R16 Backfire and No Start

[Muspos]

Hello Everyone!

My son and I have been driving our car around as we are working on the body. We went to take off and the car backfired through the carburetors and then died. We checked electrical connections, ensured that the rotor in the distributor is spinning, and played around with the timing a little. My son just playing around switched the plugs on the distributor from 1-3-4-2 to 2-4-3-1. It started up but was running very rough so we shut it down quickly. It would not restart with the plug wires in the correct position.

My dad always claimed that the car would skip timing but I never paid attention to how he got it running again. I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions or recommendations on correcting this problem or diagnosing the issue?

Is the fix to take it to TDC and ensure the distributor is pointing directly at #1 or do I need to inspect the timing chain for issues?

Can the timing chain jump a tooth and throw the timing off? With the R16 being an interference motor, do I need to worry about bent valves?

Sorry for all of the questions but I appreciate your help and assistance.

[Habitat.pat]

First, check rotor to #1. If it is out, you probably have a timing chain problem. If timing looks good let us know & we’ll figure out what to check next.

Peace,
Pat

[bossbob]

I had running issues this weekend too, I found my problem to be fuel delivery. I would put your wires back on correctly and pull the top off the carb and see if you have fuel, also verify that the fuel pump is operating correctly. Pull the fuel hose off the carb, turn the key and see if it's pumping fuel? That's where I would start. Good luck. I'm pulling my gas tank out for a thorough cleaning.

[unklpat]

How many miles on motor? You can check timing play by taking plugs out, and rotating crank back and forth to see how much crank movement happens, before rotor movement. I would first go to TDC plus 16 degrees if non-smog distributor, TDC if smog distributor. Make sure rotor points to #1. Rotate clockwise facing front of motor. Pat

[jrusso07]

Before you reset timing, check to see the (2) bolts securing the distributor position are tight. If not, the timing can move and create the fault you experienced. Just an attempt to confirm failure cause

[Gregs672000]

Lots of assumptions here, possibly being driven by a "history" of it "jumping out of time" (what is this, the Twilight Zone?). Timing chains don't typically just "jump" out of time unless they are waaaaaay loose and uncontrolled, and then there could be bent valves etc. If the engine were to turn over with the starter and a timing light were attached you would likely see the timing flash somewhere way off one end of the scale or the other. I wouldn't start here...

 backfire through the the carbs is IMHO a likely sign of a lack of fuel... that's where to start. Put the wires back to the previous 1 3 4 2. If you messed with the timing then you may need to re-time it, and that can be done as follows without a timing light/running engine: Assuming that it has a smog dizzy, turn the engine manually until the timing mark lines up with 0 on the crank and the rotor is pointing towards #1 on the distributor cap (17 if a non smog dizzy), then switch your ignition key to "on" and slowly rotate the distributor (cap off) until the points open or spark, then lock the distributor position down... you have just "static" timed your engine (I believe you can also put the cap back on and turn the distributor until the spark occurs at the plug wire with a screw driver stuck in it and arching to metal). It should be close but a timing light is needed to finalize (Harbor Freight has a cheap one that will do the job).

After doing the above (if needed) check for fuel delivery problems. You can confirm it runs using brief shots of starter fluid but be nice to it and don't try to run it for any longer than needed to confirm. If it chugs without fluid but responds when you spray it you know it's fuel.

Start with the basics first... fuel, spark, compression.

[redroadster]

Cranking at a decent rate ? With high compression a slow crank can & will backfire and ruin compression too the intake valve is open during the compression stroke .
How long ago was the last normal start ?
Fuel going bad also has reduced power so messes with timing , you might want to run a compression test / blow out the cyls.should tell cam timing that way if its normal,
it can give slow valves too to give the same cond.

[Muspos]

Thank you all for the suggestions, I started to dig into the problem a little more tonight. I started looking at the fuel delivery and the carbs, everything was working great. I was inspecting the distributor and I noticed that the rotor in the distributor was providing additional movement beyond what it should. I pulled the rotor off and it is cracked at its base. So it must have broken when I took off for the drive and the rotor made its own timing adjustment for me!

Important lesson learned tonight with my son, don't chase unicorns when there are simple beasts right in front of you!

Thank you all for your wisdom and knowledge.

[Gregs672000]

Excellent advice, glad it worked out!