65 Chev 327 - No Spark - Ideas Needed

I was helping a buddy today with a 65 Chevy Impala SS - has a 327 in it.

Car was running fine - he took the heads off for some chrome plating - he put it all back together and now no spark?

We have power to the coil, good grounds, plenty of cranking power and the distributor set to TDC - no spark?

We checked and changed points and condenser, changed the rotor, checked all the wiring - all looks good.

We changed the coil, tried jumping it right to the battery - still no spark?

Wires are new and look good - but we used a known to be good old plug wire - connected it to a plug - held it to the block - cranked it - no spark?

Everything works - lights, horn, starter, etc. - we pulled the voltage regulator - it looks good.

We are perplexed....


Engine looks awesome with chrome heads, headers, manifold, water pump power booster, and everything else you can think of chromed - but we can't get it running!

Photo attached is before the chrome cylinder heads and headers

Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks

AB

 

Minus post of the coil to the points. Put a voltmeter on the feedthrough to the points. It should go between 0 and battery voltage as the points open & close. If it reads 0 and stays there, the points are staying closed, if it reads steady battery voltage, they are staying open. Take the distributor cap off and work the points with a screwdriver. See if you get spark from the coil center.

 

Old Buzzard is spot on, points staying closed
closed, spark going to ground

 

Thanks - we will check this when we can! We set the gap with the dizzy out - seemed to be ok - but you never know!

 

The appropriate old saying here........ If it don't GO----Chrome it!!!!

 

Hei

 

Set them using a thin dime and go!

pdq678

 

Green wire on the negative and goes to the points

 

make sure the little wire inside the dizzy isn't touching ground anywhere.

 

Did you put the rotor cap on?

 

I guess the object of the above was to have you make sure the distributor shaft is actually turning. I have had distributors that seemed reluctant to seat properly and the dist gear was not engaging the cam gear. But, there are a number of things that can cause the points to malfunction. Just tightening the lockscrew can upset the point setting. .019 or so is not a lot of space. Make sure the rubbing block is exactly on top of the dist cam lobe. Tighten the lockscrew in stages while checking that the point gap is being maintained. Is the point arm on the pivot operating smoothly and not binding? I doesn't take much.

 

I think you might have a bad alternator ,Did he bump the screw on the alternator,I ran into this once and my chevelle wouldnt fire ,Replaced battery and distributor wires and plugs,If you ground that screw ,She aint gonna start ,It will just keep cranking battery down....

 

there is a small wire inside the distributor that grounds the points plate...make sure that is not broken or came off.

 

Stick a screwdriver to the points, wiggle them see if there's a spark there.Never heard of chrome plating the actual head before, is this common?

 

I like the chrome.