Volvo: trouble starting, spark plug gap, altenator

Question
I have recently come across a free 1980 240
so seeing a running vehicle for free i grabed it and decided to put some cash into it. The altenator was bad and has been replaced it ran after that but i recently did wires plugs oil,and coolant thinking this would help a hard starting car, as of right now I can,t get it to run I started off with a 3 gap on the plugs and over a lcouple of tests now have them at a 3 1/2. it seems closer to starting but still won't catch. I did the plugs and wires 1 at a time so that I wouldn't mess them up. I did not replace the ceelenoid. What would your next suggestion be?
thank you for any help you can
Paul

Answer
First off, I'm not sure what you mean when you refer to setting the spark plug gap and 3 and 3.5.  The rated gap for that year is .028-.032 inches, so unless I misunderstood what you said, go for a gap in that range.  As for a hard start, you should first start with identifying what the car is starved for.  Crank the engine with a spark plugged pulled out and hold it next to the chasis to see if you are actually getting a spark in the first place.  If not, trace it back until you do find a spark.  Also, pull out an injector while cranking to make sure it is actually spraying fuel.  If not, trace back through the fuel system looking for the problem.  This simple step will help narrow down your problem.  Let me know if you find any more specific issues.