ok here goes. i have been enlisted to help a friend that has little automotive background get his 72 914 running after a 5+ years in storage. this far i have pumped the gas tank empty and filled with fresh. the fuel pump runs till it builds pressure then stops running. i have spark into the dist. cap but no spark out. cap and rotor were new when parked. now the rotor is nothing like i have ever seen before. i have very limited experience with american muscle and im a diesel mechanic for a living so this whole extra ignition system is borderline voodoo to me. i cant seem to get this sob to run and im bound and determine to do so. so if anyone can tell me what i need to look for that would be great. also i need to know the location of the fuel pump and fuel filter(havent looked yet but figured im on here ill ask anyway). thanks for any help and if more info is needed let me know and ill get it promptly as possible. vin will be here soon

If you have spark to the distributor, you should have spark to the plugs unless your cap or rotor are bad.

If the rotor is unlike any you've ever seen it probably is the rev-limiting rotor. It has a centrifugal weight that gets pulled against a spring to short out the spark when the rotor is spinning fast enough. These usually don't plain outright fail (as opposed to being intermittent) but it is possible. Do you have a "normal" rotor that you can swap in?

Rev-limiting rotor: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/...%2529%2520%2520

Non-rev-limiting rotor: http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/smart/...%2520%2520%2520

--DD

If you still have points upgrade to the electronic ignition module. It will be the best money you could spend at this point. Petronix or Hot spark make reasonably priced units.

Speaking of points, if the car has points and has sat for five years you can almost bet that the points need cleaning and adjustment. I would think that would put you on the path to getting spark out.

winner winner chicken dinner. i also had to replaced ignition condenser. It ran for all of 15 seconds till I'm thinking the fuel filter clogs because fuel pump shut off. no i need to locate and replaced fuel filter (need help with that) and i need to know more about the electric system so i can pump the last bit of crap fuel out before installing new filter. and i would like to just jumper the pins were the relay goes to run the pump. does anyone have and good information for me?? i have also included pics of what i think is vin info its about all i could find.

According to the vin # this car is a 73.

carbs or fi? in addition to the filter there is a fine mesh sock/stainer located in the bottom of the fuel tank. it can be seen when the tank is emptied of fuel by looking down the tank fill opening and may get sucked flat restricting fuel flow. the reg filter should be below the engine shelve roughly where the battery sits unless the pump has been relocated. have your friend get a Haynes 914 manual.

if the pump had been relocated which i dont think think it has where is the updated location. if i read correctly the old location is down under the car on the right side just ahead of where you say the fuel filter should be. he wont get a manual because he trying to sell it

Under the gas tank!