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I replaced my old mallory unit with a single point dist.set up by LCIS. I have installed & yesterday I began to set the timing & check other items. Seems that when I set WOT timing (vacuum plugged) at 35 degrees at 2500rpm the idle timing is at 22 degrees @ 900rpm. If I set the initial first to 14deg.@ 900rpm then the 2500rpm is at 30deg. Which procedure should I use? I checked the vacuum at idle & it is 10"hg. Is the 20 deg. at idle to much timing? Shouldn't it be 12-14deg.? Confused.
The centrifugal advance in that distributor is already partly in at 900 RPM. Turn the idle down to 700 (where it barely runs) to set the initial timing or to check the initial after setting the total. I'd set the total at 3000 in order to allow for variations in the distributor curve and/or your tach.
To start the procedure over- in order:
1. With Vacuum Adv. connected.- set total timing to 35deg.@2500-3000rpm
2. With Vacuum Adv. disconnected- check initial timing 12-14deg.@900rpm.
3. With Vacuum Adv. connected.- check centrifugal timing 28-34deg. @ 900rpm.
Is this correct? LCIS did know that the dist. was for a 327/365.
If it came with the correct vacuum can, could I assume that it is the correct dist. If not, what else could I look for?
Initial (~700 rpm) and Total timing is set with the vacuum advance disconnected and plugged; total timing is the sum of initial and centrifugal - vacuum advance isn't considered in total timing at all. After setting initial and checking total, then connect vacuum advance to check total idle timing - it should be your initial plus the 15 degrees that the vacuum advance adds, assuming the vacuum advance is connected to full manifold vacuum.
For example, if you set initial at 10* and your distributor centrifugal curve is adding 24*, you should read 34* (10* plus 24*) when the distributor stops advancing (vacuum advance disconnected and plugged). When you re-connect the vacuum advance, you should read 25* for idle timing (10* initial plus 15* from the vacuum advance).
Don't stop your max advance reading at 2500 rpm - continue to increase rpm until no further advance is noted; when it stops advancing, that's when your centrifugal advance is "all in".
I replaced my old mallory unit with a single point dist.set up by LCIS. I have installed & yesterday I began to set the timing & check other items. Seems that when I set WOT timing (vacuum plugged) at 35 degrees at 2500rpm the idle timing is at 22 degrees @ 900rpm. If I set the initial first to 14deg.@ 900rpm then the 2500rpm is at 30deg. Which procedure should I use? I checked the vacuum at idle & it is 10"hg. Is the 20 deg. at idle to much timing? Shouldn't it be 12-14deg.? Confused.
The first question is what is the actual timing map. Did the vendor provide the vacuum and centrifugal specs? Are they the same as the OE specs for the 327/365? Did you verify the actuals?
From the information you provides the timing map does not sound anywhere near close to OE 327/365.
When I talked to LCIS, they were aware that I had the 327/365. I started to tell them the specs of what I was told to ask them & he proceeded to tell me that it was irrelevant because their builder would build the dist. to OE specs. How would I tell which dist.I have? Are the weights labeled? Is it just a matter of changing out the weights? The vacuum can on the dist. is the correct can.
Just got in from setting the timing on the '64. I noticed that the gnd. wire from the steering column to the engine headers was not connected, so I fixed this gnd'g. connection.(vacuum was approx 10"Hg.)
Here are the results:
Vacuum disconnected & plugged:
14* @ 700rpm
33* @ 3000rpm
Checked with Vacuum connected:
30* @ 900rpm
48* @ 3000rpm
What do you think of the results?
It doesn't make any difference what I or anyone else thinks. What counts is whether the specs meet OE, and it still sounds like the centrifugal does not meet OE spec.
The OE max centrifugal is 24 at 2350, and given some production tolerance it should all be in by about 2500. With 14 initial you should be seeing about 38 total timing at 2500 with the vacuum can disconnected.
You say the vacuum can is "correct", but without an ID number no one can verify.
Just talked to LCIS again, & the indivdual told me he didn't know the specs., & they have a $3000 machine that checks the dists. before they go out. He couldn't tell me anything else. Couldn't return the dist. because it has been past 30 days. Could anything else be causing the dist. advance not to work correctly? Seems that I'm going in circles.
The centrifugal advance does not meet the OE spec because it has the wrong weights and/or springs and the cam may have an incorrect slot length, which determines total centrifugal advance.
Your data indicates only 19 degrees. I should be 24, but it may have more if you rev it higher. You did not indicate if you were sure the centrifugal had reached a maximum and did not further advance with more revs.
No I'm not sure how to tell if the max centrifugal advance is all in. The only thing I did was per the instructions of setting initial to 14*. Once the initial is set- there is not adjustment for the WOT timing, Correct? If the WOT at 2350 ends up at 33* then isn't that where it stays, or do you need to bump the dist. to achieve the 38*? If you bump the WOT timing doesn't that bring up the inital timing up, as well?
LCIS is not willing to work with me. I'm starting to question their knowledge of the dist. they sent me.
Whatever happened to all those Sun distributor machines that used to be sitting in every corner garage?
I remember as a teenager learning how to use one of those to dial in a distributor. Sure made the job very easy. You can do it all on the bench and save the trouble of working on it while in the engine.
No I'm not sure how to tell if the max centrifugal advance is all in. The only thing I did was per the instructions of setting initial to 14*. Once the initial is set- there is not adjustment for the WOT timing, Correct? If the WOT at 2350 ends up at 33* then isn't that where it stays, or do you need to bump the dist. to achieve the 38*? If you bump the WOT timing doesn't that bring up the inital timing up, as well?
LCIS is not willing to work with me. I'm starting to question their knowledge of the dist. they sent me.
You have to keep increasing revs until the mark stops advancing. I could be as high as 5000 RPM. You also need to get the word out that LICS is FoS and people should avoid doing business with them.
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