MG Car Repair: NO SPARK!, mg midget, screw driver

Question
QUESTION: hi howard,
i am the one who got a 1975 mg midget for 200 dollars and i had a spitfire distributor. i fixed the distributor so that the points contact each other and the rotor turns, but there is no spark. i checked wiring and battery and firing order and everything. i also bought a new cap, wires, and condenser. do you think it is a faulty coil?

ANSWER: Wesley, guessing which part may be bad is a waste of time, you need to test to find the problem.

Connect a volt meter to the power side of the coil and spin engine over with the starter and note the voltage. Write it down. Now connect a 12v test light to the distributor side of the coil and again spin the starter. Does the light flash on and off? If the light does not flash but stays on your points are not making contact. If you have no light the points are shorted out and you need to correct them. If the light did flash remove the coil wire from the distributor cap and attach a spark plug to the end and lay it on a metal part of the engine and turn the engine by hand until the points are open. Then take a screw driver and short between the two contacts of the points. You should get light sparks at the points and the spark plug should spark with a thick blue spark.
Let me know exactly what the results of these tests are.
Howard

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

QUESTION: ok thanks, what do you mean when you say "take a screwdriver and SHORT betweent the points" what does short mean?

Answer
Put the blade of the screwdriver in contact with both contacts of the points. That "shorts" out the points, meaning it grounds the points thus charging the coil and as you do so the screwdriver will not maintain a good "short" so the coil will then fire at the plug.
Howard