Rebuilt Engine won't start

[leeferland]

Ok, I took the engine out of my 1985 505 Peugeot, (left the block intact) rebuilt the head, replaced the fuel injectors, put a performance cam in, etc. My problem is this, now that the engine is back in the car and all the lines, electrical connections, etc. have been hooked up the engine just won't start.

I thought the timing might be off so I set the engine to TDC (#1 cylinder of a 4cyl. firing)
I then checked the TDC status by pulling off the valve cover and making sure that the intake and exhaust valves were in the closed position. I also stuck a screw driver into the spark plug hole for this cylinder just to ensure the cam was in properly...piston is at the top of the compression stroke.

Next step...the distributor, I lined the rotor cap up with the timing mark on the distributor, put the distributor cap back on the distributor then made sure that the plugs are all lined up properly with their respective wires.

Jump in the car, turn the key, the engine "kinda" starts for all of a second during which time it is constantly in a state of dying, sputtering, shaking, and smoking. If I rotate the distributor 10-20 degrees clockwise or counter clockwise the engine only spins on start up (doesn't sound like it is firing at all. I am told that it sounds like my distributor is on 180 degrees the wrong way, but the cap has notches on it and will only go on one way.

During this whole time I have a full tank of gas, and have a battery charger hooked up to the battery. I leave enough time between attempts to ensure that the engine isn't flooded......any help you guys can offer would be greatly appreciated!!!
Thanks
-Lee

[ivymike1031]

did you check to make sure that the distributor itself (not the cap) is on the right way? Turn the engine by hand with the distributor cap off, and make sure that the rotor points (at least generally) towards where the contact for the #1 wire should be when cyl #1 is at TDC.


If you've got spark and it's sparking at the right time, then make sure that you've got fuel getting to the cylinders...

[leeferland]

yeah, thats what I did when i rotated the distributor, I made sure that when the cap was put on, the contact point for cyl #1 lined up with the rotor (there is also a timing mark on the distributor itself to line the rotor up with)

[ivymike1031]

is the cam phased properly (or is it a tooth or two off)?

[leeferland]

Yeah, the main gear on the cam has a timing mark on it that lines up with a mark on the head when the number 4 cylinder at TDC. Checked and re-checked twice.