for a real old school trick. Hold the plug and ground wile cranking. You WILL know if you have spark!! (disclaimer....don't do this if you have a pacemaker)

 

Yes, putting a screwdriver or a spark plug in the end (and grounding them to the block) will tell you if you have spark, but if your block isn't properly grounded it wont spark even if there is spark. You need to first ensure the battery negative main cable is securely attahced to the block.
You should also invest in a good 12v. test lamp to check various 12v. connections. But if I had just paid someone $600 to get my car wired I'd darn sure make them get it right, and not waste my own time troubleshooting their work.

 

Ya thats what im saying...they originally told me $4-500 and said he'd take my car in and do it in a week. and wouldnt take my car till he knew he had the time do spend on it....Well...it took 6 weeks with me making 4 trips to ebay to buy fittings for him then after all said and done he charged $600 and said he never offered 4-500. since we didnt get it in writing i had to pay the $600 to get my car back. He said he cost 6 because he had to order some parts that he didnt think about before...

Im kind of nervous about sending my car back to him to fix, but on the other hand like you said i paid all that money and i want to get my worth out of it

 

That is not an old school trick, but you need to hold the spark plug against a good ground, preferably the engine block while cranking the engine. Fat blue spark = good, yellow spark = weak.
The old school trick is to hold the terminal at the end of a plug wire in one hand, and hold on to the engine block with the other hand, while some one is cranking the engine. The higher you jump off the ground, and the more colored sparkles your eyes see, the better the spark. Not recommended if you have a weak heart or using a pacemaker, or if if you consumed too much ethanol (you may just belch fire a la dragon style). lol
Seriously, as others ready mentioned, you need to go back to basics, like making sure the distributor is getting 12 Volt when the engine is being cranked.

 

^ Oh darn, and all these years I've been using the "thread the spark plug in your ear and listen for the spark" method!

 

I forgot to mention, that to really get proficient at using this method, you need to establish a base line so that your body knows what a good spark feels and looks like. This is best done by pulling a plug wire from a car with a known good spark and doing the same test. Keep notice of what it feels like, how high you wind up jumping, and how the sparkles look. There is a good chance that the engine will start, and now it will look as if you were doing a fast tarantella. No problem, the speed of the foot movement is a good indicator of idle speed, and can be used in place of a tach.

 

Z Your gonna get this boy hurt. You forgot to tell him how hard you hit your head on the hood measurement

 

lol no worries Rydeer...back when I first joined in 09' he helped me out with almost every problem I had...Hadn't been on here in forever...Good to see Z is still dishin' it out

 

A few problems you gotta check. Do you have the grounding strap from the block to the frame? If your distributor was removed was it put back in 180 degrees out? Is your coil wired correctly? Do you have spark to the distributor? Do you have spark to the plugs? Could be a bad coil, rotor, or cap. Check to see if the contacts look burnt. I am kinda with everybody else though on the keep it simple. If you have a strong heart and no pacemaker, grab the end of one of the spark plugs and have a friend give it a crank. If its working there will be no question.

 

Just to keep everyone posted. Webco Customs (the shop who originally wired the Camaro) is FINALLY coming out to my house to check the car out and get it running. I WILL post back and let everyone know what he said the problem actually came out to be