Wow lots of mess there my friend. Rare find though. Glad someone got it that is not going to let it just sit around for 12years. Quick question though. Did you drain the gas and put new gas in??? Could just be your gas is old. Looks to me like that guy had everything set up decently, even though it was a HUGE mess, he had all the wires pretty much to get it started. Also I do not know if anyone wants to comment on this(not even sure I did it right myself) but I do not know if I would put that ground wire on the top of the tower. I have mine grounded down near the mounts. Not sure if that is right but whatever. Battery grounded there and then I have the engine grounded to the firewall. If anyone thinks that is not a good idea let me know so I can change mine lol.

Good luck and sweet ride.

 

Thanks a lot, yea im gonna put some new gas in it. I never thought about that. I have spark and its turning over with fuel too. But it sounds like it only wants to try and start with the choke closed. Maybe new gas will fix this. Any other ideas?

 

Update... So i drained all the old gas out and put some 90 octane gas in. It sounds like some of the cylinders are firing but it won't start. So i got some starting fluid and it was starting but then quit on me. Im thinking the carb is bad, also the previous owner installed a aggressive cam. Is there anything i need to do because he installed this cam? I have no specs on it either. what do you guys think?

 

that looks a lot better already. whoever owned the car before you should be prohibited by law to touch any car. not even a lawnmower.
There's a few opinions about exchange the full wiring and to be honest I'd nearly get an engine wiring set as well looking at that.

As for your choke, you're missing half of it. so the choke butterfly can't be set either manually or automatic. so for this I'd either remove the choke butterfly completely for now (will give cold start problems), or get the missing parts of a different carb. maybe you can find a cheap one somewhere. I believe you can even buy a full set (choke).
if you don't want to remove the choke butterfly, at least make sure it stays wide open at all times, otherwise you'll have no power and eating fuel once driving (whenever it decides to close itself)

edit: just saw your car is now starting (at least turning over).
for the cam: you probably have to set the idle higher. when you can start it try revving it a bit so it doesn't stall on you and once warm try to set the curb idle and idle mixture. as well check for float levels (there's about a million pages on the internet on how to do this)

 

Do you have the vacuum port on the back of your carb plugged? Also what is your timing set at?

 

get the old gas out of the line as well. It sounds to me like it just is not getting enough gas. Before you start it pump some gas in there by pressing down on the accelerator a few times, kind of like priming it. Then do what kalli said.
Also anyone that let a 390 GTA sit for 12 years is an idiot. If I had his address I would send threatening letters in the mail. He should have his license taken.

 

I only hooked up the vac line that goes to the distributor. I will try and give it more gas when i try to start it. As for timing i haven't changed anything since i setup the number 1 cylinder for TDC for getting spark. I also drained all the old gas from the lines and then i put the new stuff in. I really appreciate your guys help. So I will check the float levels in the carb and try and try again tomorrow. Ill let you know how it goes. You think if i posted a video that might help?

 

seems noone likes the fella who owned your car :-)
you can only adjust the float levels in the holley when it's running I believe.
So as screamer said, check as well that every single port in the carb and intake is blocked. if you have a massive vacuum leak the car will run over 2000rpm but fall flat on it';s face as soon as you let go

and yes. video will help. not only running, film as well around the carb and intake so was can see what's connected and what is not

Kalli

 

videos always help.

back on topic now. sorry about that.

*lol edited for bad information haha.
Guess I should probably get my carb next time when I go home lol. It was definitely letting gas out when I started fooling around with it.

 

carb will not shoot out gas visibly unless you push the pedal (accellerator pump). when driving and the booster kick in yuu can see petrol from there. But during start you can't see any petrol whatsoever unless you pump the pedal.