Replaced spark plug wires on my 1955 T-bird 292, it will not start, turns over, have spark & fuel, but will not start. Any ideas?

If you have spark at the end of plug wire ,check if you started wires one off.

No, wires are connected to proper plugs.

Why don't you walk us thru how you changed the wires? On the car, cap and all off and on the bench or? Are you using the OEM wire looms? And, do you have spark at the plug, or at the coil wire, or both?

miker
55 bird, 32 cabrio F code
Kent, WA
Tucson, AZ

Assuming it was running before you replaced the plug wires, if all you did is replace the plug wires and you have spark but now it will not start, then you mixed them up somehow.  Go back and double check.
Firing order is 1-5-4-8-6-3-7-2.  Number 1 cylinder is at the front, starter side of the engine.  Cylinders are numbered front to back, 1-2-3-4 on the starter side and 5-6-7-8 on the oil filter side.



Lawrenceville, GA

And the firing order is counter clock wise!

Y's guys rule!
Looking for McCullouch VS57 brackets and parts. Also looking for 28 Chrysler series 72 parts. And early Hemi parts.

MoonShadow, 292 w/McCulloch, 28 Chrysler Roadster, 354 Hemi)
Manchester, New Hampshire

Make sure the wire from the distributor is ok and firmly pushed into the cap and coil.  Try the old one.



54 Victoria 312;  48 Ford Conv 302, 56 Bird 312
Forever Ford
Midland Park, NJ

Purchased wires from NPD, they are Motorcraft wire set D6PZ-12259-BA, WR3801B, silicone or copolymer jacket, recommended by Ford. Installed new grommets & clamps. Removed complete harness one at a time, 1st the passengers side, 1-2-3-4 laid them out on a table, matched lengths & installed in grommets & secured clamps. Did same on drives side 5-6-7-8.

Look, everyone makes mistakes.  If all you changed is the plug wires and it doesn't start, then you messed up somewhere.  Go back and double check that the wires are installed in the right order and going from the correct distributor terminal to the correct plug.  If they are, it will run again.



Lawrenceville, GA

I’ll suggest verifying that the wires are in the correct order and locations in the cap.  Being as this is a Thunderbird and assuming it does have the correct damper, align the TDC mark on the damper with the timing pointer.  The TDC mark is on the pulley portion of the TBird damper.  With that done, simply make note of the #1 and #6 wires on the cap and mark the outer portion of the distributor housing accordingly.  These two wires should be opposite of each other on the cap.  If not, then revisit the wiring order at this point.  Then pop open the distributor cap and observe where the rotor is pointing.  It should be pointing to either the #1 or #6 cylinder marks you’ve put on the outside of the distributor housing.  If the rotor tip misses either of these marks by more than a half an inch, then the wires are off in the cap or the distributor timing is simply off too much.  Because you haven’t mentioned anything about backfiring when trying to start the engine, the odds of the wires being off 180° is low.

Lorena, Texas (South of Waco)