Starter cranks but engine won't run

ok thanks for the heads up and I will check with IHPA tomorrow on parts needed. Ok I check vacuum on the vacuum advance and it looked good so right now I guess I will be at a standstill until I replace the parts on the distributor once I get those in and installed then we can move forward unless you all think there are other things I can do in the meantime.
 
I have been doing some reading and I would like to ask you all if it's just easier to buy and install a pertronix ignitor or keep the parts the same.
 
I'm going to say that if you don't have the dust cover, it won't make a difference in the short term. Just go without it for the time being.

Just go points distridutor until it's running. Very easy to trouble shoot points. Pertronix is an good idea to upgrade a running engine.

You can use the existing points and condenser to prove out the wiring and fuel system. The condenser is the wild card. They can fail and are hard to test if you don't know how they will affect a meter.

Put it together and verify voltage to the coil and that the points are making a good switch. Then check for good hot spark.
 
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Just want to thank you all again for all your help. I am just waiting for parts to come in but in the meantime I took apart the distributor and looks a bit dirty inside so my question is should I clean it up and if I do what should I use without having to tear it all apart.
 

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That look pretty normal. The springs look ok. The small amount of dirt looking surfaces are not going to hurt anything.

The one maintenance item would be the advance system. It turns about the top end of the main dizzy shaft. They are usually lubricated through the opening in the top of the advance shaft. There is usually a felt in there under the rotor. Apply a couple of drops of clean engine oil there and work the advance back and forth.
A drop of oil on the advance weight pivots too will be good.
 
Just an update. Got my parts in from IHPA on Thursday and I would like to thank them for throwing in the distributor dustcover. I really do appreciate it. Hoping to get The parts on the truck and try turning it on this weekend. So hopefully by late Saturday I will have lots of pics and see where I'm at by then.
 
So I went ahead and installed new parts on distributor and spark plug wires but got nothing. So decided before I go any further, I started to do some more reading on the forum about the ignition set up and decided to go ahead and invest in a multi-meter and tester see if I can verify that all the electrical parts are in working order before I start throwing parts at it. Hopefully this would help in honing in on the issue and making me more prepared for questions you all might have.
 
OK I got my multimeter in and my test light and right now the problem seems to be that I have the 12.6 V at the coil on the positive side but I get nothing on the negative side. On one of the videos I saw him as said to put the test light on the positive and the clip to the negative of the ignition and when you turn the key the lights should flicker well there is no light period and I already tested the ignition coil with the multimeter everything seems to be right so now I have hit the rookie wall
 
tat_ayala said:
OK I got my multimeter in and my test light and right now the problem seems to be that I have the 12.6 V at the coil on the positive side but I get nothing on the negative side. On one of the videos I saw him as said to put the test light on the positive and the clip to the negative of the ignition and when you turn the key the lights should flicker well there is no light period and I already tested the ignition coil with the multimeter everything seems to be right so now I have hit the rookie wall
Click to expand...

What I guessing is that the distributor is not grounding correctly. So if anyone has ideas that would be appreciated
 
That's not it. Your engine is grounded and the dizz is bolted to the engine, so its grounded by association. Your 12V test probe won't work when both ends are touching energized sources. Both coil terminals pass energy. The negative side of the coil is not a ground. Your probe will only work when one end is touching a chassis ground and the other end is touching an energized source.

Do the following: Remove your lead between the coil and dizz at the dizz end. Expose the brass contact out of the boot. Position the contact so that it is resting near a chassis ground, but with an air gap of @ 3/8ths of an inch. Have a helper crank the starter briefly while you watch for a spark strong enough to jump the air gap to ground. Low light situation will be helpful also. If you do see a good spark, replace that wire onto the dizz cap and pull any spark plug wire boot from the spark plug of your choice. Do the same spark looky test. No need to do this if you don't see spark with the first one.
 
Scoutboy74 said:
That's not it. Your engine is grounded and the dizz is bolted to the engine, so its grounded by association. Your 12V test probe won't work when both ends are touching energized sources. Both coil terminals pass energy. The negative side of the coil is not a ground. Your probe will only work when one end is touching a chassis ground and the other end is touching an energized source.

Do the following: Remove your lead between the coil and dizz at the dizz end. Expose the brass contact out of the boot. Position the contact so that it is resting near a chassis ground, but with an air gap of @ 3/8ths of an inch. Have a helper crank the starter briefly while you watch for a spark strong enough to jump the air gap to ground. Low light situation will be helpful also. If you do see a good spark, replace that wire onto the dizz cap and pull any spark plug wire boot from the spark plug of your choice. Do the same spark looky test. No need to do this if you don't see spark with the first one.
Click to expand...

Sounds like the plan for today
 
Ok. I know you said you have power at the coil POS terminal with IGN switched ON. Now you need to test...and helper may be required...if you have power at that terminal while the starter is being cranked. Also, please indicate how many wires are connected to the coil POS terminal now.
 
With the points open you should have 12v on both terminals of the coil. If there is not voltage on both terminals there is an open circuit in the coil.
 
Well I did what everyone asked me to do and was just about to start snapping pictures with everything back on but before I put the distributor back i saws that it was all full of crud so I wiped it down cleaned it scuffed it so metal would be showing and decided to give it one last shot and lo and behold she turned on. not only did it turn on it's as if she's never been turned off. So right now I'm going to leave it on for a little bit see if I can find any leaks of any kind. But as of now she is running and running strong. Now for the next issue I might find do I keep this post going or do I start a new thead in designated topic area. A big thank you to all who help me on this adventure means a lot thank you
 
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Awesome! Kinda depends on what it is. If you think Issue #2 seems closely related to what we've been discussing, no reason not to just tag onto this thread and keep it going. But, if Issue #2 is that your brake pedal goes to the floor and the rig won't stop...well, that's quite a bit different than an ignition/fuel delivery problem. Just use your best judgement.
 
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