Expert: Sean Halliday - 7/11/2010

Question
I have an 83 Chev Impala, 305 V8, that will start fine for several days and then will fail to start, with no warning, on either a cold start, 2nd, 3rd etc. Cranks strong, but won't turn over. It can take up to 30min.-1 hour to start, or a few days. Weather conditions don't affect this condition. Fuel is entering the carb, and I determined no spark was getting to the plugs when I pulled the wires. It doesn't stall when driving and performance is good.
I have replaced the plugs, plug wires, distributor cap, coil, ignition module, starter, fuel filter, and battery(1000 crank amp), to no avail. This car is Canadian made and has no computer. The plugs, wires, starter and battery are Delco brand. Neither the resistor or distributor have been replaced. This began in late August 2008, and still persists (July 2010). All replacements have been within last few months. It used to occur only every 2 months or so, but since May 2010, every few days-2 weeks. Once it starts, you can shut it on/off in rapid succession several times no problem; solid, fast starting. I am at a loss as to what it could be. Distributor? The car is otherwise very reliable but I am being held hostage by this problem and don't want to replace anything further until I can get a handle on it. I had the carb rebuilt 3 years ago but, as I said, fuel is entering the bowl (strong smell of fuel when attempting to start/repeated "priming" of accelerator pedal) so I don't believe fuel system is problem. I've owned the car since 2003, and until 2008, never encountered this type of problem on any car I've owned. Your advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Answer
If there is no spark it can be only the components in the ignition system not fuel.Ignition module,wires,plugs,distributor,ignition switch.Cap and rotor,body wiring.It must be one of these.Check each component individually and eliminate each as to the cause.