No spark

[ajwolf]

I just received this 56 mark II. It has sat for many years. It turns over. I cleaned out the fuel tank, added new gas. Fuel pump works but I get no spark at the plugs. Coil was bad so it was replaced with no luck. Plugs were cleaned and gapped. Still nothing. Any ideas??

[Barry Wolk]

Is the car getting gas through the carb? You can quickly tell if it's a fuel delivery problem by using a syringe of squeeze bottle to fill the carb bowl through the vent holes. If it starts it's the carb. Is it getting 9 volts at the coil with the ignition switch on? if it gets no voltage with the ignition switch on the resistor is bad. Does it get 12 volts while cranking? You're likely going to do it anyway, but adding a Pertronix ignition makes points problems disappear and makes the car quite reliable.

Take the cap off and see if the rotor is turning. See of the points are stuck open.

Buy a Service Manual and an Authenticity Manual. Most questions are covered.

[Milsteads Garage]

Check for voltage at the ballast resistor. It needs to have voltage at both sides to send voltage to the coil. After this check or replace your points and condenser in the distributor.

[ajwolf]

Checked rotor, it turns, had power at both resistor terminals, new coil, but still nothing. Points and condensor look good, but i guess i could change them .

[jdsnoddy]

Do you have spark from the coil to the distributor?
If so, replace all of it: distributor cap, rotor, points, and condenser. If not, is there a kill switch? Maybe an extra wire on the coil grounding it out?

[ajwolf]

No extra wire grounding the coil. I will replace all of it. This week. Thanks. I will keep you posted.

[Roger Zimmermann]

It can be just oil or dirt between the points. Clean them with a piece of cardboard, it makes wonders! I had the phenomen three times: on my '56 Cadillac et twice on the Corvette from a friend. You can also check the voltage at the coil's output: if the point are closed, you should have 0 Volt.
Check also the internal wire doing to the points: with the age, it can deteriore and no more doing its job.

[jdsnoddy]

I would also suggest, after you get spark, to fill the carburetor bowl with 6 ounces of 2 cycle gasoline.
A little prime is a good thing.