the spark is gone
 

not firing on the 81 sc the 6 pin has been replaced - prior owner - with a perma tune which can't be rebuilt, is this the weak link or can the coil be checked ... any suggestions thanks

I'm not an expert, but replaced the permatune with MSD recently because of this. If you do a search, there are ways to diagnose whether the box is good or not. Either way. it should be a good upgrade.

My '86 with Permadoom crapped out on me last year with no spark. Almost bought an MSD and then measured the resistance of the inductive pickup and found it to be zero ohms. Turns out the green wire of death from the distributor has broken insulation and was shorting out. Car is running great with a new wire and existing Permadoom spark unit.

Search "telegraph test" to see how to diagnose your CDI - whether it's stock, MSD, or Perma Doom.

Actually, in all fairness, the more recent Perma Tunes are supposed to be good ones - it's the older ones that gave them the reputation.

thanks ... tracking it down ..... tracking it down that green wire sounds like an easy fix hope I get that lucky

replace with MSD and MSD coil. mount the coil so it is right side up.
if you need a longer coil wire, get the clewetts. you can call him and have him make a custom one,
mine has a 90 on the coil end.
I would also have him put numbers on BOTH ends of the wires.