1923 lexington

[Guest minuteman]

My 1923 Lexington has not run for 45 years .Battery is charged. I have gas going to the new carb.I have power from ignition to coil.I don't know how to check if power is going into the distributor.When you turn it over, it doesn't sound like it is firing.Any ideas on what I can do to see if power is going into distributor and onto the plugs

Thanks Jack

[vermontboy]

Pull a plug leaving the wire attached and ground it to the block - you should see a spark. If you don't you then have to check the coil wire that goes into the top of the distributor in the same fashion - if there is spark there move on to taking the distributor cap off and seeing if there is spark at the points. Mind you, it's been many years (maybe decades) since the last time I performed this little drill so hopefully someone else with a more current experience and maybe a better memory will be along.

[studeboy]

Spark at the points but not at the plugs means a bad condenser.

[JV Puleo]

Have you dropped the pan and cleaned it out? If not, failure to fire is a gift from the car gods. After standing 45 years you need to make certain there is no accumulated sludge in the pan, then put in fresh oil... and, when you get it running, change it after an hour or two and throw it away.

[DonMicheletti]

After that long, it would be very likely that the points contacts have oxidized enough so they wont work and conduct electricity. Clean the points with a fine file or sandpaper.

And, yes. Definitely drop the pan to be sure there is no crud blocking the oil supply to the pump. You might even take the pump apart and check it. Add a little vaselene or grease to the gears to insure oil pickup on starting.