85 /6 21,000 on rebuild in a 73 swinger.
went to back out of driveway loss of power, died. hasn't started since.
checked dist. found broken gear went ahead and bought new distr. still no start.
so far, have replaced distr., module, coil, ballast res,ign switch, cleaned contacts and connectors. still no start. compression 145 lbs all cyl.
pulled timing chain cover gears still dot to dot chain tight.
all rockers move and adjusted right. #1 piston tdc compression stroke rotor pointing at #1 on distr.
white spark from plug wire.
pouring spoon full of gas directly into both bbls holley 5200. turns over fine tries to start but won't. have late model distr adjuster on bottom of distr so have around 110 deg of adj and have tried all of it. at times turns over backfires twice through carb and that's all.
has me completely baffled

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73 swinger holley 5200, 2 1/4" exhaust .030 over new pistons , cam, .010 under crank. stock everything else. 1/4 mile about a week. 0-60 around 15 sec.

If you have spark, look at fuel delivery. 1 out of gas, 2 clogged fuel filter or line, 3 bad gas, 4 carb problem.

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There is no problem that cannot be solved by the proper application of thermo nuclear weapons

The distributor isn't 180 degrees out, is it? This is pretty easy to do. DAMHIK.

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"When you find a big kettle of crazy, it's best not to stir it." - Pointy-haired Boss

1964 Valiant V200, 225/Pushbutton 904
BBD, CAI, HEI, LBP, AC, AM/FM/USB, EIEIO

good gas.
rotor points to #1 tower on distr. with both valves closed and piston at tdc shouldn't be 180 out .
pouring gas straight into carb should run for a few seconds even with a bad carb. shouldn't it?

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73 swinger holley 5200, 2 1/4" exhaust .030 over new pistons , cam, .010 under crank. stock everything else. 1/4 mile about a week. 0-60 around 15 sec.

Check the fusible links up by the master cylinder, you might've burned one. You're getting spark whle cranking...are you sure the ballast resistor is ok?

sounds like what happened when a wire slipped off the balast resistor on my car. It's just a 'given' thing to check the balast resistor if it starts, but dies as soon as you let off the key.

Do you have a timing light to see what timing you've got while cranking?

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

I haven't yet read anything about verifying that you've actually got spark! Have you checked? Could be the distributor pickup coil went south, or the ignition switch, or for some reason or other you've got no spark happening.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

have a white spark, br is new and wires are on. distr cap, rotor, and wires are new. right now just timing to tdc to get it running. worry about fine tuning later.
the only thing that hasn't been replaced is the holley 5200 but even if it went bad wouldn't it run for a few seconds with gas poured straight in the throat????????????

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73 swinger holley 5200, 2 1/4" exhaust .030 over new pistons , cam, .010 under crank. stock everything else. 1/4 mile about a week. 0-60 around 15 sec.

You've definitely got a timing issue -- either cam or ignition. Dots lining up on the timing chain sprockets doesn't necessarily indicate proper cam timing. There've been sprocket sets that have been in the correct orientation when both dots lined up *but on the same side of the sprocket* (both dots at 11:00 on their respective sprockets, instead of "nose to nose" which is standard). Pull the valve cover and check the timing via the rockers.

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

#6 rockers are closed when gears are dot to dot. ran fine for 21000 miles with timing gears dot to dot

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73 swinger holley 5200, 2 1/4" exhaust .030 over new pistons , cam, .010 under crank. stock everything else. 1/4 mile about a week. 0-60 around 15 sec.

So this tells me that #6 is at TDC compression and ready to fire.
(there should be no lash on #1, it is at TDC exhaust stroke, both valves open in the overlap event)
Set the distributor to point at #6 cap terminal and the engine should fire up.
DD

tried that still didn't start. about to see if napalm cures all ills.

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73 swinger holley 5200, 2 1/4" exhaust .030 over new pistons , cam, .010 under crank. stock everything else. 1/4 mile about a week. 0-60 around 15 sec.

A slant will try to start when it is 180 degees out. Ask me how I know. Also, study the distributor carefully, and make sure you are not setting the timing 5 to ten degrees retarded. I did this once, thinking it was advanced because I was confused about which way the rotor was turning, and I could not get it to start at 10 retarded. Once I realized my error, , and set the timing 10 degrees advanced, boom, she started right up. You sound like you have gotten pretty deep into this, and have a good understanding of what is going on, so it must be a fairly simple mind fart kind of thing that is getting you down. When it hits you what is wrong, you will probably say, "oh boy, why didn;t I think of that?". (or maybe something a little stronger). I would take a look at the ballast resister again. Swap in your spare and see if it makes a difference. (You do have a spare don;t you?)

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69 Dart Swinger, 230 ci slant, t-5 five speed, intercooled turbo, 4 wheel disk brakes, tubular upper control arms.

Since the distributor gear breaking was the last known thing to affect this car's ability to run (and you replaced the whole distributor), maybe it's the distributor. If you still have the old one, you could try replacing the gear and give the old distributor another go. It's not unheard of to have new parts malfunction.

Might be worth a try,
Jerry

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There's a difference between ignorance and stupidity.
Ignorance is not knowing any better.
Stupidity is knowing, yet doing it anyway.