Dist won't go all the way in!

best answer! same way i do it

 

As far as getting the distributor in but off a tooth. This would only really matter if there wasn't enough room to turn the distributor. The distributor doesn't care which tooth its on, only whether or not you can then spin the distributor enough to get the correct timing. We know you are close since it runs. With the car not running do you think you could spin the distributor so that it points to the adjacent plug wires ie #2 and #8. If so you have enough movement from #1 to be able to get 45 deg advance and 45 deg retard which means you should be able to properly time it. If the housing hits something before you can turn it past #1 then it does matter which tooth you get and you will have to change it. When thinking through this remember that you dont even need to turn it as far as I said, that's just a good way to see if you have the ability. 45 deg is huge so if you can only turn it half way either direction you are still getting over 20 deg each way.

 

It does stop turning pretty quickly. Doesn't seem to have more than about 20-30 degrees of total travel. I'm gonna pull it out again and try moving it back one notch. Anyone have an opinion on which way I probably need to turn it?

 

Nice screen name.

Spike

 

also, if it's off, couldnt you just pull all the wires on the distributor and move them all over one space ?
correct me if im wrong.

leonard

 

dropping a dizzy in ..I have more fun with guys that don't know shit... A buddy's son was watching me once and he pointed out that number one HAD to be right there ( pointing at the cap) I said oh yeah? I dropped the distributor in with the rotor pointing straight back at the fire wall. Then I wired it..he said it'll never start... It did and ran great. he still can't figure that one out.

 

Remember that 30 deg of travel at the distributor is the same as 60 deg on the crank. I wouldn't do anything unless you check it with a timing light first so that you know for sure where its at. Does it run better just before it stops turning or does it run best while its still somewhere in the middle?

Correct me if I am wrong but the distributor should turn clockwise. So if you need more advance you would turn it one tooth counterclockwise and if you need less advance you would turn it clockwise. Again if you don't know if you need more or less, check it with a timing light. I think the SBC distributor gear is a 14 tooth gear, so if you move it 1 tooth that would be just shy of 13 deg on the distributor and 26 deg at the crank.

 

exactly what i was thinking / saying...
thanks.

leonard

 

Best advice you have got yet, is put a light on it, if you have it running don't move it , you will just be guessing and might go the wrong way. Even if it still runs, you are still going to be guessing.

 

BS, that is the normal way it is done. If he has the distributor gear on the right tooth on the cam gear he doesn't loose anything.

 

Yes bump the engine over and the distributor will drop down on the oil pump. That is the normal way to do it. Then snug the hold down down enough to put a resistance on it before starting it and setting the timing with a light. You can (and I usually do) bump the engine over so that you can bring it back up on compression on #1 and line the rotor up with #1 wire on the cap. Don't get in an uproar if it takes more than one try to get it exactly the way you want it and don't pay much attention to some of these guys who think they are mechanical geniuses but are willing to prove different. I've been doing these things for 45 or more years and still don't get them right on the money every time or sometimes even the second time.

 

Now that you have it running you can start learning about tuning. The ignition curve is one place to pick up quite a bit of easy power and drivability, but there are no universal numbers. There are however some guidelines that would get you in the ball park. You see; most small blocks were mild and came with lazy advance curves. They usually need not only heavier weights/lighter springs, but also a bushing to limit advance degrees, and the vacuum advance needs to be limited and the rate adjusted. Initial timing with the vacuum disconnected and plugged should be around 12 BTDC and all in around 36 BTDC by 3000 rpm's. This can be checked with a timing light with an advance dial, or with a regular one and a timing tape on the balancer. The best thing to do is get a curve kit and an adjustable vacuum advance and follow the instructions. You'll be pleasantly surprised how much this helps compared to the cash outlay. PM me if you need help as I am near.

 

Thank you!!!

 

this is assuming he is willing to rewire the cap. if you spin the motor around and walk up with a dist and just drop it in....your gonna need to find out which plug on the cap is gonna be #1 (by going to TDC ) and then rewire it.

so why not just do it the easy way off the bat? same result, just as easy. its much better to use a screwdriver to turn the oil pump shaft a bit then to go through the hassle of doing it your way.

can it be done? yes, but produces the same result

 

Alright guys. Found a friend to borrow a light from. Have it set at about 13 degrees of initial advance. We just went back and forth and doing trial runs. It is very much better than before. Thinking maybe I'll try to lighten up the mechanical advance springs just a little bit also to make it kick in faster on the street.

 

Thanks for that incredibly helpful post. I had ZERO experience with ignition systems before last week beyond changing plugs and wires. Got some good info on here and got it figured out. Runs great now... Your post must have been the very most helpful of all.

 

What Budd said?.........
http://www.youtube.com/v/OIM6KaGMTJA

 

13 degrees initial will make most street motors with a healthy cam run nicely, but what is the total advance? Detonation does nasty things to a motor . . .

 

Somewhere on here someone had a chart for using a vacuum gauge for diagnostics, and setting timing on an engine.

 

AJ, I agree, 13 seems like a lot of initial. I don't know what the late stuff runs but my old cammed up small blocks, ie 327, 283 stuff I thought I ran about 6-8 deg. I could be just getting old though and suffering CRS. 10 deg was a ton on the street. Ping a ping a ping. Usually set total at 32-36. @ 3 grand. I know everyone has run SB chevy's a lot of different ways. Seems to depend on the individual engine I think. Course we ran 10-11 to 1 stuff with the good ethyl we had. Heck I even ran one 327 12 1/2 to 1 with .020 off the heads on the street. Makes for a lot of fun with a 4.56 gear and a 4spd. Lippy (sorry for reminiscing ) back to your regularly scheduled tune-up.

 

Now what you say is correct, but you have missed the point in the original post that the distributor was in fact in (all but that last 1/4" for the oil pump drive) and the distributor and cam gears were meshed in their original location.
So bumping the starter (or turning the crank by hand) allows the distributor to turn and drop that last 1/4" into the oil pump drive. No timing is lost since the gears are meshed.

 

you know...i argued about it earlier but i just read what you wrote and said to myself "well no shit that would work"....wow, i wonder about myself sometimes

 

^^^^^ Now that made my day.

 

hey ! everybody agrees

 

first off, get her to take those pantyhose off.



oh.. shit, you said DISTRIBUTOR. my bad.

 

I guess I didn't tighten the clamp to hold the distributor down tight enough because it came back out of timing after a few weeks or so. Now have tried getting it back but doesn't seem to want to do it. When I get it to a point that seems to work okay at higher rpm then it stutters in low rpm acceleration. Think I may have a problem with the vacuum advance. Have a mechanic buddy coming over tomorrow with more tools than I have to help me get it figured out.

*Also, I got hold of a digital advance timing light now too so can check my total advance. When trying to measure it, I got it to about 34 degrees of total advance but as I revved the engine a little higher it seemed to jump quite suddenly by about ten degrees... at least according to the light. I am wondering if there is something wrong with the light because it also doesn't seem to read rpm accurately once I rev it up. Possibly missing on plug one causing rpm to show incorrectly? As much as I am learning about this stuff I sure do feel "ignant" still.

 

Get a big-assed hammer and... I've got an MSD dist. in my OT sbc powered car and that bitch won't drop down in no matter how perfect I try to line up the oil pump drive. The only way it will go is if I either crank the engine or rotate it by hand.

 

Think I'm gonna make a new thread for this as the original posting has nothing to do with where I am at now. Thanks Guys.

 

Spike, I live in friendswood, holler if you want me to take a peek at it.

 

I thought a 327 chev was 13 initial 32 or 34 at 3000rpm, I don't think you are off by a tooth, it would run a lot worse. If you have a friend coming over who knows what hes doing leave it and you guys will be better off. Go to the MSD website if you have time you can get a bit of info watch a video or so.