Hanging valves or bad timing?

I've got fuel flow and spark but I still cant get the engine to run on it's own!
My build is a 400 with 2v Cleveland heads that have had the regular pedestals milled down for stud mount roller rockers. There have been a couple backfires through the carb (power valve delete kit installed thankfully) which would make me think that the timing is either WAAAY off or that I over tightened the rockers and the valves are hanging open now that the lifters have pumped up with oil.

I'm so close to having this thing running so I'm willing to try anything here!

check the timing,then check it again! if you have fuel and spark,you'll get fire.

remember the the 351 and 400 has a different firing order from the other ford v8s I changed cams in my 351w one time and it had the 302 firing order would crank but run like crap until i changed the firing order to a 302

schmitty wrote:Are you absolutely sure you aren't 180* off?

X2

BigDave65 wrote:

schmitty wrote:Are you absolutely sure you aren't 180* off?

X2

This probably doesn't apply here but, on a run stand of a friend of mine they went through everything THREE times and had several different people scratching their heads before it was discovered that the starter supplied by the customer for running his engine was a marine reverse rotation starter.

The starter came off the engine when I took it down for the rebuild. I DID drop the dizzy 180* out from what would be normal so I just ran the plug wires accordingly. When I installed the cam I put it in straight up and used a billet double roller chain. After thinking about it I believe that the timing is most likely severely advanced so I'll try turning the dizzy back quite a bit today (the dizzy is a full mechanical Mallory unilite).

All it wanted was more advance!!! IT LIVES!!!

torkair wrote:All it wanted was more advance!!! IT LIVES!!!

schmitty wrote: Good deal. Did you pick up those heads Matt?

Not as of yet, I'm certain that I can do it next weekend though