Slight timing problem

[bigjones]

The two-day love-fest with the starter motor required the removal of the distributor.

A serious blunder was made when I started reading Haynes and all that distributor end-float business. I should have just made up a regular replacement gasket and moved on. But no - during this red herring episode I removed the skew gear, took the dizzie apart, moved the car in gear and generally done all I could to disturb the beautiful timing I had.

Now the poxy car won't even start. Here's the kicker - with #1 at TDC, as indicated by the pulley timing marks, the rotor is pointing to #3 wire in the dizzie cap! I could understand it if it was 180 deg off. It's got a Pertronix in it so I need to get to a good starting point if I have to trot out the timing light.

I have no clue on whats going here, I'm as happy as Hitler when he finds out the iPod does not have a camera.

Can someone please clue me in before I start a humungous bonfire.

 

[dklawson]

No problem Adrian. This isn't as bad as you think it is and you have a couple of options.

1) you can pull the dizzy again to move the drive gear and put things back the way they were, or
2) you can rearrange the wires on the cap as it stands right now.


First decide which of the two options you want to pursue. The easiest is to move the plug wires. You know that at #1 TDC the rotor is pointing towards plug wire for #3. Since the firing order is 1-3-4-2... simply move all the wires around the cap. Basically, pull the plug wire for #3 off the cap, pull the plug wire for #1 and move it where #3 had been... then continue counterclockwise around the cap.

If you decided instead to pull the drive gear and move it... again, no problem. Leave the dizzy in the pedestal casting and undo the two bolts holding it to the block. Pull the drive gear and move it one tooth at a time, then refit the dizzy and its pedestal until the rotor points where you want it to.

In both cases you should go back and re-time the car. The 1500 needs a static timing closer to 10 BTDC, not right at TDC. You can static time the original Pertronix Ignitor, you cannot static time Ignitor-II. My offer for the timing light still stands. However, I'm going to be out of town most of tomorrow.

 

[Guest]

No problem Adrian. 2) you can rearrange the wires on the cap as it stands right now.


The 1500 needs a static timing closer to 10 BTDC, not right at TDC.

+1, move the wires and start the thing. Mine is around 12-14.

 

[bigjones]

After a lot of messing around, I just swapped the leads and all is fine.

Many thanks to Doug and Kellysguy.

Cheers!