[Ben M.]

Originally Posted by Darth Menace

As for the coil and cap/rotor. Is there any way to test these as far as quality? or is it nothing more than look and see if anything looks worn, etc.

Special equipment is used to test the breakdown of a coil or look at the pulse waveforms. Sunpro and Snap-on have made that type of test gear before, but it isn't easily available to the average hobbyist anymore except as used. I have a portable engine tester in my garage that does both points & HEI for this purpose. Without access to the proper test equipment, you're left changing parts that are "obvious" like the cap and rotor and changing parts that aren't, like the coil. One thing to do is when it starts to run like crap and tries to die on you is have a timing light handy. Put the timing light on each of the spark plug wires while idling as best as it can and see if you're missing pulses - that will let you know if it's spark related.