Am I correct thinking TDC @ 1 will have number 6 I&E rocking ? for ignition timing purpose ? being a slotted type in th RB mopars they can be either right on or 180 off, far as mechanical timing goes, however can certainly be ignition miss timing if rotor does not match number 1 on cap and then CCW firing order of 18436572

If you have the # 1 piston at TDC on the OVERLAP stroke(beginning the intake stroke on # 1) the oil pump drive slot should almost be parelel to the camshaft and the rocker arms on # 6 on a solid lifter cam should have slop in them # 6 is on the firing stroke so you should install the distributor pointing at # 6 spark plug wire, I move the cranksahft backwards a little to get around 15 degree BTDC on the balancer and the timing tab on the timing cover and then move the distributor so the leading edge of the rotor is real close the edge of the pole in the distributor cap that # 6 spark plug wire is hooked to

Yes, if the dampener slit is pretty close to TDC & #6's are rocking then you are on TDC #1 compression. As Cab said backup the dampener a bit to 15 (I like to backup to 20 then come forward to 15 to elim chain slop) then turn the dist housing till the magnet is lined up dead even with the tooth and as you know at that point you want the rotor under or near under the dist cap terminal with the #1 plug wire above it & vac adv shifts rotor phasing CW on a BB so ideally you'd want the rotor at rest to be on the CCW edge of the cap terminal like Cab said. prior to this I would clock the intergear so #1 plug wire is clocked in the cap at the OE position (helps prevent future mistakes & at least on a SB lets the wires nestle as neat as possible with the shortest lengths possible) & iirc on a BB #1 points sideways/transverse across to the drivers side and one of the dist cap holddown straps is at 5 o'clock with you standing at the pass fender looking down at it.

Thank you both for confirming what I THOUGHT I knew, just grabbing at straws and was hoping I just went brain dead on something.......The Cloyes is still well within specs as far as slack, the rotor moves instantly upon turning the crank on this 512 stroker, was using complete MSD set-up, removed and am using another entirely different ignition system. Still can not get it to start, have checked for spark at end of each wire and as close as I can tell very close to appropriate cylinder, getting fuel, all cylinders are 200# + /- 5# as far as compression........moving the distributor can get it to act as if too advanced, getting some kick back, however zero attempt at firing from that posistion on ???????????? going bonkers over this :-(

what ign is in there now? with dampener on 15/# 6's rocking/magnet lined up/rotor on #1, all the items we covered, if all good there then the long block is OK & lets concentrate on the ign setup. is it being fed in ign2 "crank" & ign1 "run"? is the ign system itself wired correct? is it timed right (trigger point). holler back when you can. EDIT please tell me this ain't a new cam breakin (we've did alot of no start cranking). Are the plugs still clean? MORE EDIT no vac leaks/getting good fresh gas?

Not recent rebuild is a 2007 build and has ran fine till now, things done just b4 trouble new front end with some welding done, unsure if the installer removed battery cables etc., also the positive cable from trunk mounted battery shorted out on muffler. Getting this info from owner so not real sure of sequence etc of potential causes that may be reason. However removed the MSD to a self contained dist(Assault style), same results ignition system is getting 10 plus volts while cranking. I have watched rotor for slack, have made sure several times on number 1 to fire, Feel as tho something simple and I am just not recognizing to be clear 2 different entirely ignition systems used, same results..........plenty of fuel, 200#s give or take 5 compression, dropped oil pan, to look for whatever, timing chain still very good as far as stretch, nearly no slack at all, but the rotor showed me as well, instant movement with turning crank either way...........Also have checked for fire at each plug being grounded on block rather than in cylinder.........plugs are clean, no oil or fuel contamination H E L P :-)

I am fully aware if all of the above is correct, should start, however I just have not discovered exactly what is NOT right :-(

Removed a complete MSD off a "no-problem" RB Mopar, fired up immediately, HUH ??? turns out pick-up wire in original MSD (mine) was in fact not pulsing as should. found out a very harsh wire wiggle and the ohms reading left,k holding wire just right ohms came back, grrrrrrrrrrrr Okay then on the other Assault unit turned out be coil contact inside cap, so two different problems, am I the only one that has that sorta luck, arghhhh. Now back with original MSD except for pickup and all is well, so many thanks to all that gave ideas and suggestions

When a motor won't start I pull the coil wire from the distributor and hold it 1/8 to 1/4 inch from the heads or intake manifold and use a remote starter switch with the key on to see if I get spark out of the coil first when I spinthe motor over with the starter, if not trouble shoot it, if so move on to the next step in the process of trouble shooting the no start
IHTHs

would you have a Mopar ign system you could swap in just to elim or confirm it is ign (which I'd bet it is)

I answered what the problem was above, two completely different ignition systems, each had it's own fault.......Go figure :-)....I was thinking both can't be bad, W R O N G anyway, was second guessing I was doing something wrong and was having a mental block............So glad I stayed after it and discovered the why !!! thanks again for all the suggestions and ideas