I am about to trailer my Tf home from the other side of town as it ( I have been told by a family member who borrowed it ) will not start . It drove over there ok but when it was time to return , it fired a couple of times but did not start and now does not fire at all but still cranks .
What should I check / look for in what order ?
Although I used to be a mechanic that was pre-computer and mostly diesels . so I am looking at a pretty steep learning curve .

This may be the dreaded immobiliser problem.
Try reaching up under the dash, rhs, just above your knee.
There is a small flat black plastic box. This is the BEM.
Try gently wiggling the connectors.
Also trace the 2 wires from the ignition barrel surround back to the 2 way plus. Take apart and reassemble this plug a couple of times to clean the contacts inside.
Hope that this helps.
Gerry

I have read a couple of posts on here where the immobilizer has malfunctioned - would rather a blown engine , it would be easier to fix .

I'd also check the ingiter/coil inside the distributer first plus the rotor cap - the fact that the engine fired a few times before going dead suggests to me that the immobiliser gave the engine the OK to start.
Despite all the electronics in 'modern' cars, the majority of faults are still basic and unchanged in 100 years.

I had somthing similar. Check all fuses are not blown, inuding all in the engine bay and in the drivers footwell. Mine didn't start because of a blown interior light fuse

Thanks for the help guys !
Unfortunately the motor is RS - when you crank it it blows coolant out of the radiator cap hole in very large quantities . I took the cap off to check for bubbles ( suspecting a blown head gasket , but it looks more like a (very badly) corroded head . I have always used coolant in it since I have had it but have no knowledge of it's history prior to the last 8 months . ( when I acquired it )

A corroded or cracked head will lead to head gasket failure anyway, so you may have both. Confirm the problem with a compression test. Rip the heads off and inspect for damage. Some alloy welding may be needed or a replacement head sought.

I started pulling plugs out to do a compression test .
The plug on the middle front cylinder is wet , as in coolant looks like some down the bore too .
Not promising !

That pretty much confirms it, compression test is not needed. lol Not on the front bank anyway.

I think I will be putting another motor in - cheap as from the wreckers .
quotes so far from $300 to $600 for another motor .

Try to get a low km one.

The one I am getting has 190 thousand Ks

Must have had a very hard life before you got the care as blown heads and gaskets in these engines are very rare, they use a metal head gasket and the alloy used for the heads was very good quality.

Check the prices on the 3.5l engines as well, there are only a few items needed to change over and will make it a different car

Also, the TF does not have a BEM, it uses an immob under the console near the ashtray

i had a ****ed immobilizer and Mal fixed it in 10 mins cost less than $100, i've also had an engine conversion and tranny conversion and that cost me close to $4k, i know which i'd rather

The one I am getting has 190 thousand Ks

Better make sure it has some kind of guarantee with it then.

I have read a couple of posts on here where the immobilizer has malfunctioned - would rather a blown engine , it would be easier to fix .

Yeah, good on ya ;)

30 day warranty for $300 .
it is currently still in a car , seems to run ok but could not test drive as the car is partially stripped

Sounds like a good deal. Keep you old engine, strip it down and repair if its not too costly, and keep as a spare. Just an idea.