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I finally got the B4B running this morning. The solution may only be of interest to Paul (Billy Charisma) but may help others in the future with ignition related problems. The solution seemed to be a replacement coil and the correct replacement capacitor.
First off, I'm not convinced that the Bosch coil was entirely responsible, but the crack on the bakelite surface, seeping oil, was an indication it would eventually fail.
I installed a new capacitor, that I bought in a lot over the internet. It looked identical to the old one, but installing another, with the same number stamped on the end as the original, combined with another coil did the trick.
Before changing the coil, I had re-installed the old capacitor and it did not fire, so all this proved is that the Bosch coil might have been bad. The isolation connector, inside the distributor was also loose, which could have failed and stranded me at anytime. It appears this delicate connector was not installed correctly - yet another fault to fix as I continued my saga.
The complication with the replacement coil is that it was the original Auto-Lite, rather than the failing Bosch coil. I had to wait until yesterday to get the ignition keys that the PO took 3 years to find! As an aside, the attachment of the ignition switch and even the metal outer ring on the dash are totally different than the Bosch style. Rewiring was also a bit tricky due to the different orientation of the switch and the armoured wire and the fact a red wire was incorrectly connected to the hot green accessory terminal. I have electrical diagrams for all 444 models - 1947-1958 if anyone ever needs them.
As stated above, once I installed the correct replacement capacitor, the B4B came to life and totally restored faith in my mechanical abilities.
Hope everyone else is having as good a day as I am!
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Cam a.k.a. CVOLVO.COM
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