I'm in Georgia south of Atlanta. I did reach out for help today and everyone seems to be busy. I'm going to continue to try a few things and if they don't bear fruit its time to hand it over to someone who has more experience. I'm not a mechanic and I certainly don't have the years of experience a professional has. This is a hobby for me that I like to dabble in to keep me out of trouble....

 

I'm in far north Michigan right now- I was in Atlanta 3 weeks ago.. I know a few car guys around ATL.. See what I can turn up.

 

I'm in sunny CA, but I have an old friend in Buford (I think). He was a heck of a wrench. If you like, I could see if he has some time.

I think it has to be the weak spark, because if it were timing I would expect misfires...
Good luck.

 

Cranking voltage of 9-10 is pretty close to bare minimum needed to light a plug, especially in an engine with around 170 lbs cranking compression and a rich mixture. Spark test outside the cylinder should be bright blue and "snappy", if that makes any sense. If it's orange and "lazy", it won't light that fire. I would also double check the point gap. Too much dwell and the coil won't deliver max energy. too little dwell and the coil can't build max energy for each firing event. I would also check the cranking voltage at the battery terminals. Your low voltage at the coil could be the result of a weak battery. Hope some of this helps. I'm rooting for ya to figure it out.

 

When you painted the engine, did you also happen to paint the lock-down strop for the distributor? Most folks don't know that the electrical path from the distributor housing, thru the lock-down strap, and on to the engine block is the ground path for the ignition. If any of those 'contact points' are painted, you may not be making electrical ground with the ignition system.

The contact points for strap-to-dist housing and strap-to-engine block MUST be free of any type of insulating materials (paint!) if the ignition system is to function.

 

Initially, I did have it completely painted. However, after consulting with the folks at Pertronix I removed it. At the time, I thought for sure this would solve my problem but unfortunately the saga continues.

 

At this point I have verified that I have the following:

Good compression.
Fuel
Properly timed spark.

I'm going to remove the points today and try a set that doesn't have the condenser attached. The kind I have are new but they don't allow me to check the gap with a feeler gauge.

More to come -- Thanks!

 

She's running!!!!

 

OUTSTANDING!!

Now tell us what you did or found??????

 

This is what I think happened. After I installed the major components to the engine I decided to try and start it before I went much further with the installation of all the other items. Right from the beginning I had no sign of ignition which lead me to believe that it might have something to do with the Pertronix or the newly installed timing chain. I called the timing chain manufacture and I asked them if I had installed the right model and if it was installed correctly? I sent them the same picture that I posted on the thread. The tech that answered the phone seemed very knowledgable and agreed that it was the correct timing chain for the model engine and the installation looked correct. I then called Pertronix and the tech there told me to remove any paint in the vicinity of the distributor lock-down. I was convinced that this was going to solve my problem but it didn't. I called them back the next day and was informed that it might be the Pertronic sensor and since I've had it for less than a year they would send me a new one. This was all well and good but I didn't want to wait until the new one arrived so I decided to buy a point kit to keep the project moving along -- bad idea. This became a problem because the points I got had the condenser built-in and I had no way of adjusting the gap. Regardless, I charged ahead with the installation and replaced several other components along the way. I also decided to remove the paint from all area where the main battery ground connected to the frame and engine.

I believe I had two problems both self inflicted by a well intended novice mechanic:

1. The paint didn't help matters. I primed the entire engine with an epoxy primer prior to installing any of the components. Epoxy primer is great on bear metal and is ideal for engines due to its ability to handle the temperature. However, most people paint their engines fully assembled -- not me. I had to do it the hard way. I removed all the components and painted them one at a time. This becomes a problem later with areas that needed to be grounded.

2. I don't know this for sure but I think the points I bought didn't work as directed. I suspect they were bad right out of the box because after sanding and removing all the paint the engine would still not fire. This morning I pulled the distributor and reinstalled the Pertronix and the engine immediately came to life.

I would like to thank everyone who came to my aid with counsel and suggestions. Like I said in a prior post this is simply a hobby for me. And it's certainly a lot more fun when I'm not working alone and I have the support of people like you -- once again THANK YOU!

 

IT's a hobby for a lot of us. I moved from the automotive world to aircraft 30 years ago..
Today, it's:

 

Nice!

 

A job well done...
We have all felt your pain, trust me.
I know I have.
Ever wanted to throw a Snap-On at $8,000 worth of paint?