Crystal ball time! I'm gazing, seems murky, but I'm starting to get an indication regarding the ignition system.

I have done it a lot, and by now even supposedly know what I'm supposed to do, but I still get the distributor drive gear in wrong 85.26% of the time. And if the spark isn't anywhere close to the right time, you don't get anything at all out of your attempts to start the motor.

Pull off the oil cap so you can see the rockers on #1 (assuming it isn't an early car with the center oil cap). Crank the motor around until the timing marks on the pulley are lined up and no valve on #1 is in the process of opening. With it at TDC and no valves open on #1, pull off the distributor cap and look where the rotor is pointing. It should be pointing at a line on the distributor body and at the #1 plug wire. If not, twist the distributor until it does, and if you can't either move the wires around (shade tree fix) or pull the distributor and reclock the drive gear (not-so-shade tree fix).

Actually, now that I think about it some more, you should at least check for 8any* spark prior to doing all that. Pull the coil wire, place it about 1/8th inch from a ground, and crank the motor and see if it sparks. No sparks, check the points. Sparks, check the timing (do you have a timing light?)

Make sure the carbs are getting fuel, and that the fuel is making it into the motor. the exhaust should smell faintly of gas after a few failed attemts at starting if the carbs are working. An alternative is to spray some starting fluid in the carbs and try to start. If it fires up and runs for a few seconds, look into the fuel system and carbs.

Faint possibility is something awry with the compression (last of the 3 needed things for a motor to run, fuel, spark, compression). But worth checking on a new, never run motor. Pull the valve cover and check all the valve adjustments. Make sure they all go up and down. It's pretty hard for someone to get the gears on without lining up the dots, but its possible, as you crank the motor around watch #1's valves. One time past the TDC mark they should both be clsoed, the next time you should (roughly) be between the exhaust valve closing and the intake valve opening. If it looks way off you could pull the timing cover and check the dots on the gears.
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'63 PV544 rat rod, '93 Classic 245 + turbo