MG Car Repair: MGB No Spark, distributer cap, thin cardboard

Question
QUESTION:  Hello, I have a 1977MGB for my Son and I cant get any Sparks. The Coil is good, The last owner replaced the Distributer cap and rotor. What sure I do next?  We need Help Please.

ANSWER: Hi Marcello,
How did you test the coil? and is this a distributor with points or is  it electronic ignition?
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hello Howard, yes we take the coil to a auto part for a test and is working
fine. The points are Electronic.

ANSWER: If the coil is powered and the electronic ignition is powered and grounded and the air gap is about .012" to .015" and it does not trigger the coil then it is bad. Not even the man who designed and built it can fix it. One of the bad points of electronic ignition.
Howard

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: how would you be able to find the size of the air gap?
the people we bought it from the put the electronic ignition on as an upgrade. would you recomend for us to change it back to the old points ignition?
thanks.

Answer
Marcello, Most electric ignition systems tell you to use a non metallic feeler gauge. If you have any feeler gauges you can just get a piece of plastic or even thin cardboard like a match book cover is about the right thickness and insert it in between the pick-up and the reluctor on the shaft in the distributor to check the gap and adjust it so it just slides in with only a little drag. If it is a LED system the reluctor is a plastic or metal drum with slits in the side and no gap setting is necessary.

I have converted many electronic ignitions back to pointed systems but I can't tell you what you want. Both have good features and bad features.

The good features of a points system is that it is very inexpensive to maintain and replace so you can even carry extra components in the car in case of a failure out of town. Another good feature is that almost any failure out on the road can be quickly fixed by the road. The bad part of a pointed system is that you need to do maintenance (adjust and clean points usually each 3000 to 6000 miles)

The good feature of a electronic ignition is that you normally don't have any maintained. The bad features are that if it fails out on the road not even the people who designed and built it can fix it. And they are usually too expensive to carry an extra unit with you.
Howard