Triumph Repair: 79 Spitfire Not starting, spitfire 1500, dashpot

Question
I have a '79 Spitfire 1500 that is suddenly not starting.  The battery turns it over but nothing is catching.  It had been dying on the first start but catching on the second but now no go at all.  I was just on my way to a garage to have the exhaust looked at.  It needs a complete new pipe and muffler if that matters.  
Any thoughts?  I am really new at this and just feeling my way through.  Thanks.

Bill

Answer
Bill,

Well, you need three basic things to get the car running:

Fuel
Air
Fire

Most problems are related to either fuel or fire.

I hate to say this... are you sure there's enough gas in the tank?

And is the gas making it to the carb?

Speaking of carb, is the dashpot topped up with oil?  That will sometimes cause a non-start.

Fire:  ie, spark.  Figure out if you have a spark from the coil by taking the coil lead from the distributor cap and set the end about 1/8" away from grounded metal.  Have a friend try to start the car for a  few seconds while you watch for a spark.  If not... time to dig into the ignition system.


Cheers,

Jim