Well Happy Day!
New fuel pump. carb, starter, plugs, wires, coil, and condenser. Engine would not start, absolutely nothing, not even a single "putt". Firing order 153624. We looked at the distributor to make sure it was spinning counterclockwise like all the diagrams. Of course it was. My brain could not accept the fact of what it was seeing. Put the cap and wires back together for counterclockwise firing order. Nothing.
And finally, reality sank it. The distributor is spinning CLOCKWISE! Quick re-ordering of the wires and the engine started right up. No misses, or noises, just PURRS!