This is on my firebird....NOT a daily driver, I want to lock the timing out to 37, don't feel like buying another distributor...any ideas?? I was thinking some really REALLY stiff springs on the weights, but even then there's a chance at 7,000 rpms its going to move out.

 

i'd say do a search under your user name and see what responses you got the last time you ask

 

Thanks ed, I'll never get the coffee out of my keyboard

 

here's my "*******" method.

Remove the rotor, weights and springs. Tie the advance mechanism fully advanced using two small plastic electrical tie wraps. make sure the knot of the tie wraps faces down under the mechanical advance plate so that the rotor can be reinstalled.
The timing will be very advanced now so crank the distributor back some and fire the motor and reset the timing to what ever you want.

Worked for me........

 

The manual for my holley annihilator ignition system said that you can buy special lockout kits, or if you cannot find any, to weld the weights in the full out position.

Why do you want to lock it to 37d?

 

Remove the weights put the springs back.
With no weight to push, nuttin' happens.

 

exactly what i was thinking.

 

why wouldnt you want any advance ???

 

On a race car with a very radical camshaft the motor wants a lot of timing at idle. The EGR effect of a long overlap cam slows the burn rate of the fuel so much at idle and low rpm that in order to burn the fuel by the time the exhaust valve opens the ignition needs to occur very early BTDC. Therefore a mechanical advance curve is not nessessary.
Unless you run lots of initial advance at idle, a big cammed motor will run hot and cough and spit when the throttle opens.
The slow burn heats the cylinder walls.

Makes the starter motor labour during cranking when the motor is hot but opening the throttle during cranking helps.
If the car is street driven than you can retain the vacuum advance for efficient cruising.

Some electronic ignition boxes (ignition retard) have a crank retard function built in to aleviate the hot cranking problem.