351 C won't start!!
 

I have a 351 Cleveland in a '70 Cougar that has not run in 10 years. I have spent several months trying to get it started with no success. The following is an abbreviation of the path I have taken:

1. Spark test = positive
2. Statically timed the engine to ensure distributor-piston sequence
3. Primed the carb. by putting fresh gas in

SYMPTOMS:
a. Engine cranks, but emits only a few small backfires with each attempt
b. Battery cables get very hot, and battery runs down in about 5 minutes of trying
c. I cannot guarantee that fuel is spraying into the carb. as I manually push throttle from under the hood while looking into the carb.; but shouldn't the engine try to turn over more with the fresh gas dropped down the carb as primer?


My thoughts now are: 1) is the carb. simply not processing fuel through it for fire and 2) is the fuel pump getting fuel to the carb.

Any ideas on process to follow from here?

Try cranking it and spraying some starting fluid in through the carb. If it starts up, then either your carb needs to be radjusted or check the rest of your fuel system.

if its sat for 10years your going ot have to rebuild and clean out that carb for sure. Gas turns to crap once it sits for a long time. Your fuel pump could be ok, i would start by getting a rebuild kit or full out replaceing that stock carb and see if it runs (assuming were not getting fuel).

The backfires however tell me it could be timing as thats a sign of that and would lead me to say you need to recheck your timing on that motor.

dirty carb and you should squirt a little oil down each combustion chamber (just a couple drops) to help seal them up while the rings re-seat.

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I'll try the starting fluid. I think the carb. may be a problem.

Thanks for the reply. How do I eliminate the fuel pump as a problem (it does not leak)?

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Thanks for the quick reply. I'll check it out.

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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll give it a shot.

You also may want to check your ignition system. That could be a cause of the backfiring also. Definately get rid of the carb or rebuild it like was suggested. We got a carb. for my car and it had only sat for 4 months and it was clogged up completely.

Yeah the backfire would lead me right off the bat to say timing iss off, but the fact that the car sat for soo long Im will bet the carb is also trashed. I would for sure start with the carb and recheck the timing. Let us know what happens.

You said you had spark, did you check each plug? Also you may have fouled the plugs by pouring gas down carb and repeatedly cranking. New plugs and a spray of starter fluid may do hte trick