Technical Installed Pertronix and now I have no power

1951 Shoebox Ford, I installed a pertronix on the flathead 8 followed the directions, it tried to turn over then quit. I found both fuses blown under the dash, replaced them and now I have nothing, no headlights, and it does nothing when I push the starter button. Where do I start? Would a bad voltage regulator cause this? I recently got the car and someone previously has been in the wiring but a lot of it is factory. Any help is very appreciated,

 

I’d be surprised if the Pertronix is the cause of the engine not turning over and blown fuzzes. Is it a module or the whole distributor?

 

You start with the basics. Do you have proper voltage at the battery? Do you have proper voltage up to the key switch? I'm not familiar with 51 Ford's, so others can chime in the help with specifics, but when troubleshooting anything always go with the very basics first. Start at the battery and work your way through the system. Do you have a schematic for the car?

 

Pos or Neg ground?

 

Disconnect the Pertronix, replace the fuses, turn on each circuit separately. If no further fuses blow, reconnect the pertronix. If that blows the fuse, there's your problem..

 

Like Dennis said....

 

Did you replace the points because of issues and tried to nail two birds with one stone or were you just ditching the points for electronic?
I've come across several vehicles that have been converted to Pertronix(or knockoffs) and it gets the blame when there was already an underlying problem/condition.
Electronic wont make a crappy tune engine run better(it can make it run worse), but it will make a well tuned engine run better.

^This.
You may have inadvertently disconnected a wire, or reversed polarity by accident, or didn't reattach a ground correctly.
If all elese fails, put it back the way it was and start again.
Often times weird/strange electrical mods done on a vehicle by a mechanic/PO may seem silly/pointless but are in fact the way they 'fixed' the problem they had. I've screwed the pooch a few times by not noting what done as everything seemed 'factory' but was in fact cudgeled together in an unseen way. Trucks that have had campers and house wiring added are the bane of my existence.

 

Ah, the house wiring. Don't you just love the wire connectors electricians use on their cars?

 

Neg ground the car was previously converted

 

Again, start with the basics. You have to start with the battery, make sure you have proper voltage there. Make sure it is grounded to the frame. If you have proper voltage at the battery, check it at the ignition switch, then follow the circuits out from there. With the switch in the run position do you have power to the coil? Do you have power to the starter solenoid? When you turn the ignition to the Start position are you getting power to the S terminal on the solenoid? What fuses blew? This is all pretty basic stuff, you need to get to this point before anyone here can offer much help.

 

51 Ford electrical schematic