Problems starting my new 408

To begin with your compression ratio is a little higher than normal so that's one strike against you when it comes to cranking the motor. Higher compression motors many times are harder to crank, especially "before" the engine is "broken in" because everything is super tight. Then if your spark is a little early it REALLY makes it hard to start. When I first start a new motor I usually have the dist a little loose so I can rotate it while I crank it to find the sweet spot. I've had many "new" engine" bog down at initial start up, when they bog down I have someone rotate the distributor as I crank the motor until it turn more freely. Or if you're by yourself get a remote starter switch from O'reillys. It might not ever start unless you find it's "happy place" when it comes to timing. Once you get the cam "broke in" you can mess with the timing and get it where you want it. Haven't you ever watched any of the car building channels on TV an seen how they move the distributor to get the engine to start??? Every engine is different so there's really no set "timing" for initial engine start up....there are too many variables (cam, compression, fuel, etc). Treblig