69gmachine
Member
Use the farce Luke... just kidding. Stick with the basics, and I'm confident you can do this.
First a question to ask yourself:
If this is a newly assembled motor, or if the cam and or timing chain have been replaced, do you know they were installed correctly? If you have any doubts, double check now so you don't do any damage. You indicated that the block is a regular '68 302 block, but the firing order is dependant on the cam, not the block, so if the cam has ever been changed, you need to find out what it is. As stated previously a late H.O. or any 351W cam has a 13726548 order, whereas the old 302 is 15426378
1. Pull the number 1 plug (I usually pull all the plugs to make it easy to turn over)
2. Bring the number 1 piston to TDC, verify with a flashlight that you can see the piston right up at the top. There are special tools you can buy to find TDC, but I've always been able to do this without them.
3. Check the valves to make sure you're on the compression stroke. You should be able to rotate both intake and exhaust pushrods with your fingers. If you can't you probably have a valve that's not on it's seat. Either the valves are not adjusted properly, or you're not on the compression stroke.
4. Once that checks good, verify the timing marks on the balancer indicate you're at TDC. If not find out why and fix it (wrong balancer? outer hub slipped? timing chain incorrect?)
5. Verify the rotor is pointing at the #1 plug terminal
Once all these check good, put the plugs back in, wire the distributor for the cam you're using, and if you have compression fuel and spark, it will start.
Good luck, and let us know when it cranks!
First a question to ask yourself:
If this is a newly assembled motor, or if the cam and or timing chain have been replaced, do you know they were installed correctly? If you have any doubts, double check now so you don't do any damage. You indicated that the block is a regular '68 302 block, but the firing order is dependant on the cam, not the block, so if the cam has ever been changed, you need to find out what it is. As stated previously a late H.O. or any 351W cam has a 13726548 order, whereas the old 302 is 15426378
1. Pull the number 1 plug (I usually pull all the plugs to make it easy to turn over)
2. Bring the number 1 piston to TDC, verify with a flashlight that you can see the piston right up at the top. There are special tools you can buy to find TDC, but I've always been able to do this without them.
3. Check the valves to make sure you're on the compression stroke. You should be able to rotate both intake and exhaust pushrods with your fingers. If you can't you probably have a valve that's not on it's seat. Either the valves are not adjusted properly, or you're not on the compression stroke.
4. Once that checks good, verify the timing marks on the balancer indicate you're at TDC. If not find out why and fix it (wrong balancer? outer hub slipped? timing chain incorrect?)
5. Verify the rotor is pointing at the #1 plug terminal
Once all these check good, put the plugs back in, wire the distributor for the cam you're using, and if you have compression fuel and spark, it will start.
Good luck, and let us know when it cranks!