I've converted my '38 to 12 volts & I had already switched to an external coil with a coil conversion kit. I bought a new Mallory distributor for it last week & it just arrived. Has anyone installed one of these? I'm no mechanic & would appreciate any tips offered before I jump into it this weekend. TIA, JH
These need to be timed on engine, complicating life a bit on a flathead... look up interference method in search feature to establish a mark if your engine has none. For initial setup, set non-running engine on your timing mark and static time to your setting point. Also--find out total advance of the mallory... Easy close enough way: Get protractor and comp***, draw circle and mark off a suitable arc like 20 degrees or so, cut hole (carefully concentric...) exactly size of rim of Mallory case so it drops onto location where cap would sit. Clamp distributor drive tang, put rotor at your zero line, and then twist it as far as it will go CCW. That many degrees is your centrifugal advance, multiply it by 2 to convert to crank degrees. You need to know this total before diving in to the tuning!
P.S.: The '32-48 Ford distributor was based on Mallory patents and design, both the dual point setup and the advance features...
My installation instructions say it has 24* @ 3000 RPM. With this info, can I byp*** what you described above? Thanks, JH
Those are pretty much and plug and play. Use the plug wires they suggest. I dont believe those have the extra ignition box right?? Just make damn sure you are grounded very very well. Cab to engine, engine to frame and frame to cab. I installed an MSD that looks just like it but required an ignition box. The advance springs on those are setup for a stock flatty and you'll be good for your flatty. Your going to love the difference in power. I simply set the engine at No 1 along with the new distributor and installed it.
"My installation instructions say it has 24* @ 3000 RPM. With this info, can I byp*** what you described above?" If you trust whoever does Mallory nowadays...QC has declined a hair over there since the good old days. Look into Mallory's spring kit...that advance curve sounds WAY slow, though I'd check it on running engine to see what it really does. You need much quicker runup to full advance, paticularly without any vac hookup available. I'd expect it to be a bit logy and perhaps warm in comparison to a 21A. Advance should be fully in by 1200 re Ford, certainly at least by 2,000...with it coming in so high, you will be retarded most of the time. The wasted power is dumped into your cooling system via the red hot exhaust p***ages resulting... I think the Mallory spring kit will give estimated curves for the various spring combinations offered. Stock Ford '41-48 curve is certainly a good starting point.
I just installed a electronic version on my 59L also used the coil and wires they recomended. I have yet to add the timming mark on the pully. I just centered the bolts in the distributor slots as described in the instructions. Much to my suprize it runs great, and 15 to 20 degrees cooler than before. Of all the up-grades I have done to my Tee this one made the biggist differance.. It was alot eazier to do than I thought it would be. Put that puppy in and start driving ....
Nothing wrong with verifying advance before the installation. In fact.. the right way of doing it. Bruce is right (of course) I had just talked to so many before who didnt have to make any advance spring changes in there installation that I thought i'd try it and see if there were any symptoms that ins***uted a change. I did set the initial advance with a vac gauge, advance to the highest reading and then backing the advance off a few pounds.
The problem with not verifying what happens when in the curve is that if you are retarded, the symptoms are usually just a loss of response and power. If you don't know how engine runs with a good curve, you don't even know you lost anything...but your gas is now employed in keeping the exhaust pipe warm instead of moving you down the road. Everything you do will require more throttle and gas for less go. This will be particularly true at part throttle cruise (99% of real driving) because you are dependent entirely on the mechanical curve not even raised by a vac can. The engine likes full advance down around 12-1500, but doesn't get it till 3,000...and 3,000 is above most use except when running up through the gears. Most of actual use will be low rpm chug.
In other words...do you want to stamp out retardation...or accept it and compete in the Special Olympics?? Sorry...
Sounds like I'd be wise to order a new spring kit & make sure it is what it should be before bolting it on. Petejoe, you may be retarted & not even know it. JH
A. Determine that total available advance is as stated. B. Measure pulley, compute size of degree, measure off maybe 5 degree sections up to 30 an mark. C. Get timing light, revvitup slowly to 2,000, see where it is along the way. You want to see things starting to happen right abve idle, full advance well before 2,000. You don't care what happens above 2, really, because by then you already know your timer done missed the train. If no good, you're RETARDED, so fi**it before the other kids start teasing you.
Figuring degrees on a crank pulley. Dia of pulley x PI = cir***ference divided by 360 degrees example only: (not necessarily a flathead pulley diameter) 7"dia pulley x 3.1416 (pi)= 21.992 (cir***) divided by 360 degree equals .0610 or 1/16" per degree increment. see retarded drawing...
Two aids to thinking the above through, as well: Most decent steel rules, tool catalogs, and reference books, as well as an easy Google search, will produce a nice chart that allows you to convert decimal results to inch increments easy to measure with a rule (if you find a rule marked in tenths, grabbit , it's a real trouble saver!) Next, use an easy to convert and measure increment by computing size of 2 or 5 degrees or whatever, just to find a nice smooth number you can easily convert to lines you can see on the ruler and don't have to find 93 128ths... And if this sends you into screaming nightmare flashbacks to 8th grade geometry cl***, just cheat and get a late-model speedshop timing tape for something with same size cir***ference...
You can alsso set the initial timing with a vacuum gauge. Advance it until the vacuum will not go higher, and back off 1" of vacuum. Works great. The total advance can be changed by reseting the stop, the method of checking is in the instructions.
It's been several decades since I sat in a math cl***, so I may be all wet.. But as I see it, your formula is correct but your answer is wrong.. I rounded off the cir***ference to an even 22 inches. According to my computations, the correct answer is 1/16" per degree. 5/8" would be the "distance" for 10 degrees. RustyPile
Also--vac stting will optimize static timing just fine ( with Ford distributor, if idle is a bit fast it will already be advancing...), BUT be aware it moves entire curve with it, so you need to figgerout where your total of advance in distrib plus idle figure are--best idle may make curve too long. If late Mallory innards resemble oldies, there's a simple stop marked with its factory number of degrees (usually in DISTRIBUTOR degrees) that is easy to alter or swap.
Century Performance has a lot of tech articles regarding Mallory distributors and setups. http://www.centuryperformance.com/mallory/index.asp All the questions you have should be addressable there. Mike
The Ford distributor IS a Mallory, but made back when Mallory was made here and done with some thought. Nothing about a new Mallory should be ***umed to meet spec or be properly ***embled til checked, and recent Mallory points and condenser should be discarded and replaced with NAPA BEFORE first use! Easier to change now than 250 miles later by the road...really.
Okay, so if I want electronic ignition, am I correct in ***uming that Mallory makes that kit and if they do how much of all this applies to me? I can do all the degree stuff easy right now, the block is at a machine shop getting round and straight, and well, the car is still in the future state, I'm building an engine first..... The engine I have is a 37 with 21 stud heads...oddball year, it's the only year with 21 studs and water pumps on the block
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