Bob,
In cases such as this, it is usually best to start from scratch at the beginning. Start with the battery checking connections, follow your wires to the coil and distributor ensuring your have good wiring and voltage. I would replace the points and condenser. If the wires look to be in good condition, check them for continuity and proper resistance or replace them. I would replace the spark plugs which are cheap. Check the distributor cap for cracks. Sometime they can be very small and difficult to detect. If it looks good and clean, no corrosion, re-use or replace.
If the engine will turn over with the battery, I would suggest doing a compression check to ensure you have proper or at least enough compression to fire. This will also tell you if you have a stuck or damged valve or damage piston.
Is the gas new gas or has it been setting in the tank for a long time? If the gas is old, it may be best to drain and refill with fresh gas treated with Stabil.
Once you have verifiy good fuel, air, spark, and compression, there should be no reason it does not start.
You need to get a service and parts manual. They run around $55 each.
Sometimes you can luck out and go right to a single problem and get the engine to start but it is rarely the case, especially with equipment that has been setting for a long time unattended. Trying to figure out all the bugs can be very frustrating. Methodically verifying the basics, step by step can help ease this frustration and greatly aid in making some smoke and noise from the once silent engine.
Good luck and let us know how things work out.
Linear Mode
