[whittp]

I'll try to make this complete as possible. Two weeks ago I took my car in a parade and it idled for a couple of hours. It did great and didn't overheat or act up in any way even though it was 90 plus degrees outside. When I got it home I parked it in the driveway and it sat a few hours. When I went to move it in the garage, it wouldn't start. It turned over fine just very little fire only sputtering.

I've checked and replaced several parts here's the list.

I've confirmed it's getting fresh fuel. There's no air restriction so I figured it must be ignition. It's an Acell 52102 unit with the Acell coil. The coil has 12 volts with the key to on. The coil primary and secondary resistance is within specs. I replaced the ignition module and no change. I replaced the pickup and checked the clearance between it and the reluctor and I got it to fire up and idle for a few minutes.

The timing was way too far advanced so I figured I got it off a tooth or 2. I pulled it out to fix it and now I can't get it started again. I assumed I got it in wrong so I found TDC for #1 (stuck a pencil in and checked to make sure the piston was up). Got the #1 wire on the cap aimed to the rotor at #1.

Still nothing only sputters. I've moved the distributor around in a full range of motion and all the way advanced it is hard to crank and all the way retarded it will sputter and backfire out the tailpipe. I would think it should start somewhere in the middle!

One thing I've noticed is that I've had my timing light hooked up while cranking and the light is very irratic. The last time I tried to crank it it didn't light up at all. I'm open to suggestions but I'm about ready to scrap this distributor and start over.