euro 500 sel new tuneup now wont start

[DieselAddiction]

hi everyone. just bought an 85 euro 500 sel recently and decided it was time for a tune up. after new pan gaskets/ valve cover gaskets, fuel filters etc i decided to change the plugs and wires and distributor cap. have done a number of cap and rotor jobs before so am not new to this. anyways...after swapping the old burnt plugs and cracked wires i put the new cap on and tried to start it. car sounds seriously out of time and even backfired thru the throttle body. i have checked and rechecked and made sure my firing order is correct and everything is ran right. cant figure this one out. my original cap didnt have numbers on it but ran the new distributor exactly like my buddies u.s version 500. is it possible my cap is different being euro? any help would be greatly appreciated. thanks