No Start, Sputters, Backfires, has used ignition parts

I have all this.. been dealing with firing order and bad-replacement parts all afternoon. I am the step before swapping unknown parts with other unknown parts for if it works. What can I do diagnostic wise?

Known: fuel filter replaced, it actually did clog. wouldnt push or gravity feed through it anymore. is getting fuel now. Carb hasnt been touched, but after lots of cranking the carb opens up from the heater. should i remove wire from choke? Good grounds, all my grounds done over and no issues at them. turns quick. starting fluid results in same as just gas. tried clearing carb by holding foot AND directing gas line to gas can. no luck.

I can show my firing order, but I have this:
Ive noticed most diagrams have the distributor squared relative to the engine, mine, which is unchanged, is about 15 degrees give or take a few clockwise. Maybe it only ran advanced(or retarded, idk) because of the bad ignition components and inefficient spark?

Im taking a break, and If I need to set timing I can do that I guess. Best way to turn the motor by hand?

ignoring the plug order, this is where its at

i cleaned mechanical advance weights without remving them and the rotor is slottted, it cant go on backwards.

If you had the distributor loose or out you will need to check and adjust the timing.
Not sure if you're understanding the 180 out thing. The rotor only goes on one way but the timing can be 180 out depending on if you're tdc on the compression or exhaust stroke. The crank turns twice while the cam turns once.

Oh i misunderstood then. anyway, the distributor HAS NOT Been out. Not even loose. unmoved.

However, I learrned that the mechanical advance weights have to be isolated from the arm on the pivot?? Well, my original plastic pivot points are darn near gone gone. So maybe this is causing it to not spark right time?

my bad again, the thing that i read said rotor mounting screws not advance. so i can use plastic screws, the original had metal but the replacement had plastic, i didnt use replacememnt but i can use the plastic screws and the washer

Spark plug wires criss crossed on cyl 5 and 7????

was you running vacuum advance before? from the pic, ill take a guess to say no. looks like the nipple on the dizzy for advance has been snapped off.

YEs i was running vaccuum advance. I also replaced the hose with one that didnt have a **** load of cracks, the one on there had a bad crack, not sure if new or not. the nipple is, odly, pointed straight up. all my others are forward.


This is as the engine sits right now! Only difference is one plug wire is unhooked because the tang broke from being replaced on and off the plug so much.

Im definitely buying a different set of wires, becaue these have flimsy all overe them. too bad, 31 dollars for the set. cant even use the lid for distro cap.

The coil, cap, rotor are all unknown. The coil looked damn near new, which is why i threw it in. Thinking im gonna bench test components of my extra distributor i cleaned up and try that, even though it has different weights.

The cap and rotor i cleaned up the corrosion but they werent worn down, that i could tell. i had the hold down clips put on.

id just rather not find base timing again if I can help it. Thats why I was thinking maybe my timing was advanced because it didnt run right? Now when it runs with decent components, any throttle kills it if it runs, it almost hardly idles, and it takes a lot to idle, and the weights were on bad pivots+the rotor has metal screws instead of plastic

Also, I only started on this endeavor because my grounds were insufficient and i started a cable on fire very temporarily. I didnt think about how it may have affected distributor, but the only thing left on it that didnt get the replacement was the module, everything else is post-fry

It is really hard to tell in the pics, but it sure looks like your even side wires are not right. I've gotten two crossed before.

@Turbo4whl had the right idea

Im gonna go try fixing it now. its off 1 rotation

I need whiskey.

I need tequila.

You know why?

Live más


ALSO

Yayyyy, it works. It ran like ****, I turned counter clockwise and got where it used to be. Kept going and it got real smooth, idle sped up. And I only left it barely advanced of where I had it before, because 4hat means it's time for engine timing.

Now I need whiskey

I'll refer to the sticky on timing and engine, but I got some small things you guys probably know.

1) will cheapo timing light work? I got a simple 3 wire one which picksup spark plug 1.

2) the rubber seal behind the crank balancer is deteriorating, but it doesn't leak. Do I need to replace it for risk the timing mark is not where it should be?

3) can I clean it abrasively or is the mark a sticker? Or with pressure?

4) thank you guys and thank you @Turbo4whl

I'm gonna do a write up on everything I accomplished (and broke) in what have you done lately