Troubleshooting HELP!
 

OK, I need some direction on where to go next. I pulled and rebuilt the 350 on my son's 1974 Camaro. While it was out I put an Edelbrock top end kit (heads, intake, cam & lifters) and an EZ efi kit on it. I also upgraded the ignition to a Crane electronic ignition module and coil. New wires, water pump and battery rounded out the install. When I tried my initial start the engine barely turned over, like the battery was weak or dead. I know it was new but sometimes you get a bad one. I charged the battery overnight and tried again. Same result.

Today, I took the battery back and had it checked in the store. It checked out OK. I took the Optima out of my other car and installed it in the Camaro. Same issue. Now I have ruled out the battery. I double checked all of the wiring and it appears to be correct.

I figure it has to be the starter. Took it off and brought it to the O'Reilly's to have it checked. Spins pretty good but no load on it at the store. I figure its not too expensive so I get another starter/solenoid. Reinstall and go to fire it up. Now, it spins a little better but still not enough to start it.

Any suggestions on where to go/what to do next? I'm at my wits end!!!

Have you turned the eng over by hand with a socket on the crank bolt with or w/o the plugs in? If so does it spin ok?

that would be my next check. Also, make sure the engine has a good chassis ground.

Retard your timing a good amount and give it another crank. (Turn the distributor clockwise) Also, you can check your connections and cable by doing a voltage drop test. Take your volt meter and attach your leads to each end of the cable. You shouldn't be seeing much over a few tenths of voltage drop. You can also check your ground by using one lead on the negative battery post to your engine block. (In a different area than your ground attachment) These tests must be done cranking.

I replaced the ground wire and checked that it has good contact with the alternator bracket. Still the "dead battery" turnover.

With the plugs in it takes about 35 ft/lbs to turn the engine over by hand. I took the plugs out and it was about 30 ft/lbs to turn it by hand. I don't know if this is high, low or just right but it didn't seem to bad. I double checked and the belts didn't seem too tight either.

Just for giggles, I tried the starter with the plugs out. Boy did the engine turn over just fine. What could that mean? Do I have the distributor out of phase? Or is there something else I'm missing.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Did you take my suggestion on the timing?

time to look at ignition timing. Too advanced will definitely cause it to spin hard. For a quick test you could simply turn the distributor clockwise a bit and see if it improves or starts.

good leads so far but i will add, hows your valves adjusted? no bananas in your tail pipe?

At 30ft/lbs or 35ft/lbs on a complete eng... you are good there. I didn't think about "to much timing" because you didn't mention if it was trying to fire or it was just turning over hard. Do as the others said and back off the timing and try again

When you put that top end and cam in did you degree the cam? If not your cam could also have some additional advance in it adding some compression during cranking. Also as Todd mentioned if your ignition timing is to advanced then it will cause cranking problems for sure.

So bottom line did you double check where TDC is and cam timing then drop the dizzy in knowing it was close or just use the marks on the cam gears and balancer? Those marks aren't always accurate, that may be your problem.:D