going to take this time to recheck everything test more wiring check the timing prolly do a compression test and reset the engine 2 #1 tdc and check/redo the valve lash......going after valve lash cause of the air coming back up through the secondary and primary on the carb when cranking i believe is 2 be caused by over tightened intake valves causing the intake valve's to remain open even during the compression stroke....if you can think of something else please let me know rather be safe than sorry

 

Got the new pickup coil installed rechecked ohm's and voltage values all where within tolerance went to crank the engine there was a not loud but audiable pop sound kinda like a 'snap it' firework when i turned it to the crank position there was a puff of white smoke followed by a little stream of white/grey smoke very short lived smelled like plastic immediately stopped trying to crank and removed the key...not sure what it was the smoke came from between the dizzy cap and the capacitor on the firewall...giving up for the day will get back at it tommarow in the mean time tho i'd love it if i could hear suggestions on what to test and how to test it please.. this was not happening prior to the pickup coil being replaced..