Got my motor put back together along with the help of an old **** man and waited until the rebuilt carb came. Put it on and as soon as enough gas was in it, it took off. Ran until qt. jar was empty. Refilled and started again. Reved up, back fired and quit. The **** man, my brother, who is a mechanic, and myself were mystified. I got called to trouble shoot at the place I work part time and when I got back 45 minuets later they were there scratching their heads. I asked,"Bad news?" They said no and that they found out the distributor was off 180 degrees. They pulled it, reset it, and it took right off. Sure enough, I hit the starter and it purrs like a kitten. Still don't know what happened and hope it doesn't happen again. Next is to finish the wood and body.

can't believe the engine ran at all being 180 degrees out but good ya got it timed.mike

Back when I was a teenager I had a 52 Chevy with the distributor 180* off. As long as you didn't put the gas pedal to the floor quickly it ran fine, as far as I can remember. If you floored it quickly it would backfire and stall out.

Sounds like the dude that rebuilt the engine was thinking about "golf" when he installed the distributor.

Hee Hee, Your right.

On the 2nd thought, maybe it was Elvira.

Congrats Jerry!! Your perseverance should be rewarded!

--Bill