Ok...

1. I jumped in the 79 last week and it turned over just fine...BUT it
    would not start.  
   ...turned over fine but gave no indication of even trying to  
       Fire....

2. Drove into town and picked up an ignition module
    Installed the module
    The car fired right up ....end of problem: so I shut it down
    and went back into the house....

3.  Came out the next evening  and the car again turned over fine
     but agian gave no indication of even attempting to fire...

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Fast forward a week to today.....

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4.  Purchased another module and also a new coil (Accel no 1400003)
     the exact same coil that I have been running for 10-15 years in
     the car... (reason for the coil was the car missed a little at WOT
     at speed)  

5.  Again the car fired right up ... BUT sure did not run very well,
     backed it out of the garage...let it idel for 4-5 minutes and
     said to myself...get this thing back into the garage....tired to
     give it a little gas and actually had a heck of a time keeping it
     running getting it back into the garage....

6.  Popped the coil and dist cap off...double checked all wires
     etc... (the spark plugs, and the 3 connections to the coil..made    
     sure I had the rotor on right (only 1 way it will fit I think)..and
     tried to start it ...

7. No start, turns over as before but gives no hint it even wants
    to fire...

SO.... what is the cause ?   Did I somehow fry 2 modules? 
and if so...what did I do wrong...and how do I fix it...?

Before the initial NO START last week the car fired right up and ran fine....been 3-4 years since I had any kind of problems with it

Thanks for any help....Just bewildered at this point... and plan on grabbing the shop manuel and a voltmeter this weekend and see what I find...

Bob Griffiths

Could not decide if this was an engine problem or an electrical priblem...lol....but since it will not run..thats an engine problem even if it is caused by a lack of flowing electrons...

The very first thing I'd do is pull a plug and ground it out when turning the engine over and verify you have no spark.  If spark, then its a fuel problem.  If no spark, then start looking at the components one by one.

Mark

Make sure there is 12v at the red wire on the dist. cap. You could have an ign. switch problem, not sending 12v to the coil. It can be intermittant.

Make sure the coil has the little metal "ground strap" that fits under it, and goes to the center term. of the plug on the cap. I've seen these things left off after coil changes, and I've also seen them corrode enough to not ground the coil.

Check the wires on the pick-up coil(green/white, usually) that go the the module. These things get mushy, or brittle, and can cause a problem with the ign. not firing.

And, of course, check for fuel!

And don't discount the possibility that a cheap module may not be able to handle the stronger coil.  You may need a better module, if you find it burned out again.