I am going to kill my car. Maybe i am a retard and I am checking the timing wrong but....

I got a new vac canister yesterday because the one that came with the dist. was giving me 20 degrees....( I checked today w/ the timing tape) Well, the new one I got is now giving me 14 degrees....which should be perfect.

I unhooked the vacuum advance and plugged ALL the open vac ports. Brought the rpms up to what sounded to be at least 3500 and held it there....

20 degrees of total mechanical timing! WTF!!!! I have 14 degrees of initial advance set at 700 rpm.

when I first bring the r's up it seems that I get LESS than 14 degrees...then it jumps up to 20 and just stays there.



Here is everything that is done to the distributor:

Rebuilt unit by Cardone for a 75' Chevy truck w/ 350 4 bbl.

Spectre advance spring and weight kit with middle springs installed and weights that come with it.

Stock module, etc. without rev-limiter

Accel coil, cap, rotor, wires

MSD 6A ignition has been unhooked for all of this!

Ok so what gives? 6 degrees of centrifugal advance? This is redicuolous right??? Should I just take it back and get one for a 76' Camaro 350 w/ out emissions?
I'll have some one hold the gas pedal for me later at about 4000 rpm and I'll check again, but I highly doubt it'll make a difference.

This totally explain why why car has been feeling doggy lately and it seems to take forever to get up to 5500 rpm to shift. I ran it on my G-tech and the car is actually slower since the new clutch and intake. At the time I figured it was just traction. But now that I am seeing that I am short 14 freakin' degrees of timing up top, I can see why there is a problem.

 

Anyone think that the springs I have in there are to light and I am getting centrifugal advance at Idle? I am using the medium springs in the kit, if I put the lightest ones on, I get and extra 4 degrees or so at idle.

Should I try to see what happens with the hardest ( stock ) springs?

I AM supposed to have the vacuum advance canister disconnected to find my total timing for the centrifugal advance right?






BTW: the limiting factor on the centrifugal advance IS the slots for the movement because I chacked where the weights stopped moving and it was butted up against the end of the slots.

 

Man I am pissed, so pissed that I got this freakin' distributor. I should have shelled out for a nice one.

Should I just go bakc and get an Accel from Kragen, they have um'.

 

Sorry for my craziness guys...I just went to Kragen and came to the final conclusion that I am a complete moron. I just got an ACCEL BLUEPRINT HEI for 123$ bucks. The stock replacement was $105 without a cap! This new one has adjustable vacuum advance.....it tells you all the curves and has 24 degrees of centrifugal advance! Yippeeee!!! I am pumped. I wished i would have noticed it on the shelf at the time cause I thought I would have had to order one from Summit even then it would've been 140$$$, I have a commercial account.

I have a few questions for the new one though:

In the manual it says " All curves are based on a 24 degree advance at the crankshaft. If the amount of advance is changed, curves will change."

Does this mean my initial timing is supposed to be 24*??? I hope not. Or does this mean I'll get 24* of centrifugal advance but if i put a stopper in the slot the curve will change???

 

Keep replying to your own thread, it actually seems like it's getting the job done for ya!

 

Hope you fixed the problem, so now, is the car feeling better

 

Install the Accel distributor as is. Disconnect the vac advance. Set the timing at idle at a low idle speed (500 rpm is good.). Set it at 12deg initial. Make sure the idle speed is dead slow. Now tighten up the distributor and with the vac advance disconnected rev the motor and watch the timing tape
with a timing light. It will advance to 36 deg at high rpm.
12+24=36. The exact rpm that full advance happens will depend on the tension on the springs. You do not want a real fast curve, you want a medium fast curve. All in by 3000/3500 is fine.
Now plug in the vacuum advance to ported vacuum. Rev the motor and observe the timing tape. You can adjust the amount of additional vacuum advance with a allen key in the vacuum port
on the vacuum adv canister. It may be included with the distributor. Set it so vac advance adds another 10 to 14 deg at high speed. 36+14=50....

Road test it. With some reasonable octane gas and see if it pings. If it does, try retarding the base timing 2/3 deg.
If this does not cure a ping you'll have to reduce the amount of vacuum advance a little.

Looks like you may have gotten a bad rebuilt distributor.

 

So you are saying that these Accel Performance replacement distributors DO give 24 degrees of centrifugal advance?

 

Nope; Accel is saying that. In the instructions.

I'm saying that if that is so, then setup the distributor and timing as I discribed.


Give it a try. Should work pretty good.

 

Installed the new distributor today...it's running good/much better. I set the base timing to 12 degrees and installed 1 medium spring and one heavy spring. I was hoping to get all the advance in by 3200 or so but I would imagine that since the mediums get it all in at 2800 rpm and the heavys at 4000 it must have been coming in at 3400. I was trying to see what the total timing was and couldn't really get to 36 degrees with initial timing at 12 degrees and these springs.

Maybe I didn't have the rpm's past 3500 or so but it sure sounded like it. I road tested the car it it drove great and had a steady acceleration and was really smooth while doing it. I decided to try BOTH medium springs and I got the total timing to a perfect 36 degrees and set the vacuum advance to 14 degrees. It doesn't ping at all.

Do I want all the advance in by 2800 or would 3400 be better? I can't tell which feels stronger yet. I think before it may have felt a little stronger coming in at 3400 because it was pulling more and more bit by bit. I don't know if it's actually FASTER.

What do you guys think? Have it all in at 2800 or 34-3500?

 

Glad it's working well for you....

If the car is driving well,. either will be real close.
The only way you'll tell is to take 'er to the drags and test 'er
out. Seat of the pants can be decieving.

My car didn't respond to an change in timing curve at all.
Wants 36 deg total at wot and doesn't care how.
The timing curve kit was a big waste of money.....
Ended up with the stock GM weights and one medium and one light spring.
Then again it doesn't really respond to jetting changes or vac seconday spring changes either.

Maybe with the new heads, camshaft and intake it will be different.