Why wont my mk1 start?

I recently bought a new project car, an 1100 black mk1, nice and solid body which was why i chose it, plan was to drive it around while upgrading it - eventually to a 1600 with webers. However…
i did about 60 miles in it and then it stopped working, was driving perfectly and then simply stopped, my friend, who mighth as well be a mechanic, thought it was the distributor cap, so that along with the rotor arm was replaced - no. which means i'm kind of out of idea's.
we know:
it's turning over
it's getting fuel
it's all sparking at the distributor
all pedals are doing what they should

the car was sitting idle for 4 months prior to me having it.
i filled it with petrol the day before it died (and yes it is petrol and not diesel - when we ran out of idea's we checked) it's unleaded as i've read in a number of places that no water cooled VW has ever needed leaded petrol.
Any suggestions would be very much appreciated.
Thanks

What happens when you turn the key…. nothing at all? starter motor spins? car splutters and misfires?

You say you've checked the spark at the dizzy, have you checked it at the spark plug ends? Also you're sure fuel is getting through the carb? Would also check points and condensor, pitted points can prevent starting. New points and condensor only cost ?4 or so each. Also check the cambelt is still all in one piece  8O .

Cheers

thanks for replying.

when i turn the key the starter motor works perfectly, so it's not that. the car has sounded like it tried to start a couple of times, but only like 1 combustion or so.

i haven't been able to check the ht leads at the other end, as unfortunatly they're heat shielded ones, which don't allow you to simply arc it across the block. although i doubt its that as it was working perfectly then stopped - so the chances of all 4 going at the same time are , i guess, minimal.

as for checking points etc, i will have to get my friend (mechanic) to have another look, although i'm sure he would have checked that - he certainly said it was getting plenty of fuel.

this is really annoying, as my other car drinks petrol, so getting my mk1 on the road again will hopefully save me about ?40 a month in petrol, wich could be much better spent on buying some shiny bits for the golf.

Do all the checks mentioned - check distributor is turning.

Do basic comprssion test.  Check static timing 9cos the engine won't run!).

all tests have been carried out, tested with new ht leads, poured fuel straight down it's neck - still nothing.
only test still to be carried out is compression test, which i'm really not looking forward to, as it could confirm worst fears, esp as the car was smoking a little when i first got it - assumed it was simply because it had sat idle for a few months, as it stopped after 30 miles.

now looking at cheap mk2 gti's, as i need a new interior, alloys, and now an engine so if i can pick up a mk2 for ?300 or so it'd be worth it, and i can drive it while getting the mk1 ready.

does anyone know of a good tutorial for dropping a mk2 gti engine into a mk1 1100 shell?

cheers.

well turns out it is a piston ring, which is never a good thing, the pressure test revealed - 120,120,50,120.
However this may have been deemed irrelevant by a woman in a passat who thought she could park on my nearside, so will have to wait and see what hapens - maybe this'll work so i can buy a gti straight off.
still at least i was hit by another vw.