[SVOMan]

I recently bought a 69 Fastback that someone had dropped in a 331 stroker in but never quite got it running right. I am finally getting a chance to work on it and am trying to figure out exactly what I have. I started it up last fall but it did not want to idle at all. Over about 3k RPM it seemed to run reasonably well. I dont' think the previous owner got it to run much better than this. I slapped a holley 600 double pumper on it that ran decent on the mild 302 I pulled it off of, so I don't think the carb is the problem. I have been wondering if it isn't an ignition issue (The previous owner also converted it to solid state ignition). Unfortuantely the previous owner doesn't really know what he got, and the builder isn't around any more so I am trying to figure out some details.

One thought I had is that it may have the wrong firing order. It is currently wired for an old 302, but if it has a cam with the HO firing order, then that would be a problem. Does anyone have any experience with wiring them up with the wrong firing order? Could that cause this type of behavior?

I also need to check the timing to make sure that it is at least reasonably close.

Any good ways of identifying the block/heads that have on it other than crawling under the car and trying to read the number on the block over the starter?

I got the original 302 with the car also, and am tempted to put that back in anyway (I bought the car for my wife, so she doens't need such an extreme motor) but even if I wanted to swap it back I would want it running right first to increase the resale value of the stroker motor. I think my wife would like the power of the 331 over the 302, but given a choice she would probably rather have a supercharger on her 02 GT than a stroker in the fastback.

Any advice? Its cold outside here in Fargo ND so I like to do as much research as posible before going into the unheated garage to work on the car (my drivers are in the heated garage, toys are in cold storage).

thanks,
-Matt "Knowledge is HorsePower"
02 Mustang GT
84 SVO (heavlily modified)
71 Bronco -351w
69 Fastback -331 stroker
63 Econoline -302