The ’63 Won’t Start….

Hi Bill,
I have owned my Lincoln for 12 years now and in the recent 3 years I haven’t driven the car and now she wont start.
Before turning the car over I did the following: Drained and replaced all the fluids, including gas, oil, and power steering. I then replaced all the spark plugs and applied a little WD40 to each piston, then manually cranked over the engine about 30 rotations.
Here’s the issues I am having.
1. Tried to turn the car over and a wiff of smoke came out from the fuse box and the ignition switch got hot and also produced a wiff of smoke. The key is now stuck and I cannot remove it. I tried sticking a metal rod into the hole next to the key but nothing has made it budge so far. We checked all of the fuses and none of them have popped.
Question to you: Do have any suggestions on what may have been smoking and should I replace any of the relays near the fuse panel.
2. I towed the car to a mechanic and today and he began by replacing the starter cycloid. When cranking the car over using the cycloid we are NOT getting any spark to the distributor.
One of the mechanics feels that it’s the coil.
Question to you: Do you have any suggestions we should look at other than the coil?
And one last question, can you tell me where the ballast resister located?
Thanks so much for your time!
Best regards and happy holidays,
Don
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Greetings Don –
The ignition Resistor is encapsulated within the wiring harness under the dash and inline with the ignition switch wiring. If you are not familiar, a correct wiring diagram is necessary for reference.
As for the rest of your non starting problems you need to approach the situation with a logical sequence of testing in mind. As well as an excellent battery, starter, compression and wiring, you need proper (fresh) Fuel and Ignition in order for an engine to start and run. The above tests should be easy for a competent mechanic to accurately perform WITHOUT GUESSING. If your diagnosing provides you with more information on the problem please contact us further if you need to.
Sincerely,
Bill