Reply to "351C Will Not Fire"

The harmonic balancer outer ring (where the timing marks are located) may have slipped. Pull the #1 spark plug, rotate the engine until the piston is at the top of the compression stroke. This will get you very close to TDC. Check the timing pointer and the marks on the balancer. If it is off by quite a bit, then the balancer ring has slipped. To find exact TDC, you will need a probe (a dial indicator works best) that touches the top of the #1 piston. Slowly rotate the crankshaft by hand until the upward movement of the piston stops. Try to find the exact point where the piston stops its upward movement. Next, put a mark on the balancer in line with the timing pointer. Continue to slowly rotate the crankshaft by hand until the piston just starts its downward movement. Fine tune this point just as you did with the upward stroke. Mark the balancer. Half way between these two marks is TDC. If your balancer outer ring timing marks are off, then the ring has slipped. You can mark off your 4* for initial timing, retime the distributor, and start the engine.

John