why won't engine start?

jayt's suggestions are certainly valid, but there are many more possibilities.

Have you ever seen this car actually running?

Does it have spark?

Is it getting fuel to the carburetor? (Fuel line, fuel pump, fuel filter, etc.)

Is there actually fuel in the tank? (Don't laugh--I've seen that be the embarrassing cause of more than one person's won't-start problems.)

How are the plugs?

I presume it is actually turning over, so the starter is probably not in question.

Any other info you can offer might help to find the solution. Now, let's see other ideas. Good luck. Great car. (Bel Air, by any chance?)

Could be many items on this engine.

Is it getting fuel? Look down the carburetor. Open the throttle a couple of times. You should see a couple of shots of fuel being squirted down the carburetor each time the throttle is opened. This is from the accelerator pump.

Is the engine getting spark? Remove the spark plug wire from #1 cylinder. Place a known good spark plug in the wire and ground the plug to the engine. Turn the engine over. You should see a bright blue spark jump across the spark plug gap. Check that the coil is getting power.

Is it still using the original points style distributor? Are the points set correctly? Are the points new? Was the condenser changed along with the points? Is the condenser connected correctly? A failed condenser can be difficult to diagnose. This is why it is usually replaced each time you replace the points?

Are you certain that the timing is correct? If the timing chain is not installed correctly the engine won't start. You may need to remove the water pump and timing cover and re-check your work.

Is the ignition timing correct? It is easy to install the distributor 180 degrees off. Make sure that the # 1 cylinder is firing on the top of the compression stroke.

You may need to check the ignition timing. It needs to be at least close for the engine to initially start.

Are the spark plug wires installed in the correct order?

As you can see there are several things that could be wrong.

It could be a number of things is it turning over if not try the starter.

timing not set right your your wires are not in the correct order in the dist cap.

What she said. /\