THERE -- IS -- NO -- REASON to have to string these troubles out
You need THREE THINGS to make an engine run, and even engines in rather poor shape can be made to run
COMPRESSION You need compression. Do you have "any?" "some?" Pull the plugs and run a compression test. If it's real poor, none, throw a tablespoon of engine oil into each cylinder and check 'em again. If things don't improve, you have valve problems
FUEL You need fuel. Fuel that will burn. That means that if the car has been parked for some time, or even not drivin much, that full tank might be 2-3 years old? Prime the carb through the barrels with a squirt can/ bottle
IGNTION You need a good hot spark AND AT THE PROPER TIME. Crank the engine over with the coil wire held near a ground, and check for a good hot spark. Nice and blue, 3/8" or better. If not, take your 12V test lamp WHICH EVERY OWNER SHOULD HAVE, and remove the coil wire from the coil. Ground the test lamp, and use the probe near the coil tower. Test again. Spark should be VERY snappy and come at least to the top of the coil tower or better.
This spark must make it to the plugs. If the cap and rotor are dirty, wet, carbon tracked, cracked, baked looking, REPLACE them. Look over the plug wires. Check the wires with a meter for resistance. TAKE A GOOD LOOK at the plugs. Are they clean? fouled. REPLACE THE PLUGS
Timing-----Any chance the balancer has slipped, the marks wrong? CHECK them. Get/ make/ buy a "piston stop" like this
Remove the battery ground after making sure the no1 piston is "down aways" and install in the no1 plug hole. Use a wrench on the dampener bolt to turn engine until it stops. Make a temporary mark directly under TDC at the pointer onto the balancer. Turn the engine the opposite way CCW until it stops, and make a second mark.
Now you'll have two marks some distance apart. True TDC will be halfway in between, and if the factory mark is correct, that is where it'll be.
Now stick your finger into the no1 plug hole, bump the engine until your finger STARTS to get blown out, and look for the "marks." Bump/ wrench the engine until the marks are 5-8* BTDC for a stock cam, or 10-12 BTC or more for a hot cam.
Alternately, if you have either valve cover off, you can either look at no1 or no6 valves. Just bring the marks up to 5-8BTC as above, and look at the valves. If both no1 valves are closed, you are ready to fire on no1. If they are both somewhat open, you are ready to fire on no6. If you have the passenger side cover off, you can time it according to no6 valves. If the timing marks are "up" and both no6 valves are closed, no6 is ready to fire. If they are both open (split overlap) no1 is ready to fire. Install the distributor accordingly
THIS SHOULD BE near TDC on the compression/ firing stroke.
Pull the dist. cap. The rotor should be "approaching" the no 1 tower. I always scribe a line on the top rim of the dist. to indicate the no1 tower so I can see this with the cap off. SB engine dist's turn CW, so the rotor should be just to the left CCW of the tower. With the marks BTC as above, rotate the dist housing CW (retard) some, then slowly rotate CCW (advance) until the points just open, or until the reluctor is aligned with the center of the core of the pickup coil.
THIS ENGINE AT THIS POINT should start and run. Period.
