My engine runs !......like crap

[Newcastle knight]

That's next John, got my new plugs today too so i will put them in and try a blast of carb cleaner on the intake

[Newcastle knight]

I only had an hour to fiddle with the car last night so i stuck my new spark plugs in and thought id give it a try and it started straight up ! its still a bit grumbly just idiling but at least hes running again, i should have a few hours in the garage tomorrow night to do some more tinkering

[Newcastle knight]

Well that was short lived, the car started yesterday and it ran for a bit, still a bit rough though. I had a bit of smoke coming from the passenger side so i turned the engine off to investigate, turned out to be a coolant hose needed nipped up and was dripping on the rocker cover then onto the header.

So i went to start back up and.....crank crank crank, aaaaaargh !!

[warlord]

Are all the grounds ok? I noticed a few on the TPI harness when I stripped the donor car. main engine ground ok?

From your vid it looks like a speed density system? it's not a MAF prom by mistake?
What about mods? unlike the MAF system, speed density hates mods and may require prom tuning.

[Newcastle knight]

No it is MAF, that vid is a while back now, when it was running its quieter now ive sorted the vac leaks and the valves have been adjusted.

its like some intermittent problem, a few people have said my ignition module but its only 2 years old.

its got new earth cables on each head going to the firewall

[Newcastle knight]

Right then...., took a few plugs out to rotate the engine so i could recheck TDC. So i got the balancer mark set of 0 with air coming out of the plug hole so i know thats right, then i took the dizzy cap off and the rotor arm is as pictured below.



Ive drawn a line showing its pointing at cylinder one, sort of? i took the dizzy out and tried rotating the rod in the engine then lining the notch in the bottom of the shaft to get it to sit right, but it would either sit facing dead ahead, or where it is now. So i dont know if this is right or if its a little off

I put a jerry can of fresh fuel in the car, then put it all back together and it started straight up.....but it ran really rough, i took my foot off the gas and it just died, then when i tried to restart it, guess what.... crank crank crank.... urgh. It wasnt even running for 40 seconds.

So, im really starting to get annoyed now. Could it be the distributor, like the pickup coil or module, maybe they have let go or been damaged while being transferred from my old engine to this one, even though i just put it on a shelf while doing the engine swap so i dont know how.

I dont want to just start throwing parts at it and wasting money if theres something i can check or test etc.

[SUPERCHARGEDGTA]

it sounds like electrical/ign. part breaking down after a short run
the w/shop manual tells you how to test the module with a multi meter
have you got a spare coil?

[Newcastle knight]

I havnt no. Right i think the dizzy is coming back out on the bench tonight then.

I have been eyeing up a full new dizzy though for about 80 quid delivered from America which isn't bad as its ready to drop in

[thirdgen]

i got on from ebay uk delivered in 2 days for my 78 £105 total fixed mine easy job.

[Newcastle knight]

Id just like to rule the distributor out first if possible, instead of buying a new one, dropping it in and the car being no different.

Can you run a multimeter accross the terminals on a pickup coil and ignition module for a reading ? im having a google on it now but havnt found anything yet