Car is an 83 GS 12A.



It had been sitting for 7-8 months



I have:



Drained the gas tank, filled with fresh 87 octane

ran pump until old gas stopped coming out at carb

verified ignitors wired correctly

verified no spark on leading...I swapped trailing ignitor to leading

Currently no ignitor in trailing portion of distrib

Pulled plugs and cleared motor



If I attempt to start:

It tries to run, but shuts off as soon as I stop cranking. Obviously not running well

If I pump gas pedal while cranking, occasionally it will backfire out of carb/tailpipe



I know I need another ignitor for trailing, but would this cause the car to not start? I have an MSD 6A sitting here, perhaps I will do direct fire on leading plugs



What do I do/what am I doing wrong?



Many thanks in advance!

Well is there good fuel in the carb? Could be dried up/gummed up old fuel blocking the jets. Not having a trailing shouldnt affect it starting and running. Maybe pour a capful of gas down the 2 primary barrels and try to start it.

Def fuel in carb. I smeel gas fumes really bad. I pulled plugs, spun it over for a few times....spat out lots of atomized fuel....



Re-installed plugs, added a little bit of gas (accel pump works)...car tries to run, again, pop-pop-pop and lots of smelly exhaust....but as soon as I let go of key, it dies. If I continue this for 2-3 times, it will cease popping (Flooded?)



Perhaps my plugs are simply dead? What plugs should I try tomorrow?



Any other ideas?

Just did a compression test with a traditional tester.



Holding in the schrader valve, I get even 30 psi "bounces" on all three faces, front and rear. I think the high number was ~90psi, but I don't remember exactly. It took a few turns to get to a "high" number.



Keep in mind this is after the motor has been flooded a few times tonight in efforts to start it.



Are these numbers acceptable, or should I pull this thing out and rebuild it?

did you get 90 on only one face or all three eventually? even if you were getting 30 psi thats pretty freakin low.

Exactly how bad were these plugs?? If they were a little crusty, just sand blast them or take a wire brush to em, make sure you dust them off before putting them back in. Then put wd, starter fluid, gas, or any thing else that is highly flammable in the carb. If that dosent work, dont take advice from a noob.

Also take the carb off and give it a good cleaning.

u know the same thing happened to me a couple days ago,i my daily driver 85gsl after i washed my car's engine bay.....i checked everything and it was fine...and it was doing the exact same thing yours is doing....try disconnecting the negative battery terminal 4 about 15 seconds and then hook it back up,crank it giving it about half throtle and when it stars keep it running like that @ about 3500 or 4k rpms! thats if it starts but if ur only getting 30psi compression i guess UR screwed...minimum pressure is about 85psi...if u did the compression test right it is obvious that is time 4 a rebuild=(...GOOD LUCK

I got a high number ~90psi with the valve functioning normally.



With the schrader valve held in, it was even 30psi bounces...all three

try letting the engine, all 3 faces of both rotors, sit overnight with ATF/MMO to try and loosen any carbon lock that might have occured during those 7 -8 months and then try restarting the car. at first with old plugs to burn up the oil, and when the smoke is gone, install new plugs and try again.