have a mid 70's 302 that I just cant get to run. Brand new hei distributor, lots of spark. timing is correct and not 180 off. firing order is 1-5-4-2-6-3-7-8 and I know this by looking at the rocker arms. will turn over at an ok speed but not really firing enough to blow through the header. any suggestions?

 

Is this an engine that was running but now isn't? What did you change?

Do you know what cam is in the engine? ie. standard 302 cam or is it a H.O. / 351W cam?

When you're in this situation you need to go back to the basics.

You need fuel, air/compression and fire.

Are you getting gas into the engine?

Remove the air cleaner and you have the air requirement part dicked.

Do you have a good blue/white spark coming from the coil to the distributor?

Do you have a good blue/white spark at the plugs ?

To insure that you have the plug wires on correctly, note the position of where #1 is on the distributor cap and pull the cap off, then remove #1 plug put your finger over the hold and spin the engine over until the compression blows it off. Is the rotor pointing to the #1 position?

 

Yes the spark is blue, the rotor is firing at the #1 cylinder when at TDC with both valves closed. Also the air cleaner is off

 

So what about the other questions? Was this running and now isn't running? If it what, then what did you change? What cam is in the motor?

If you have a 351 or H.O. cam but have it wired for a standard 302 firing order it will fire off but run like crap.

 

When I bought the motor it had been ran but sat for a couple years. It supposedly has a mild cam. I followed the lifters through the firing order and it's definitely a 15426378

 

So you have never actually seen this engine running yourself?

Is it getting gas? What happens if you hit it with a shot of ether or pour gas down the carb?

If you have spark in the right place at the right time and it is getting gas then it will run.

If it still fails to run then a compression test would be in order.

 

No I've never seen the motor run. I currently have a carb on it that came off a running 289. If I spray it with starting fluid it does fire slightly. It not getting enough fuel could be a possibility.

 

Bingo.

 

sounds like lack of fuel to me. I use a ketchup squirt bottle, to feed the carb when priming it to run. keep narrowing down the issues, It'll run.

 

You say fires slightly, No power (doesn't rev up and then dies) or for a few seconds (revs then dies)?
No power, bad compression or cam timing jumped. Do a compression check.
Few Seconds, fuel problem.