Ok y'all, here's the update:
Due to wet weather, we didn't mess with the old Conti for a few days. Then, we managed (with about nine people) to get her pushed up the hill into the shop. Last week we had installed new lifters and recon'd pushrods. Put a hot battery in the car once it was inside, and cranked it over. Still spit back through the carburetor. Checked the timing, and finally put a timing chain and cog set on due to what seemed to be a bit too much slack. Reset the base timing correctly, and tried again. Still, firing back through the carb.
The pissoff of all pissoffs happened as the car was getting oil pressure. As we started to see oil coming out of the pushrods while cranking, we started to notice the engine was "cranking easier." Pretty soon, we had full oil pressure, and no compression. Checked the pushrods, they're 8.55", as per the specs listed on OD5. Backed off the rocker bolts until compression came back and tried cranking. Still, same symptom... seems like it's firing back on an open intake. WHAT NOW??? UGH!
*Note* We have installed a third distributor now, and yet another carb off of a running 460 in my 76 Ford F-250. Carb numbers where exactly the same.
Buddies are throwing out random ideas... pushrods too long? Wrong cam? Some freak model of engine with a different firing order and we just need to rearrange that and run the engine while tightening down rocker bolts to adjust lifters? Cracked head(s)? We are so lost on this project, you have no idea. This is what I get for going to college for automotive in the computer age. Everything we talked about was dual overhead cam and aluminum, and generally uses a computer interface to tell us it's broken.
All help is appreciated.
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Bill S.
77' Continental
76' F250 Utility
90' E350 XL Diesel "Vuck" Dually
93' Cadillac Allante'
88' Merkur Scorpio
86' C30 3+3 Dually
28' Benz SSK Replica (Put a 351W in a Pinto and you'll get the idea.)
Amongst many other idiot purchases.