Does anyone know of a shop that can test my distributor in/around the San Antonio, Texas area? I am getting a mis-fire that seems to start around 2600-3000 rpm. SBC, small cap. Pertonix pointless conversion Protronix coil
Unfortunately I don't have the points setup. I purchased it already converted. my hunch is that its not mechanically advancing like it needs to. The vacuum advance seems to work, as you can see the timing move when you connect/disconnect the vacuum hose.
the mech adv mechanism is a pretty simple thing on one of these, take the rotor off and post a picture here. And unplug the vac adv and with your timing light on rev up the engine, does the timing mark move to the adv side? it should. If you have a dial back timing light check the total adv at 3000 rpms, should be 32-36 degrees.
I was running a Pertronic conversion for a while and every once in a while I would get a misfire at light throttle cruise on the highway (2,000 RPM or so). I ran across a recently remanned points distributer for cheap at a swap meet, bought it, installed it and never looked back. I'm thinking I must not have gotten the clearances right but I'm not sure. Gary
I've ran into the same thing on 2 different cars, one a conversion kit and the other a complete pertronix kit. Hated both, one would run for 10 minutes and die, the other start misfiring above 3000 half the time. Dual point on one would run flawless all day long up to 5800 shift points, the other would run all day long with the stock point distributor. Went thru pertronix tech and replacements and no difference in either car. Never again.... .
That makes you ponder if distributor bushings are a bit worn and the wear is more critical with the Pertronix pickup than it is with points. Running it up on a distributor machine or hooking it to a scope and checking the pattern would tell the tale though.