Hey,
This is good-bye.......it's more like.......see you all next issue!! 
Thanks again!

Thanks for telling us of your success. So many guys that ask for help leave us hanging.

Cheers to all of you......especially that Ian and 6464S guy.
It's turns out I was 180 degrees wrong. The best advise was that the distributor lines up in the slots only one way.  That closed the issue for me. I put the #1 plug wire at about 2 o'clock, then went 1342,,,,,
And guess what? The engine turned over, and started!! It's the first time that engine has produced an exhaust note since 1999.  ( Yes, I procrastinated for a decade or two.  ) But , NO more. The plan is to finish and get back on the road by the holidays.
Thanks gang, I'll be back for sure.
This thread is dead.
Thanks again!  

+1 to what Ian (1963SV3) suggests.
 You can "roll" a Mini engine by putting it in 4th gear (handbrake off) and pull the car forward by hand (in case you didn't know). Pushing it backward rolls the engine back. 4th gear because the engine has the lease mechanical advantage.
Sometimes, when a dizzy is removed, it can pull the drive spindle up and out of position and when it drops back down and the gears re-mesh they can be out of index by a tooth or more.

I agree with Ian, I think you're 180 degrees out . You told us that you sanded the flywheel, which means you did one revolution. You need to do another rotation to get you on the compression cycle.

I don’t think its been made clear that the distributor drive slot (the bit down the hole in the block) is offset. The Distributor only goes in one way.

The TDC markings on the flywheel will be in the right place (on top) twice for each engine cycle. Once when No 1 piston is at TDC on the exhaust stroke and once when No 1 is at TDC on the *firing* stroke.... This is where you want it to be.... Going by Paul’s description its not.

While Paul has lined up the drive at 1/8 oclock and says it won’t go in ... unless he rotates the dizzie 180deg. Which is what is supposed to happen.

IF .. he hasn’t removed the dizzie drive since the engine last ran, then its currently sitting on the exhaust stroke.

Roll the engine forward so the flywheel marks move forward one rotation (360 deg). This will bring No 1 back to TDC ..on the COMPRESSION stroke.

You can easilly check this. Get No1 in the correct place. Roll the engine back a bit (90deg?) Stick your finger in the plug hole and roll the car forward to TDC. You will feel teh compression as piston comes up.

The distributor should now go in correctly.

Cheers, Ian

Do you know if that is TDC for firing the #1 cylinder?

It does not matter where the #1 spark plug lead & rotor is pointed as long as you start from there when installing the spark plug leads. Normally #1 is pointed about 1:30ish when looking from above.

https://www.minimania.com/part/U-12G4499/Distributor-Drive-Spindle-Pre-A

This what the drive looks like. Re-index means you rotate the shaft to a different point when you reinstall it in the block. That would put #1 in the 1:30ish position.

Hello Willie B,
Thanks for the note but you lost me! I have no idea what you wrote. "Pull it out an re-index it" is all Greek to me.  I will add that the engine was running prior to pulling the distributor out ....but that was decades ago. Still, I have not changed anything since. Well I added a Pertronix Coil (MM# 40511) and  Ignition System ( MM# LU-148) and this is where I am stuck.
Any suggestions anyone?

Sounds like the drive is in the wrong position. You can pull it out and re-index it. DO NOT try to do that with pliers or somesuch. If you drop it it can fall into the gearbox, then it becomes a motor out and gearbox removal to pull it back out. Use a bolt to thread into the middle of the drive, then rotate and pull and it will slide out. It will not just pull straight out, you must rotate it. Then you can put it wherever you want #1 position to be.

Hey, Me Again.

I hope you guys can help!
I am having a problem lining up my distributor into the proper slots. Here's what I have.
1) The Engine is at TDC
2) In looking in the bottom of the hole for the distributor to slide into the slots are about 8 o'clock and 2 o'clock . That seems right so that my rotor would point to Cylinder # 1. 
3) I cannot get the distributor to line up and seat in that position. I have fiddled this for over an hour and cannot line it up....HOWEVER:
4) I can get the distributor to slide in slots with the rotor at the 8 o'clock position.  To me this is 180 degrees wrong. 

I have been playing with this for hours and can get the distributor to slide in the slots with the rotor pointing at 7 o'clock blindfolded.  I cannot get it to seat with the rotor  pointing to 2 o'clock or cylinder # 1 

Pic #1 = TDC
Pic #2 = Distributor
Pic #3 = Looking into hole with slots at 2 and 8 o'clock
Pic #4 = Distributor seated in it's slots but rotor at 8 o'clock.
  
What am I doing wrong?

Thanks