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I still have not been able to get my 1951 with a Delco system to start. I do have full power coming out of the coil but no spark to the plugs. I have changed the points, rotor, cap, condenser etc. Does the distributor have any wires other than the coil/spark wire and the wire from the distributor to the positive coil? It looks like there could have been a wire from the vacuum advance at one time but I see nothing in the service manual to indicate so. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Only wires are those you mentioned. Only thing from advance is a vacuum line across top of engine to carburetor area.

What happens if you remove the dist cap and turn engine so points are closed. With the ign key on, position the coil spark wire near the block and open the points with a stick or something insulated. You should get a nice fat spark from the spark wire out of coil to block each time you open the points. If you do, then all is well there and I'd look to see if the dist is properly oriented and wires are correct. Could be the dist is off by a few degrees.

EDIT Also verify the rotor is correct. One of the other posters mentioned getting an aftermarket rotor that was specified for his car but notch was aligned so rotor was actually several degrees different than the stock one. Don't remember which dist he was working on.

I just tried what you said with the cap off. I opened the points and I got nothing. When I put the volt meter on the coil wire it seems to be reading close to 6 volts unless I am setting it up wrong. I have tried more than one cap and rotor with no different success.

With the points closed, measure with the voltmeter to ground. There should be 4-6V on the side of the coil coming from ign switch and 0 or less than 1 volt on the side going to dist. If you read anything above 5v on both sides, then the points are open, not connected in some way, or the dist has a poor ground.

It is 5.9 on the ignition side of the coils and .11 on the positive side of the coil.

OK, that's good. Now when you open the points, the .11 should go to 5.9 and a spark should jump. Measure after opening and holding open the points. Don't know what kind of meter you have and back EMF may be high enough to damage meter if you measure while opening. Is the coil mounted in bracket?

There is no spark and no change. The coil is mounted in the bracket.

If no change on the .11 when points open, it indicates something is permanently grounded. You should be able to remove the coil wire from dist, and measure 5.9 v on both terminals. If you do, hold wire with a rag or something insulated and touch to block a couple of times. That should give a spark each time you remove it. If not, something is wrong with coil. If it does, then you will have to look and find the problem in dist. One possibility is the braided wire inside dist that connects points to terminal block on side of dist.

I switched the coil and all the readings are about the same. I guess I will remove the Dist tomorrow and look at it closely and try to find someone to test it. Thanks for all your input. If you think of anything else for me to check, do not hesitate to let me know.

Not pertinent to the problem at hand, but I have to hand it to HH. He really knows his stuff and is extremely valuable to this forum.