Right now im running with just centrifugal advance because i dont have an ajustable vacuum advance. Summit is the only place to get the crane vacuum advance w/ the limiter plate as far as i know. Are there any alternatives so i wont waste so much fuel? Such as an adjustable electronic curve?

 

Not really. You would need something that could sense engine vacuum plus, obviously, an aftermarket ignition box capable of plugging into it and working with it.

You can always build your own limiter plate for the vacuum advance. An easy "eyeball" job is sufficient to get good results. Look at how much travel room there is between the "hook" end of the vacuum advance rod and the FORWARD edge of the slot it travels it (the edge that stops it's travel when vacuum is applied). Typically it will be about 3/16"-1/4" on a stock canister. Tack weld a piece of metal onto the canister arm that cuts that travel by about half and you'll be in the ballpark. If you go too far just file it out a little with a rat tail file to open it up again a little more, or break the welds, move it forward a little and tack it back down again.

 

Or you could migrate to fuel injection and use an electronic advance distributor.

 

The only alternative (and its not cheap) is the Digital E-curve distributor I'm running. To change the amount of "centrifugal" or "vacuum" advance you have, you just take the cap off and turn a dial. I put them in quotes because there really is none of these. The distributor works entirely off of electronics. The rotor is fixed to the shaft in the distributor.

 

How much is the electronic system? I need some advance springs so thats why i wanted to buy the crane kit, but summit wont get it till the end of the month.. i need it now. I might just make the plate.. then where could i get the springs? Are they sold at the parts stores such as autozone?