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Well . It fought me to the bitter end but I got it apart - to my newbie eyes I can’t see why it was such a pain to get it to move - I’ll attach pics - it was moving pretty good by the time I got it to come apart
Got it all put back together - dwell at 30 - timing at 10 - I think mech advance adds another ten - vac advance even more - she sure sounds great! Thanks all for the help! I will play with curves in the near future but I’m just going to enjoy it for awhile before I get back into that. Clutch slips a bit - I will adjust that - aim to replace with centerforce 2 (I think) but will start a new thread when I’m ready - I just wanted to say thanks again!! - I would be lost with out you guys!
The best tune for a stock or slightly modified Olds engine, IMO, is 12-14 base timing(vac can disconnect and its source plugged off). Another 10 from the vac advance at curb idle. Then the mechanical all in at ~2800-3000 rpms. For a grand total of about 36-40 BTDC. You will need a tach meter and set back timing light to do this. Or send the distributor out for a custom curve.
The above variables are:
your driving style.
engine compression.
gas octane.
feet above sea level... et al.
Basically, give it as much timing as it will tolerate before you here it pining from pre-ignition. Tweak the A/F mix as you tune with a vac meter, striving for the highest vac reading at curb idle... this is part of super tuning an analog engine.
Argh! Went for a test run before picking kiddo up for last day of school - it put me on the side of the highway 😩 - runs fantastic until it gets up to 70mph then it gets squirrely - started bogging and chugging maybe missing - but stalled and coasted to side of highway - it cranked nicely but wouldn’t fire - I pulled the cap to check and see if maybe I pinched the distributor wire or maybe clearance issue with cap but all looked good - put it back on fired it up and hit the exit and drove home nicely - seems 70 is it he magic fail number - only thing that I seen was My newly installed fuel pressure gauge was reading low (under 3psi) when it should be 5.9 to 6.9 ish - new mechanical fuel pump - also have mr gasket electric pump back near tank - any ideas where I should start with this? Sounds like fuel delivery - should I pull mech pump and check to make sure nothing goofy is going on with actuator arm? Where would you start?
Why two pumps? Should run one or the other for a mild street engine, not both. Do you have a return line? If not the electric pump is deadheading which drastically reduces its life from overheating. It's likely the electric pump has failed and the mechanical is attempting to pull fuel through a dead electric pump.
This set up also runs the risk of pumping fuel into the oil pan should the mechanical pump's diaphragm ever fail. Or worse if you are involved in a crash and are incapacitated the electric pump is still running. (this can be overcome by using an oil pressure switch to feed 12vdc to the pump. It would also need to be wired to the start solenoid so the pump runs during cranking when oil pressure is low).
Bypass/Remove the electric pump from the system then verify the mechanical pumps output PSI.
Dual fuel systems are generally reserved for nitrous applications or a radical track car. But they will also incorporate dual feed and return plumbing for various reasons.
Why two pumps? Should run one or the other for a mild street engine, not both. Do you have a return line? If not the electric pump is deadheading which drastically reduces its life from overheating. It's likely the electric pump has failed and the mechanical is attempting to pull fuel through a dead electric pump.
This set up also runs the risk of pumping fuel into the oil pan should the mechanical pump's diaphragm ever fail. Or worse if you are involved in a crash and are incapacitated the electric pump is still running. (this can be overcome by using an oil pressure switch to feed 12vdc to the pump. It would also need to be wired to the start solenoid so the pump runs during cranking when oil pressure is low).
Bypass/Remove the electric pump from the system then verify the mechanical pumps output PSI.
Dual fuel systems are generally reserved for nitrous applications or a radical track car. But they will also incorporate dual feed and return plumbing for various reasons.
No return line - car had no mechanical pump when I got it - electric pump was located in engine compartment on wheel well - it failed and I replaced it same location (lack of experience / knowledge) it also failed - I replaced it again it failed - read up and then located it back by the fuel tank as from what I read they like to push not pull - it was pushing fuel but not a lot - I read some more and decided to go mechanical since my string of bad luck and installed an inline pressure gauge as well - it was running 5.9 - 6.9 with dual set up - I also read from someone here that you could do both so I just left electric in (thinking back up) as they said that the mechanical would pull through the electric in the event of failure... On the side of the highway after I got it started again it was less than 3 psi.
Thank you for your detailed reply - you are spot on with guessing my situation - electrics have been “dead heading” all this time and electrics are straight to “on” so In the case of an accident it would continue to pump - did not think of that. I have no idea how to fix the “dead head” issue so I am going to remove the electric completely and if I killed the mechanical Pump i will replace it and see where that gets me - thanks again!
That's what Id recommend Joe...mechanical, paper element filter after the pump or in the carb if its a Q Jet and non-ethanol fuel. Steve
already had the filters set up correctly - I bypassed the electric fuel pump using only the mechanical fuel pump and that did the trick! Fuel pressure is right back where it should be - went out for a drive - got it up to 77mph - engine is smooth!! Thanks again for you help!
Of course there is always more to do - but I am loving it! - it will make it to homecoming in Lansing no problem - next major projects are - resolving slipping clutch issues and vibration issues
Thanks for the pic - any idea on the mechanical advance?
The parts you are calling;the ovalish thing & dog bone are suppose to move independent of each other and yes that is why your mechanical advance isn't working.It is common for this to seize up on distributors that have sat for a long time.Unfortunately the best way to deal with this is to remove the dist. from engine to disassemble it.It is simpler than it sounds.Take the roll pin out of the gear,file sharp edges off roll pin holes,so when you pull the shaft out of the dist. housing you don't gouge the bronze bushings that support the shaft.Usually you'll need to use a bernzomatic torch to lightly heat the seized part to get it apart.Then you can clean and lightly grease the pivot area and reassemble.Before taking it apart check for play side to side in the shaft which would indicate the bushings need replacing anyway.Upon reassembly this is also a good time to add shims between the top of the gear and the bottom of the dist. housing to eliminate spark scatter.I suspect that someone before you new there was a problem because the weights and springs looked like curve kit parts.
Thank you both - I will do my homework before jumping in. Thanks again
I apologize to all you guys,still relatively new to the site.I did not read past page 1 of the posts so didn't realize you all were WAY ahead of my on helping this man out.Glad you all have got him on track.Great to see people helping people
I apologize to all you guys,still relatively new to the site.I did not read past page 1 of the posts so didn't realize you all were WAY ahead of my on helping this man out.Glad you all have got him on track.Great to see people helping people
no problem - appreciate the input and help - but yeah ... got her freed up and doing her job again 😃
