I must be an idiot

I had the head rebuilt, various other things. I put it all together. Went fine. Confident it's right. I pulled the dizzy to paint the block. Plain ol LOM. Put it back. Have cyl. no 1 at COMPRESSION TDC. Won't start. QUESTION: Why can't I get it so the points are open when the dizzy is pointing at spark plug 1? Did something move when I had it off?

I'm sorry I'm so stupid. How can I be smart enough to torque everything down right and use the proper sealers and everything and then not not it to run?

Does it turn over? Are you getting fire?

If yes to both, the dizzy probably needs to be re-stabbed. It's either firing on the exhaust (aka: 180* out) or not on compression (wrong or out of sequence). If it is one off, you can re-plug the wires around the circle by one notch before you have to take it out and re-stab.

BTW, you are only an idiot if you blame the engine or give up without asking for help. You are definitely not an idiot.

God, thanks for your help.

I've restabbed it about a hundred times, always looking for an instance when the dizzy points at spark plug wire number one when the points are open when the number one cylinder is on compression. I've never had that. The points will be closed when the rotor is pointed at spark plug wire number one. Even turning the cap never gets me what I'm looking for. Can the breaker lobes get out of sync with the top where the rotor pushes on? The shaft is all one piece of metal, isn't it?

Try This ,bring the engine ( turn by hand if possible ) to 15-20 BTDC,( make sure its on compression stroke ) plug in the dist in , line it up to Number one , turn the key to ON, turn the dist clockwise an inch or so , then turn it Counterclockwise listen and look for an audible SNAP ( take the coil wire end that goes in the cap and use a clothes pin to hold it about a1/4 inch from a good metal ground area Block bolt whatever ) , after you hear / see the spark ( on the counter clockwise turn ), snug the dist and reconnect it all and try to start ,

Great Idea. I think I get it. That lets me know exactly when the lobe makes the spark fire. Should I rewire the cap then based on where the rotor happens to be pointing?

It it is on 1 and the rotor is pointing a given direction and the points are in the right position, THAT is #1, like FSD says.

Thanks everybody. I'm sure it will go. I'll give it another look tonight. It doesn't help matters that with job and kids I get about an hour or at most two an evening during the week. But I know most of us have the same issues.