My dad bought a 81 Monte Carlo a long time ago, and it was almost empty, no interior but the dash and all but it won't start, the engine looks brand now, it cranks but it won't start, I was thinking it probably needed a new carburetor, but I'm not sure, need help!

 

To big questions are
1. does it have spark? Take a plug out and have some one crank it, hold plug near the header/manifold and see if the spark is jumping to the metal.




2. is it getting fuel?

 

its getting fuel and it sparks

 

if its sat for a long time...maybe the cylinders have lost compression.... try pulling the plugs and putting a small amount of engine oil in each plug hole to lube them up and that will restore compression.

 

Sounds like the timing might be off. Best way to check is to take out the #1 sparkplug and turn it over with a wrench on the crank bolt. Hold your finger over the spark plug hole and you can feel the compression stroke. Stop turning when the piston is at the top and your distributor should be lined up with the #1 terminal on the cap. I know when I changed the intake manifold on my ElCamino I had the distributor off a tooth and it would not start. Pull the dist. and make sure the rotor lines up with #1 terminal on the cap and it should start.