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Technical ***December 2023 Banger Meet Thread - Santa I can explain***

Discussion in 'Traditional Hot Rods' started by Jiminy, Dec 2, 2023.

  1. drtrcrV-8
    Joined: Jan 6, 2013
    Posts: 1,796

    drtrcrV-8
    Member

    Kevin : it looks like the pivot hole in the weight that's "riding up" might be "wallowed out", allowing it to ride over the advance cam. Possibly weld or "sleeve"(?) & redrill the hole on both weights (with a tighter tolerance), & square the contact edges of both the weights & the advance cam?
     
  2. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    Just found that the center shaft flange is .030” lower on the side that is slipping the weight. Seems a little on the delicate side if .030” is going to make or break the design. The flyweights are a smidge sloppy on the pivots… but no worse than any other I’ve seen

    1DE98AF8-16BA-4A5A-AADA-422D3020A6A6.jpeg
     
  3. Is there not another rub block/surface over the top of the flyweight?
    But yes, you have found a QC issue.

    John
     
  4. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    The rotor screws down over the top and becomes the upper contact surface, and there is a plastic button on the lower plate. Apparently, still not enough to keep the flyweights under control… F36BD91A-087C-4CBC-87FB-B3A3FF5B1063.jpeg
     
    Last edited: Dec 28, 2023
  5. Jeff34
    Joined: Jun 2, 2015
    Posts: 1,186

    Jeff34
    Member

    Is there room to put a retaining ring on the shaft to hold the flyweights down? Or maybe just bend the plate up by .030"?
    upload_2023-12-28_13-23-26.jpeg
     
  6. Zax
    Joined: May 21, 2017
    Posts: 837

    Zax
    ALLIANCE MEMBER
    1. 1952-59 Ford Social Group

    Been watching these videos on my lunch break this week. This guy put a stock Model T on the dyno. Then replaced it with a hopped up motor and dynoed it again. Pretty cool.


     
  7. 282doorUK
    Joined: Mar 6, 2015
    Posts: 516

    282doorUK

    The B motor in my A has a Police head and an A distributor.

    Been reading up on B distributors and it seems a good one is hard to find, especially over here.

    So my question is, do I keep the simple but reliable A distributor, keep my finger on the lever while listening hard for knocking, or try and find a good B one for it's supposedly improved drivability?

    Or are there another options?

    I've only done a few easy pottering miles yet, so any thoughts on this would be appreciated before I hit the highway at proper speeds.

    Edit:
    It has a 1932 timing cover with the hole at the top of the boss, which I don't think should work with an A distributor.
    I haven't checked how the timing has been set yet but it seems to run ok, and doesn't kick back when starting.
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2023
  8. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    Let’s just say that Pertronix tech support was less than helpful…

    I bent the inner flange up the .030” to match the other side, and moved a .020” thrust washer from the base to between the upper and lower centrifugal plates. The flyweights now seat against the full width of the inner flange and I feel will run reliably
     
  9. Dan from Oakland
    Joined: Jan 16, 2009
    Posts: 236

    Dan from Oakland
    Member

    Sorry, 36 HP at the rear wheels !!!............. sumptin not quite right there---- in my opinion!
     
    282doorUK likes this.
  10. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    Agreed! He must have done some pretty serious work on that stock NH carb!;)

    Curious if the HP number was calculated to figure the HP at the flywheel. He may have used a large friction loss value…?
     
    Dan from Oakland likes this.
  11. Star 351
    Joined: Sep 9, 2013
    Posts: 65

    Star 351
    Member

    I can't remember which, but it is possible to fit an Anglia or prefect distributor to an a engine, might be a bit more readily available in the UK, I've got an fsi electronic distributor in my town sedan with a hopped up banger, and my mum's sport coupe has an fsi in the hopped up burtz, pretty happy with both of them, the only problem we've had with either was blowing up the coil in my mums sport coupe when the ignition was accidentally left on for over half an hour without the engine running while doing some troubleshooting with the wiring, so user error is the only problem we've ever had with them
     
    282doorUK likes this.
  12. I have been around a few different disty's and I have just migrated back to points only on my personal vehicles.
    Don't get me wrong, I use EFI and ElectroMotive TEC on the race cars where applicable. Yes, my current coop project is EFI for drive-ability with Hilborn injector throttle bodies.
    So, it is getting harder to find "A/B" specific units on the market but have adapted VW, MG, and various forklift units on A/B motors. All of them will require some machine work to fit, it is not too hard to do and while at it set the advance curve to suit. Mallory parts are still available for the aluminum body units, the cast iron "YA" not so much.
    That said, whatever you use, make sure it is not worn out and functions properly especially the advance mechanism.

    HNY, J
     
    akkhotrod and 282doorUK like this.
  13. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    Just watched this video again but looked a bit closer at the Dyno results

    B95A5678-1CBA-4F0B-BC6A-8C84B18492C8.png

    41 lb/ft of torque seems a little bit low… but 4639 rpm seems a LOT high! The ol girl didn’t appear to be turnin near 120 mph on that pull:eek: If the 41 lb/ft is accurate, and let’s say the rpm got doubled (still a bit high for a basically stock T, would work out to bout 60 mph), the HP is then halved to 18.25. Much more believable. Especially considering he says that he made it up to 35mph on the way over to the dyno shop

    HP = Torque x RPM / 5250
     
  14. Dan from Oakland
    Joined: Jan 16, 2009
    Posts: 236

    Dan from Oakland
    Member

    Its gotta be the dual exhaust manifold I tell ya!!
    Nice catch!!
     
    Last edited: Dec 30, 2023
  15. Or he was tipping the can pretty good!!
     
  16. Jiminy
    Joined: Oct 25, 2012
    Posts: 511

    Jiminy
    Member

  17. nrgwizard
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 3,011

    nrgwizard
    Member
    from Minn. uSA

    Hey, Kevin;
    On the aftermarket vw distributor, is it for an aircooledvw? & if so, does it have the 3* retard built into #3, or have you checked? Or did you or Mallory use a different cam? Fwiw, vw did that to help keep the #3 cyl run cooler, as it was under/behind the oil-cooler, so of course it then got hotter air than the rest. For an acvw odd-combo I'm slowly putting together which won't have an oil-cooler in the fan shroud, I don't want/need the retarded spark. So's I'll either go to a computer-controlled ign & then also efi, or use carbs & a modified Pinto dist. Which is very similar in size/dimensions to an acvw. Haven't got far enough along to see if the cams can be swapped sorta-easy-like.
    Just curious...
    Marcus...
     
  18. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    This is one of the Pertronix billet distributors for the air cooled VW’s, equipped with the Flame Thrower III ignition module. I’m told this is all Vega internals, rotor, and cap. I’m out futzin with the car today and just checked to see if any of the cylinders spark late… all 4 fire with no noticeable degree difference (my crank pulley is marked all the way around)
     
  19. nrgwizard
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 3,011

    nrgwizard
    Member
    from Minn. uSA

    OK, thanks. Just curious. Have to check on a couple of acvw sites, to see how they deal w/this, if at all.
    Different internals don't surprise me. Wonder if it was a screwup on Pertronix' end, laziness, or intentional. IDK.
    Marcus...
     
  20. Kevin Pharis
    Joined: Aug 22, 2020
    Posts: 662

    Kevin Pharis
    Member
    from Califunny

    This dizzy came to me with an alternative centrifugal spring combination, scratches on the center shaft, and the rev limiter adjustment screw turned all the way in one direction. My suspicion is that someone returned this distributor after incompetently futzin with it, and these “adjustments” went unnoticed when it was repackaged. I believe it possible that the center shaft was dropped during the futzin, causing my quality complaint. I’m not so sure that it was a production flaw… but I did purchase it “new” directly from Pertronix, and so expected their tech support to be at least remedially helpful… but who am I to make such assumptions…:confused:
     
  21. nrgwizard
    Joined: Aug 18, 2006
    Posts: 3,011

    nrgwizard
    Member
    from Minn. uSA

    Yea, funny like that, hmmm ??? :D . You actually might be lead, somehow, into thinking that maybe, just maybe, it's barely possible that some help from the mfgr &/or vendor would be in order... Different World n Time it is...
    Marcus...
     

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