Do you have a voltage meter? Cheap ones can be had at Hardware stores. Invaluable tool. Follow from battery through all components of the starting circuit and check both sides of components, in and out (with key on of course). My guess would be that ballast resistor that's so hot.

No spark at all? I had this problem with the truck in my signature. New coil = nothing. New ignition box = nothing. Ballast resistor = nothing. Plug wires, cap, and rotor = nothing.

Turned out the distributor was wobbly and the reluctor wheel was getting too close/ far away from the pickup.

I'm just tossing out ideas here.

:shrug:

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If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

Could it be the pick up inside the dist. then. Or the ingition module or the coil as listed. You said you suspected coil, but have you renewed it?

Bad spark plugs? Maybe not, but sometimes they spark outside the cylinder, but the spark is so weak that when under compression inside the cylinder, there's no spark.

Ignition system is relatively simple. Not so many parts in it. Few more in pointless system than in conventional but still.

So critters haven't eaten the wires? I's be sure and check with volt meter.

My ballast resistor was almost broken. It heated a lot and engine stumbled and stalled often. If the ballast is broken, of course there will be no spark.

Broken distributor gear? Is the distributor even turning?

well heres a list of brand new parts

plugs
plug wires
ignition control module
distributor
rotor button
cap
coil
ballast

im getting spark somewhat but no fire!
the carb is getting gas and everything
im going insane trying to figure this out

i dont get it...
i have spark....
but the engine wont turn over...
im bout to say the hell with it and drop a 318 in!

I think I would check timing and the timing chain next. Turn the engine clockwise (viewed from front) until #1 piston is at top dead center on the compression stroke. The rotor button should be pointing at the spark plug wire for cylinder #1 on the distributor cap. Then rotate the engine counter-clockwise by hand and see how many degrees the crank shaft turns before the distributor turns. Or if the distributor turns.

Danny

put it to TDC
nothing
added gas down the pipe...nothing
im going to get a ner starter solenoid tomorrow
and ive chacked all the wires and none seem to be out of place or grounding out
im also going to try putting a msd box(friends) on to see if it just needs hotter spark....
this is driving me insane

It's driving you insane because you're guessing and throwing money at it, instead of diagnosing the problem systematically. Stop spending money on parts. Buy these three books in a hurry to get up to speed on how the car is supposed to work and how to fix it so that it does. If you have spark and can't get the engine to run, it's not because a hotter spark is needed, so your time and effort would be wasted in putting in an MSD box.

It's possible your cam timing may have slipped due to a worn timing chain and/or sprocket. Do you know how to check this? Have you verified that the distributor is actually turning when you crank the engine? Has the distributor been removed and reinstalled at all?

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一期一会
Too many people who were born on third base actually believe they've hit a triple.

well took alot of advie and worked on it more today

the button does turn when u bump the engine
i took out all the plugs and cleaned em and put em back in
im in the process of fixing the wiring the original owner did to bypass the solenoid
and tracking down the wrong color wire per the diagram sucks
im still not convinced i have the sparkplug wires in correctly
can anyone actually take a picture of what it should look like

well im bout to give up for now...ill get back to it i guess when ive got some help

so far i have power to the coil!
hopefully im on the right track for fixing this crap

edit
power to the ballast(and checked it) and such...so thats all good...


could my engine be flooding itself?

Yes. If it’s not firing or firing at the wrong time it can’t burn the gas. (If it burnt the gas it would start) The carburetor could be flooding also. Are the plugs wet? Can you hear gas dripping into the intake after you crank it for a while?

Danny

HOLY CRAP YES I CAN
and it stinks of gas after a million attempts

If you're sure you have spark at your plugs and it isn't firing, it's something with the timing. Dist. in the wrong position or timing chain slip.

In essence the plugs firing when the piston isn't where it's supposed to be.

Get a plug wiring diagram and verify the wire positions too.

If you can hear gas dripping in the intake you probably need a carburetor rebuild but an inlet needle and seat might fix it. It could also be the float is set too high.

I don’t know if that’s your only problem but mine would not start while doing that. The plugs can’t be shiny or wet at all. Wash them in lacquer thinner and blow-dry them or get new ones - most people recommend new ones but they’ll get wet too if the carburetor isn’t fixed first.

Danny