Who's Re-tuned their distributors??

[Dude]

Gents,
Reading in Hot Rod, there's a lot of power that goes unrealized when upgrading the engine w/ out tuning the carb/dist. Having put in the Edelbrock performer package I have a feeling I need to mess w/ the distributor.
When I cleaned it during the rebuild I found mismatched springs on the weights. Has anyone messed w/ the weights and an adjustable vac can to get better performance? Do you just advance the curve till it knocks, then retard it there?? Any help is much appreciated. Does anyone have any reference material/site that can help with this topic?

Also, I just got the Jacobs FC2000 CD spark box on the way. The tech guy said that's all that's necessary to do the mod. Any other parts necessary? Any advice on the install?

[ February 06, 2002: Message edited by: Dude ]</p>

[rigger]

to dial mine in after the rebuild i went to a dry parkade and brought my timing lite. i started at 8* btdc and jumped on it i then went to ten* and jumped on it i then went to 15 and jumped on it so on and so forth i found the most power at 14* btdc i just used a new dist i know nothing of weights and such maybe this will help

[reddog]

Mismatched springs are not a problem. The total of both springs are what controls the centrifical advance coming in.

As far as I know (hey stop laughing! :D ) you want the centrifical advance to come in a little quicker than stock. It is all set of the pants unless you have a zero-able timing light or a distributor machine.

It is not a big deal to play with it. Just get a spring kit with a few different sizes and start going lighter on the springs than stock. Just be careful not to drop the roll pin that holds the trigger on the distributor shaft! :D

Kerry

[Langdon]

Also you can adjust the vacum advance via a small allen bolt in the nipple... :cool:

[Dude]

Reddog,
Any chance you'd know where I can get an assortment of springs??? Thanks for the help

[reddog]

<blockquote>quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Dude:
Reddog,
Any chance you'd know where I can get an assortment of springs??? Thanks for the help<hr></blockquote>

Just call around to your local parts stores or hot rod shop. They should be able to help you out. I am not sure but as I recall the springs are the same as Ford (and maybe Chevy) distributors.

Kerry

[Sgt. Dave]

You should be able to find a "Mr Gasket" recurve kit almost anywhere for about $4
Pep Boys, Autozone, etc

A GM HEI kit is the most common. It really dosen't matter, you just need the springs. If you can find one, a timing degree tape is handy. They aren't very comon anymore, but you may be able to find someone in your area with a distributor machine. Those are great!

[FlakeyJake]

I bought one of those Mr. Gasket kits ( #925D ) and it came with just 2 springs. That's it. I was expecting an assortment and different weights too.....I haven't attempted the advance mod yet....bigger fish to fry at this moment smile.gif

[jeepbob]

Yes with the Mr Gasket kit you don't get a lot of choice. I recurved my 304 in the CJ by using the dist curves that are in the 79 shop manual and found one that looked like what I wanted. I ended up with wts and springs from a 78 360 auto trannied 48 state emissions rig.