My "New" Car Won't Start

See post #6 again. Your symptoms seem to match mine 30 years ago. It's sounding more and more like the distributor body has an internal short. Can you borrow a cap from a local Model A owner to run a quick test to see if that's the problem? My money is still on a bad distributor body.
M.
 
I Took the distributor cap down to Joe and, for some reason he got continunity on mine but he also gave me another one. Because I determined that the distributor cap is working I am changing the points and condensor. Got the points in but the point contacts don't line up properly in a vertical orientation. I see how to adjust the contacts horizontally but not vertically. Help
 
It is OK if they do not line up perfectly vertically but check that the rotor is not interfering with the points as this has been reported as a problem by others. Install the rotor without the housing so that you can peak under to see if there is a problem. If the car starts and runs with the new points you can use a wet stone to dress the old points while they are out of the distributor. If shinny they will work as well as the new ones.
 
Make sure they have good conductivity by measuring the resistance with your multimeter. Should be close to zero resistance when closed.
 
The washer is OK. Just make sure there is no interference anywhere. And check for conductivity when closed and no shorts to ground for the moving points when open.
 
Thanks nkaminr, Can you tell me specifically how to "check for conductivity when closed and no shorts to ground for the moving points when open" Where do I put my leads from my multimeter?
 
Congratulations! So, what was the cause of the no-start condition? Points? Condenser? Coil? Distributor cap? More than one bad part? Posting your experience and success story may help others pinpoint the problem in a similar situation.
M.
 
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I Drove it around the block and everything worked fine. Went thru all the gears and brakes are excellent. Next I want to take off the body and work on the frame and running parts. Anyone know of a video for removing the body? As far as why it didn't start, I don't know. Everything looked good when it wouldn't start so I changed out the points, Condensor, plugs and retimed it.
 
You Tube can be your friend here. Knowing what to expect is comforting. I do projects several times in my head, watch a few Videos and then try to convince my son to do them for me. LOL
Glad you got it running. Don't know how you can tear it apart without putting a few miles on it first? Enjoy the adventure... Chap
 
Likely the points. When I get a car started that has sat for a while the first thing to do is to clean up the points.
 
With the points closed, put one lead on the moveable points and the other on the stationary point, or a good ground location. The multimeter should read 0 or very close to 0. Compare the reading to the reading you get when just connecting the leads together.

When the point are open, put one lead on the movable point and the other on a good ground. There should be no conductivity. Do this with the ignition off. If you find a short (close to 0 ohms) then the arm for the movable point may be touching the cam. This can occur if the plastic block that runs on the cam has worn down. Or the condensor can be shorted (bad condensor).
 
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