I started the Chevelle yesterday for the first time in several weeks. It started up fine and I let it fully warm up to play with the timing a little. Then it wouldn't start hot at all. I posted on TC under trouble shooting http://www.chevelles.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1362630#post1362630 I got a few looks and no replies.

I got back to it this morning, and wouldn't you, the thing had run itself out of gas just as I shut it down. No fuel, no start. I'm so embarrassed!!

But glad too. I did a carb rebuild this morning and timed it at full advance. Turns out, my initial timing was 3 degrees retarded -- embarrassed again!! But at least that explains my crappy idle and low vacuum.

Right now I've got it at 16 degrees intial with another 18 mechanical. I was able to turn the mixture screws in a full turn, it's making 14" of vacuum, and it's pretty smooth at 1000RPM.

don't ya love the simple fixes..

Yeah. To bad I had to "break" it to get it tuned right.

Same thing happened to me. I had built my 463, installed it, did a 20min break in, and turned it off. two days later I go out to start it, it won't start. I find TDC, Check to rotor for alingment, it looks good. Then I start to wonder what is wrong. Problem I only put 5 gallons of gas in it to break it in with an all new fuel system.
I am a dumbbutt.

I've done that pulling into the drive way with guage on E planning on getting some gas the next morning. Go out and it won't start, or starts then immediately dies when the fuel bowl in empty. Then it time to hope the mower can has some gas in it....

Air, fuel and spark. I love it when a plan comes together! :thumbsup:

Glad it was something simple.

During my last cam change, I started the car right up, broke in the cam and decided to reset the valves after the break-in so that they would be set properly after having pumped up the lifters completely. Well, it turns out that I wasn't thinking and I was setting the exhaust valves when I should have been setting the intake valves. Imagine my embarrassment when it wouldn't start and I didn't have any compression!!! Good thing I was by myself and my car buddies weren't around to harrass me :)

Don't feel bad, I've been troubleshooting my bike for the last few weeks. It starts fine, gets down the street, then it's dead in the water....

All you need is fuel air and spark? The fuel valve has this nifty lil arrow that points to its position, but I never bothered to check it, and it was off. Just enough fuel was getting past to run it for a few minutes before it starved.

That's one of those good news bad news deal. :)

Ha Ha! I did that recently with a generator I was buying. One pull and it starts up. Runs a couple minutes and dies. After twenty minutes of checking the plug and inspecting the filter, pulling until my arm falls off, sweating and swearing, the guy I was buying it from says, "Geez, I don't understand it, I had it running for 20 minutes yesterday. Did you turn the fuel on?"

Me: "Oh, there's a fuel shutoff?" DOH!