MG Sports Cars

I have a Rover 3500 in my B, Holley 390 carb, Offy Intake, Crane Cam. Pulled engine to swap tranny, and while it was out, turned it over and changed the oil pan gasket. It sat upside down for one week, but oil was drained before hand. When all done, tried to start it and the #2, #5 and #7 cylinders aren't firing (checked exhause headers with laser thermometer). Changed Ignitor electronic ignition to Ignitor ll, change coil to .6 Ohm Flamethrower, changed cap and rotor with higher end stuff, replace plug wires with 7 mm kevlar suppression wires. Did static timing to 7 deg before TDC, then when trying to do dynamic at 5 Deg before, it will barely run at that setting. Will run at about 12 deg after for dynamic, but those three cylinders still not firing. Used dyelectric grease on all electrical joints, put in new Champion plugs (copper), and tested voltage going into coil at 12.35 volts. Grounded breaker plate in distributor directly to the engine to ensure good ground, and no change. I've made no change to vacuum, pulling intake vac for breaks, and throttle body vac for PVC. No choke connected. Checked intake manifold on the chance that I was dumb enough to leave a rag or something in there, but did not. Besides, 2 and 5 are fed from passenger side of intake, and 7 from driver side. Using original Rover distributor, but only pulling around 260 horse or so.

Wires plugged in clockwise firing order, and all connections secure. The only connection that's not really secure is in my head, as I'm running out of ideas real fast. Anyone out there have a clue as to what might be the issue here? Frustrated. Thanks in advance for any suggestions that might be out there.

Michael.

Have you checked for a spark on the non firing cylinders?

When it runs are the lifters quiet, just wondering if having the engine inverted allowed some of the lifters to drain down and that they may not be pumping up.

Timing wise on a 3.5 I would normally run a lot more initial advance, you really need 36 deg. total advance all in by 3000-3400 RPM and as the Lucas distributors usually have 22 deg. of mechanical advance you need to set the initial at 12-14 deg.without vacuum to achieve this but do not see why the engine will not run on all cylinders purely because of timing settings.

Kevin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2009 02:11PM by castlesid.

Cylinders 5, 7, & 2 are in firing sequence - have you inspected the distributor cap/leads for issues?
I would check for the obvious - firing order of 1-8-4-3-6-5-7-2 and the correct wires going to the plugs (esp to 5,7 & 2) and look for any signs of carbon tracking/arcing, corroded electrodes or cracks in the distributor cap.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/22/2009 02:11PM by ex-tyke.

Have you checked the pushrods? If the lifters were on the loose side after sitting upside down for a week it may have opened up enough gap to allow the lifter to leave the cup in the rocker when you flipped it back over. Pull the rocker cover and check that the intake valves are opening.

Bill

Have you run a comprssion check?
I would do that. If there is no or very ow compression then the cylinders in question will not help the engine run.\
I'm with Graham about the lifters not pumping up. Should show up on compresion test.
How long have you run the motor now? It could take some time for the lifters to pump up.

Steve

I would agree with the Ex Tyke's diagnosis. Also check the engine (when it's running) in a dark enviroment, that way you'll see if the dizzy cap is breaking down. I've experienced this with another car when I upgraded the ignition. The old dizzy cap broke down although it wasn't obvious at the time in the daylight. Barrie E