So what did I fry?

[Rick Parker]

An easy way to see if the ignition system is functioning would be to remove the coil wire from the center of the distributor cap, attach a spark plug and aly the body of the plug on the engine, preferebly away from the carburetor (is it carbureted or fuel injected) and then have someone try to start it while you look at the plug for spark. If there is no spark start looking at the Unilite and ignition box. If this sounds "Greek" to you; call a good garage before you go any further.

[Blas]

Almost sounds like a deep cycle battery rather than a car battery with the little screw-on posts???? That could be the problem....

[David Kirkham]

Bummer dude. Hope you get it fixed soon. Takes a man to admit he was dumb and a bigger man to admit he can't fix what he screwed up.

If it is any consolation, that is not even CLOSE to the dumbest thing I have ever done.

David

[Wayne Maybury]

Many replies are trying to help figure out why the engine will not fire up, ie maybe the coil, maybe the MSD box, maybe. If I understand the situation correctly, the engine does not crank over. When trying to start, it goes "click". It is very difficult to diagnose an ignition problem when the engine cannot be cranked.

Therefore, the first step must be to check the battery, the cables, the cable connections, and possibly even the starter (I don't think that the starter is a problem since it did start by boosting it with the old battery). The first step has to be the cables and those new connectors. As already mentioned, make sure that the cables are properly connected to the battery and that the ground is clean.

Have you spoken to the person that sold you the car? If not, give him a call and ask if there were any other starting problems other than a bad battery. Get it cranking over, then worry about any other problems you may have caused by reversing the polarity.

Wayne