1977 246FF I/O tips tune ups etc...

[JBELANGER365]

Hey All,
  So I have had my Aquasport 246FF for nearly a year and have only gotten a few good uses out of it... Due to a divorce it sat in lingo for a little over 4 months never being touched. I finally got her back and can't get it started. I cleaned the distributor and checked the plugs but alas nothing. I have seen in some of your posts about swapping the old distributor plugs and wires for a pertronix and think this is my last option to bring her back to life. Any suggestions on where to go what to get and install tips tricks? It is a '77 ford (guessing 351W) due to the fire order stamped on it but there are not any plates or model numbers on it. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated as I am not as shall we say mechanically inclined as most of you gentlemen... Oh and btw had fuel stabilizer in it and fresh oil...

[JBELANGER365]

Here's a pic of the motor if it helps haha

[fitz73222]

Do you have fire out of the coil wire? This may be nothing more then dirty points, assuming it is not electronic ignition.

[JBELANGER365]

How Would I check For that? I cleaned the posts external and internal but didn't go as far as sanding them as of yet...

[fitz73222]

Take off the coil wire where it enters the distributor cap and hold the end of the wire within about a 1/4-3/8" of the block or good ground and have someone turn the engine over and see if the fire jumps from the coil wire to the ground. Spark should be blue, if it is red or orange color, clean and set the gap on the points on the high point of the distributor cam. You may have to bump the engine over to get to the high point of the cam or turn the engine over by hand with a breaker bar and socket on the front crankshaft pulley, clockwise rotation to align the cam to get the points to open.

[JBELANGER365]

It has spark and I just replaced the plugs and wires unfortunately no one has the rotor and cap so I sanded the hell out of them... still tries to turn over but never fully starts... could it be the timing is off?

[GoneFission]

Yes, timing can be an issue - have you done anything to change the timing since she last was running?  If not, timing is not the problem.  Did you replace the condenser?  If not, change the condenser out.  What did you set the point gap to?  Standard for a 351 Ford is .017" - these engines are very sensitive to point gap - each .001" is equal to several degrees of timing.  Got a dwell meter?  You will want to do final point adjustment with a dwell meter once she is running.  The feeler gage is good for an initial setting, but points are so sensitive - you need a dwell meter to get them right.  Dwell should be around 26 degrees at idle.  Timing should be around 8 degrees BTDC at idle (assuming no vacuum advance is connected).   

Yes, definitely change out the points/condenser to an electronic ignition system once you get her running.  Changing points to electronic is the best $100 - $150 you will spend on that boat.  Electronic keeps the plugs cleaner, gives much better cold starts, and will have stable timing throughout the RPM range - all of that is good!  Several systems are available - check the features and see what you like: 
http://www.jegs.com/c/Distributors_Conversion-Kits-Points-to-Electronic/11577/10002/-1 

One last item - have you checked the carburetor to see if the choke is closed/working on startup?  You may be getting spark, but not enough fuel to start.  Does it help if you pump the gas a few times before trying to start? 

[dristau77]

I'm late to the game,  but I have the service manual for my 1976 OMC IO it covers all three motors. If you need to know something specific, I can take pics of the pages and make a PDF doc for you.