The Stovebolt Site Forums The Shop Area Engine Shop My 235 revved, died, won't start, and no coil fire or rotor spin.

Do the basic diagnostic routine- - - -spark, compression, timing and gas. You'll need a helper to push the start pedal while you work under the hood, or at least a pry bar or a long screwdriver to work the start lever from under the hood.

Key on- - - -crank the engine with the coil wire out of the distributor cap and held close to the cylinder head. You should get a strong, rapid spark. If there's no spark, pop the distributor cap clips, move the cap aside and crank the engine. Does the distributor turn? If not, call AAA- - - -you've got a stripped timing gear. If the dizzy turns, check the point gap. A business card or a matchbook cover makes a good field-expedient feeler gauge for resetting the points. With the point rubbing block on one of the 6 high points of the cam, adjust the point gap so that card is a snug slip fit. This isn't precision tuning we're doing here- - - -it's battlefield triage. Close is good enough. With the points open and the ignition switch on, touch a screwdriver to the gapped-open points and check for a spark at the coil wire. No spark- - - -check for voltage from the ignition switch with a test light.

Assuming you've got spark all the way to the plugs- - - -pull a spark plug and stick your thumb over the hole- - - -crank the engine- - - -there should be enough compression pressure to blow your thumb out of the hole. No compression- - - -call AAA!

If you've got gas, spark and compression, check the ignition timing. That involves pulling the valve cover and looking at the position of the distributor rotor in relationship to the position of the rocker arms, and setting the points to fire as the piston approaches top dead center. If the ignition timing is far off- - - - -you guessed it- - - -call AAA!
Jerry

P.S.- - - -Punctuation and paragraphs are your friends- - - -I get out of breath trying to read your text!