460 Gas Wont Start

I overhauled my 1959 460 gas over the winter. I have spark but am not getting gas to the cylinders. I sent the head in and had it checked over and replaced whatever needed. Gaskets on the carb are new. Gas comes out the bottom of the carb when I take out the screw. Gas flows freely out of the fuel filter. Does anyone have any suggestions? This is my first overhaul job. Thanks

Hold your hand over the throat of the carburetor and see if there's good suction. Also do a compression test and post the readings. Poor suction indicates low intake manifold vacuum. Make sure your intake manifold isn't the problem. Tighten the bolts or nuts. Also squirt some engine oil in all the cylinders then replace the plugs and see if the engine will fire. I would recheck the valve clearance. Hal

i am sure that you have given it a sniff of ether. if it does not hit on ether, you may have some bad gas. try draining gas out and putting in some fresh.
i cannot say this for sure, but, i had an engine that would not start, would not hit with ether, i blamed it on bad gas.

Well since your getting gas and ya have spark it should have fired wright off IF , (1) ya have the cam in time correctly , (2) IF you have the dist. set in Correctly and you are on # 1 and if you are set at TDC or a hair advanced (3) you have the valves set correctly , (4) ya don't have a rag stuffed in the intake . , (5) ya have the main fuel screw set at 4 1/2 turns off the seat to five turns , (6) ya have the wires on correctly .

your float is stuck in carb,3/4 inch box wrench tap side of carb or drop the bowl

have you got the right plugs, if not ani't gona run!!

have you got the right plugs if not it ain't gona run!!

I second what the tractor vet said, everything has to be right! Troubleshoot!

After what everyone else has suggested (if you're still having problems) you might want to check your intake manifold for obstructions. Mouse nests, wasp nests, shop rag, misc.

If you removed both the intake and exhaust manifolds, it is easy to not tighten them properly when installing and leave an opening for air to get in. Look at the contact with the head all the way around. Same thing happened to my 460 several years ago. An indication is low or no pressure on your hand when placed on the intake of the carb while cranking.

Agree with CNKS. Willing to bet that is the problem.

Well, we got it running today. I started going through the replies on this post and narrowing things down. When we went back and started looking things over we found when I put the distributor back on, I had the shaft rotated 180 degrees which threw the timing way off. Also went through and reset the tappets. She is running rich, so am going to order a carb kit and see if that takes care of it. Thanks much for all the input from everyone on this site. I will keep you posted.

"JC3; glad you found this site and found your solution. Here is something I've posted before and it helped me set my Farmall 460. Enjoy yours.

Adjusting the carburetor
McCormick Farmall and International 460 – 560
per the Preventative Maintenance Manual dated 6-20-58

"The engine and carburetor are correctly set when shipped from the factory...Start the engine and allow it to operate until thoroughly warm before making any adjustments.

... with the engine thoroughly warm, turn off. Close the [top needle] idle adjusting screw to its seat; then open one turn. The [bottom adj. screw] main fuel adjusting screw can be used to reduce the amount of fuel going into the engine when under light load conditions. However, when heavy work is to be performed in which the FULL POWER of the engine IS REQUIRED, the fuel adjusting screw should be set five turns off its seat. With the engine running at fast idle, turn in the throttle stop screw a few turns to prevent the engine from stopping when the throttle is closed. Start engine, close the throttle by pushing the engine speed control lever all the way up. [I like the way they worded that.] The throttle stop screw can be backed out until the desired idle speed (approximately 425 r.p.m.) is obtained. If the engine misses or rolls, the idle adjusting screw may be adjusted either in or out until the engine operates smoothly.

Hope this helps.