I have eventually got the car running ... the problem turned out to be a sticking fuel distribution plunger (fully in), due I assume to the car being stood for a couple of years. It was a bugger to get out ... soaking and tapping and pulling with grips. I then cleaned everything and reassembled ... then amazingly it fired up ... clouds of grey / white smoke which died down after a bit ... I assume it was the unburnt fuel in the exhaust, together with dampness, insects and other stuff in the exhaust system. It seem to run OK but then produced a pool of oil under the engine ... this was coming out of the dipstick because as I found out the oil (well really oil / petrol) level was really high ... I had checked the oil originally but with all the attempted starts there must have been half a gallon of gas gone down the bores into the oil !
After an oil change it starts and runs but there is a miss and it is running a bit rough which I have to sort out ... this could be due to the fact the 2 back boxes on the exhaust are shot, or I may have to dismantle the fuel system completely and clean everything out .... anyway its getting there !