I do the same with my lawn mower. She shoots a flame sometimes. I forget to just use a light squirt.
It works pretty well as a parts cleaner, but awfull expensive to use for that.

If ya take the route of makin' sure ya have fuel and spark, then there is no reason why it shouldn't fire. Maybe a weak spark, yellowish, it should be a blueish white. Weak spark is a weak coil, generally.

If ya have fuel and a good spark, check your timing and firing order. Check the condition of your cap, rotor, points, and plugs.
5* BTC, 18436572, and you can use a match book cover to set your points at .019. Plugs at .035 ( use a match book folded over, that'll give ya .038 )The reason I say this, is that it may have jumped time, so start from scratch.
I figure it won't start at all. Does it pop or back fire? Cough a flame out the carb without usin' starting fluid?
If it has jumped time, you're lookin' at new timin' gears and chain.
Just tryin' to cover all the bases here.
I'm still suspicious of the ignition switch though.

 

Oh ya, take a meter and see if ya have power to the coil. If so, then follow the above proceedure. If not, I'll bet cha, it's the ignition switch. You can get power to the starter, and not to the coil when the switch is bad.
You could even run a jumper wire from the bat to the coil. If she starts, there ya go, it's the switch.

 

If this car has the factory ignition it will be the HEI system, it's an electronic ignition with no breaker points, the ignition coil is located within the distributor cap. Just make sure you have battery voltage at the large red wire that plugs into the distributor. If you don't get any spark then the trouble will be a component of the HEI, one or more of the following, ignition coil, control module, pickup coil(trigger coil). there is also a carbon button inside the dist. cap that the rotor rides on that may be worn to the point of no contact or the rotor itself may be trashed, you can test these parts individually to locate the problem.

 

Hey 78buckshot,
Glad you're chimin' in here, I forget sometimes, that I've been left behind as far as the new elec. stuff. I keep tryin' to solve probs the"old" way. [&o]
Ya see, the "Starship" has straight up '60's tech, 'cause that's what I know best.
I thought the HEI didn't come into play 'till the late '70's.

 

Hi Dave, your still on the right track with the diagnosis of the ignition system and also the ignition switch, which by the sounds of it could be the culprit. GM started using the HEI late '73 early '74, by 1975 everything(maybe not the four bangers) had HEI. Even with today's technology a motor still needs the basics to start and run, compression, fuel, oxygen, spark, and reasonable timing of these components, you hav'nt lost it Starship!