454 starting issues.

[drwhys]

Good afternoon, unsure if this is the wrong section or not, but I've recently got my hands on a 83 c30 and previous owners have swapped from a 6.2(vin checked) to the now 454 with a sm465 cast iron manual trans, now I'm unsure who and or how long it has been this way but as far as i know the previous owner stated it made a noise after clutch was replaced(i take info with grain of salt), and then he parked it. I was able to verify fuel, dist is getting power, but the issue is when i key on to turn it over it turns very sluggish and weak sounding, I've tried 2 new batteries to make sure power was right and 3 different starters all new and each sounded the same. I was able to record when turning and it seems to have a lot of pressure when trying to turn over as the starter flexes a little( yes its tight and secure). is there a chance something in the trans is binding the engine up? there is all sorts of odd wiring done that ill be working on to fix, but trying to avoid pulling trans in meantime to get it to turn over fast enough to start. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Shorty81]

Check your timing. Make sure you are not way too advanced.

 

[drwhys]

Check your timing. Make sure you are not way too advanced.

Will do tomorrow waiting for the rain to subside some. your 2nd person i know whos suggested this. Thank you



EDIT: You are a life saver, i am soaked but went out rotated the dist about 1.5-2 inches clock wise it freed up alot even gave a little kick, got it to fire but it died when idle, turned counter clock wise a total of maybe 1/2 inch maybe 1 at most and she fired and idled, now i can get the timing in order but turned it off, and it fired off on its own so well worth the wet shirt.

 

[RustyPile]

I doubt very seriously something amiss in the transmission and/or clutch is causing the slow turnover.. Even so, that would be the last pieces I'd be disassembling, searching for a problem.. Go over the basics first.. Disconnect the power wire at the distributor and remove all the sparkplugs. The starter should then spin the engine fairly freely. If it's been sitting a long time, moisture could have accumulated in the cylinders and rusted the walls..

 

[Shorty81]

Will do tomorrow waiting for the rain to subside some. your 2nd person i know whos suggested this. Thank you



EDIT: You are a life saver, i am soaked but went out rotated the dist about 1.5-2 inches clock wise it freed up alot even gave a little kick, got it to fire but it died when idle, turned counter clock wise a total of maybe 1/2 inch maybe 1 at most and she fired and idled, now i can get the timing in order but turned it off, and it fired off on its own so well worth the wet shirt.

Glad that worked! Big block Chevys rock!!