QuestionI have a '71 MGB that Iam restoring. Have rebuilt engine. Had heads reworked. Rebult carbs & distrubutor. The engine turns over fine. Have determined that he marks on cam/crankshaft gears line up and that spark plugs are receiving fire. Engine is getting gas. It doesn,t even try to start. have been told by amatmechanic friends that timing is 180 degrees out, but none of the suggested remedies, such as changing out plug wires work.
Can you help me?
Thanks
Fred Duncan
AnswerHi Fred. It is possible that the distributor drive gear has been inserted wrongly, so when the coil fires, the rotor arm is not lining up with the terminals inside the distributor cap.
Also, check the firing sequence is 1,3,4,2 with the rotor arm turning ANTI-clockwise as you look at it. It is easy to get them wrong.
Put the car into top gear and push it forwards until the timing mark on the pulley lines up with the TDC pointer. Then put the gear lever back into neutral and apply the handbrake. Take the cap off the distributor, and look to see where the rotor arm is pointing. It should either be pointing at #1 or #4 terminal. My guess is that it is not pointing at either.
You can fix the problem by rotating the distributor until the rotor arm does line up and the points are JUST breaking, or you can extract the distributor drive gear and re-position it on a different tooth. The gear has a threaded hole in it, so to extract it you just need a long 5/16 ANF bolt (or one of the rocker cover studs). Be careful, it is possible to drop the gear into the sump pan if you don't line it up correctly.
If this is unclear, get back to me.
