GEM '62

I had Lars rebuild my distributor, a couple months ago. I installed the distributor and set the timing per Lars instructions. I can't believe the difference in how the engine performs. The engine starts better, the acceleration improvement is pronominal and getting the car moving with the 3.08 rear is much easier. Feels like a whole new car.

Many thanks Lars, great job.

Frankie the Fink

Same here - the guy is phenomenal.
But, I thought I heard on here that he wasn't rebuilding distributors anymore - I sure hope that's not the case

Powershift

I think he does more than rebuild. I think he also "tunes" or recurves the distributor. Hot rodders (self included) have been doing this for over 50 years. YES, it makes a marked improvement in response and performance.

Larry

MikeM

Yep, it does. Always has and it can also lead to complaints about detonation in some cases.

The factory guys were not dummies. They had to tune for good and bad gasoline. You can bet they knew what was best. No secrets here.

Daren67

Guys..... you made me jealous. I have been trying to get my stock L79 dist to Lars for 2 years now. I cannot get the distributor out. It moves up a 1/2 inch rotates left and right but I cannot for the life of me get it out. Yes the hold down bolt is off, tach cable off, shielding off, but I cannot raise it more than 1/2. Any suggestions. Car is all stock as far as I know.

midyear

Lars does a fantastic job, lucky for me I have almost all of his articles copied and have my own sun machine.

MikeM

Reef it back and forth as you pull up. Sounds like your distributor is being held in place by sludge.

plaidside

Lift the distributor as high as you can get and spray some carburetor cleaner down the housing. Keep moving distributor up and down and back and forth and repeat spraying carburetor cleaner and it will come out.
Joe

Frankie the Fink

Its easy to worry about hurting something when snatching the distributor out so you approach it too gingerly. If you can rest your forearms on a valve cover or the intake manifold and push upward from underneath the points housing you can usually move it with some control and not bang anything up...

Either have the car at TDC (compression stroke) when removing the dizzy or else mark with blue tape on a valve cover or elsewhere in two places. Where the vacuum can nipple points and where the rotor points and DON'T bump the engine...then you can reinstall it close to the right position..

As to tweaking the advance curve, there is almost nothing you can do any more cheaply and easily to give yourself a 'seat of the pants' performance improvement. Carefully modifying the lazy, conservative, one-size-fits-all factory advance curve will not cause the polar ice caps to melt

Old Veter

How do I get in touch with Lars?

Frankie the Fink

Email: V8FastCars@msn.com

bigearl56

Last car was a 390 BB so lazy it would not fall out of a tree. Sent the dizzy and carb to Lars and when they came back I thought it was a different engine.


Earl