reviving the beast-spark issues

[benji77]

i have a new to me '63 or so series 2a in the garage. it hasn't ran in years and i am hoping to get it road worthy.
i am currently trying to turn the engine over. it has new plugs, distributor, battery, coil, and plug wires. i think i have switched the polarity from positive earth to negative, but i am not sure how i would know for certain. when i push the starter button, the engine turns over as it should. i think it is getting fuel to but it doesn't ignite. i do occasionally get a sputter from the carb and a bit of white smoke.
i am getting good spark from my coil and if i remove a spark plug wire and put a wire to the lead, i get spark when i hold it near ground. if i remove a plug and keep it attached to the plug wire, i get nothing. shouldn't it spark when i turn the engine over? i have tried several other spark plugs from an older batch without any luck, so i am assuming it isn't the plugs.
not sure what this means and my searching previous posts and other forums hasn't helped.

[SafeAirOne]

When you remove the spark plug and reattach the plug wire to it and crank the engine, you shouldn't get a spark at the plug because the plug is no longer grounded (by being screwed into the engine).

You need to take one lead of a jumper cable and attach it to the body of the spark plug (the METAL part, not the ceramic part) and the other end of that lead and connect it to a good ground on your engine (or the negative post of your battery if it is now a negative-ground system. Positive post if a positive-ground system). Then, with the spark plug wire reconnected and the spark plug body grounded, you should get a spark when you crank the engine if the ignition system is doing its job.

The alternative is to hold the metal part of the plug body against the engine while you crank, but that's a little more risky in terms of giving yourself (or your helper) a 20000 volt wake-up jolt.

[lumpydog]

if i remove a spark plug wire and put a wire to the lead, i get spark when i hold it near ground.

Sounds like you are getting a spark into the engine. Make sure each plug is properly gapped - they don't come properly gapped out of the box and should be .030

Make sure the points in the distributor are clean and are properly gapped as well (.015). The distributor rotates in place. If you replaced it, you will need to re-adjust how it's seated in the engine to set the timing of the spark. There is a collar that holds the distributor in place - loosen it and, once the engine is running, rotate it slowly clockwise and counter clockwise until the engine runs smoothly (that will get you in the neighborhood of the correct timing).

Next, thing to check - make sure the carb is getting fuel - take the fuel line off the carb, put it in a plastic bottle and use the manual lever on the fuel pump to see if fuel is flowing. Check the fuel that came out to make sure it's clean. If it hasn't been run in years the fuel delivery system is likely going to be dirty - if there is an in-line fuel filter, swap it out and have another on hand to use if it gets clogged.

Make sure there is oil in the sump and good coolant in the radiator.

This page has a very detailed run through (http://www.lrfaq.org/series/FAQ.S.tuning_2.25l.html) of everything you should do to get her running right.

[benji77]

thanks a bunch fellas. the plug not being grounded should have dawned on me.

i have installed a new gas tank and fuel pump, so it is time to check how much fuel it is sending.

will work on timing and setting the gaps.