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so i bought a 63 chevy to fix up. its got a v8 not sure what size i dont remember off hand but i cant get it to start. I made sure the wires were all on right, checked the plugs, checked for spark and no start! Ok the guy i bought the truck from says he rebuilt the engine himself and never could get it to start. He replaced cams, lifters, pistons, bored block, the works. So i dump some gas in the carb because its got a manual pump and i figure it would take a lot of turnin to pump the gas up there. Put a new battery in and try to turn it over. Well, it doesnt turn over more than once before the battery is dead tired. So I hooked it up to our Titan truck and tried to jump it hopeing for more power after recharging the battery of course. Still wooooomp wooooooomp the engine hardly turns. So we think hm maybe the guy made the valves way too tite so we loosened them up some. I dont know if that helped or not but it still turned over slow. So i thot hm maybe the thing needs some oil in the cylinders since its been sitting some time and it could be dried up. So I dribbled some oil in each spark plug hole put the plugs all back in and try it again. This time it turned maybe 5 or 6 times over and quit but it did fire once or twice. At that point i was so tired i had to go to bed. The next day we said ok now we know it will start....dump some gas in the carb and try to turn it over...again it turns over not more than one time. So what is it guys? Why so hard turning over and why no start? Thx for the advice in advance (-: this thing is really startin to get to me...

you got spark right.Even if the cylinders are dry, they would still turn over. I am leaning on maybe the starter is binding up, which would cause the batt. to go dead real fast. Or maybe the starter is crap.Try loosening your starter alittle. I would definently check your timing, by putting your motor top dead center, and see where your rotor is. Also I would try to turn your motor over with a socket and wrench. Go clockwise only, so you don't back off the bolt. Definently check your dist. and make sure that you are not 180 out. GOOD LUCK!!

We made sure the dist. was correct and did set the engine at TDC to make sure. Is it possible that the rings are just so tight that the compression causes it to be extremely hard to turn over?

Man, i hope he didn't install the wrong size bearings in to the motor. If it were me, i'd strip it down and check everything again to be sure. It would be worth it because if it's been rebuilt, you'll eventually have a fresh motor to drive.

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Previous setup: 4.1 Buick V-6/TH 350
Current setup: 400 Small Block Chevy V-8/TH 350
9" ford rear end/short bed/blue
What do Water, Electricity and Humans have in common... They all travel the path of least resistance.

Could it be possible for the starter to just be bad? I noticed while trying to start it the cables got pretty damn hot. Of course that could just be because so much engine resistance too?

The starter is probably dragging. Try another starter, they aren't too much for an old chevy.

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Hammer to fit, paint to match.
If it aint broke, don't fix it.
There's always room for duct tape and bailing wire.

WATCH YOUR PIEHOLE!!!!!!

its a process of eleimination.........

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434 pushing 732 hp with no spray!!!

elimination.......spelling gremlins.......

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434 pushing 732 hp with no spray!!!

I had a Pinto that pulled something like that about a year ago when i put another motor in it,and i ran 3 batteries in the ground and it still wouldn't start.
My brother then suggested we pull start it and sure enough it fired right up,and never any more probs after that.....so there's another option for you if all else fails