DEAD Coil???

If you have them, get an old (known working) spark plug and a spark plug wire.  Attach the wire to the plug and plug the other end into the nose of the coil.  Press the metal shank of the spark plug against the metal of the engine to make electrical contact or ground the plug shank with a wire with alligator clips, and then have someone try to start the engine.  You should see a series of spark pulses in your test plug as the engine turns over, proving the existence of spark.

If you see no spark on your test plug, then there's something amiss with your distributor - poor connection somewhere, electronic module not working, pulse connection to the coil (the other wire connection, not the +12V from the ignition switch) not connected properly, something like that.

Let us know what you find.

Thanks Gordon, Good way to test coil.  I guess I have all the talk about coils from another thread in my head and because one article about Pertronix Electronic Distributors was that if you fry your old (not to spec) coil, it might run for a few weeks max, but will then quit. 

Anyway, this morning the battery was DOA.  I connected a spare battery in place of the speedster’s and with headlights on, had good working turn signals.

I jump started the car and it ran fine, took the jumper cables off and it quit.  Now I have to put testing the Alternator output on my **** list for spring.  I have never had a battery die so quickly, every one I’ve had usually dies slowly.  

So new battery and test alternator in spring, coil is fine.  Car is in hibernation for the winter.

I've had two batteries die because internal plate connectors failed....  This resulted in immediate and insatant battery failure and recharging was just waisting time and electricity, as the battery would only take a weak surface charge and fall flat the instant anything was turned on....  Seems like this is common now and the "old" slow death is more a thing of the past....   Who's better idea was that????