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School me on distrubutors..

  • Thread starter Thread starter j69302
  • Start date Start date Jul 5, 2010
J

j69302

Active Member
Jan 31, 2006
325
1
29
Jul 5, 2010
#1
  • Jul 5, 2010
  • #1
Sorry.. lots of questions here..

I was talking to a friend who knows a lot about engines about a 1 second hesitation I have under hard acceleration. I was talking to him about how I have tried all kinds of accelerator pump cams and discharged nozzles and didn't notice a change either way. Its a vac secondary holley 600 cfm carb and it does it just as bad with the stiffest secondary spring as it does with the lightest so I don't think its the secondaries falling open. My friend suggested to plug my vac adv on my distributor since my engine been slightly modified and he said he never liked vac adv and always ran mechanical. Anyways that got me thinking about things and have some questions.

My friend is leaning towards a ignition advance/timing issue.. I told him I wasn't so sure about it that but it got me thinking anyways. He said switching to mechanical fixed it on his.

I'm referring to a stock 69 302 vac adv distributor with the pertronix-1 points conversion, it has a crane energizer 260 cam, performer rpm heads and intake with headers.

1)
Can someone explain how the total advance is calculated and how to physically measure it? My understanding is total timing = initial plus mechanical plus vac adv.

Do I just shine the timing light down there and see how far it goes? Then make note of the RPM at which it stops advancing? Since its vac adv, can this be done without a load (in neutral)?

2)
I know centrifugal will advance and the rate the engine speed increases. What keep the vac adv from throwing in too much timing too soon? I had someone tell me that the mechanical adv will ultimately limit the vacuum adv.

Also, does the vacuum advance add to the total amount of timing or does it supplement the centrifugal? In other words, will my total timing be the same, however it just would take longer to advance since the vacuum isnt there to help it out? Or will I get a decrease in the total timing if I plug the vac adv?

3)
What is the benefit between having a vac adv? I've seen people suggest using only a mechanical for more power/racing and read that a vac adv is better for street. Why is this? I thought the vac adv was to improve throttle response?

4)
I'm thinking about plugging it temporarily just to see what it does. If i do, should I increase my initial timing?

If I remember correctly from about a year ago when I had my distributor out.. I saw 2 parts of the distributor...not sure what you would call them.. but I believe they both had 13 stamped into them. From what I read these are the pieces that control the total advance.. 1 for the mechanical and 1 for the vacuum. Is this right? so with a 10* initial, 13 is added by mechanical and another 13 by the vacuum for a total of 36*?
 
D

D.Hearne

New Member
Sep 29, 2000
11,730
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0
south louisiana
Jul 5, 2010
#2
  • Jul 5, 2010
  • #2
Could be your vacuum advance isn't working at all. Have you checked it ? Where on the carb is it connected ? A simple way to test it is to remove the distributor cap and unplug the hose from the carb and then while sucking on the hose, look inside the distributor and verify that the vacuum lever is moving the breaker plate. I've always run vacuum advance on all my engines, I've never seen the need not to. What is you initial timing set at ? Should be set anywhere from 10* to 16* BTDC.
 
2

2+2GT

10 Year Member
Apr 25, 2009
3,333
10
79
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Jul 5, 2010
#3
  • Jul 5, 2010
  • #3
Total advance is only a small part of the picture. The rate at which the advance increases with rpm and vacuum is critical to success. Vacuum advance is important for street driving, especially for maximizing fuel economy, and for throttle response. If your 'curves' are not adjusted properly, your performance will be crap, no matter how much you spent on the engine. The best thing you can do is pull the distributor, and have an expert put it on the machine.

Since you have an upgrade cam, I'd suggest using the BOSS 302 distributor specs, at least as a starting point.

You can disregard the 'vacuum retard' portion if you don't have a dual port diaphram.

 
J

j69302

Active Member
Jan 31, 2006
325
1
29
Jul 6, 2010
#4
  • Jul 6, 2010
  • #4
My initial is 10... Last time i timed it was a year ago when I had my engine out to put a 5spd in and to repaint the engine.. I noticed an increase in RPM when I hooked the line back up. The line is on the "timed" port the holley says to use for distributors. Its on the passenger side of the primary metering block.

I was going to recheck everything today but never got around to it.
 
D

D.Hearne

New Member
Sep 29, 2000
11,730
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0
south louisiana
Jul 6, 2010
#5
  • Jul 6, 2010
  • #5
If it's on the timed port, you shouldn't have noticed an increase in idle speed when you hooked it up. Recheck everything. Alot can happen after a year with the engine out.
 

brianj5600

Active Member
Sep 19, 2003
1,964
2
39
Middle TN
Jul 6, 2010
#6
  • Jul 6, 2010
  • #6
If it is a 13 on the advance plate it will add 26 of mechanical advance, which is too much IMO. A 10 which would be 20 degrees would be a better number. Most have 2 numbers on the plate and if you are lucky you can remove the clip inside the shaft and just rotate the upper shaft 180* to the other window. I modified mine by welding part of the window and using a file it to get the right amount of advance. Here is a Duraspark thread, but I think the early distributors are the same. Carbed Ford Message Board :: View topic - How to recurve a Duraspark distributor
 
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