[raws6]

Hello I know there are lots of ways of setting your timing, This is the way I was told to set up the engine I have. 35 @ 3000 rpm, total, with no Dist. advance hooked up to be used. The problem I have is that when I run it to 4000 rpm it looks like I still have about 8-10 of mechanical advance. What do I need to do to have 35 @ 3000 rpm total advance. I am not sure if I need to change springs, weights in dist ????? Thanks

[tom s]

a lot depends on the style head,CR and gas octane.Tom

[raws6]

Tom 67 400, 670 heads, high lift cam, 10.1 compression,94 octane plus 104 boost and lead additive .

[fasteddy]

What distributor ya runnin'?

[Rob B]

Is this a vacumn advance distributor or a mechanical adv distributor? What brand?

[raws6]

At this time its the stock dist. I had on my 64 389.

[60man]

YOu do not have total advance at 3000 RPM so it's not TOTAL. Your weights are still adavncing the timing !!
Now if you want 35o all in by 3000 RPM.that's different.
YOu will have to have your distributor set up to allow full advance at 3000 but still idle and perform well below 3000.. Use light springs to allow total to be all in 3000. I suspect your springs are too stiff and/or vaccum advance is screwing you up. Simply put you are looking for a happy medium...for the street.
My 400 with 670 heads liked a lot of total.......but that does not mean yours will.
It's not as simple as it sounds to mess with your distributor if haven't done it before or fully understand what's happening.
Hope I didn't confuse the issue.
Good luck.

[tom s]

Every iron headed pump gas engine I have had on the dyno liked 38 degrees total lead.They were all 9.5 CR or less with 91 gas.Not saying it is gosple but a good place to start.Not sure if 10-1 CR will allow it without getting 100 octane avg. gas.Tom

[raws6]

Thanks Guys Your right, I dont totally understand , thats why I am stuck. I bought my engine from a builder ( that frequents this site ) unable to get a hold of him at this time, so I posted this thread. He told me to set my timing at 35 @ 3000 rpm, do not use vac. advance from distributor, dont worry about intial, just total. He then said, check it by rev. engine to 5000 rpm to make sure there is no more advance. He said if there is , then re set and do it again. The part I dont know is what he ment by resetting ? Do I get my distributor curved at ? and set intial at ?. My intial is at 17 as we speak,after setting timing at 35 @ 3000rpm.

[Skip Fix]

Al your advance definitely should be in way before 5000. If its still climbing past 3000 then you need to pull it and have some one with a distributor machine curve it for you. I persoanlly like it all in pretty early 2400 at the latest.

Tom S, my RAIV 400 liked 34 total no more no less at the track. Maybe the different shaped more open chambers compared to the standard iron heads.

[tom s]

Skip,like I said not gosple,what CR and octane gas.On higher CR and race gas 34 was about right for iron heads and both my alu headed motors liked 34 with 91 gas.Tom

[Skip Fix]

I was quite shocked when I got my first E head motor and had to go to 38-40 on it!

[tom s]

my alu heads are a KRE D ports and a factory set of early 60s small valve heads.They both liked 34 total on the dyno.Tom

[tc]

It has been many years, so I am going from memory. On the stock dist the plate that the points mount to turns when the dist advances. There is a slot in this plate with a small prong ( 1/8 dia. ) that goes thru the plate. I put a bushing on this prong to stop the plate from turning so I could set the total timing at 35 when the initial is set at 15 degrees. The total timing is in at 2500 rpm and does not advance any more.

[bobzdar]

Try lighter springs...Only problem is that you may get timing bounce at higher rpms but try it and see what happens.

[FORSALE]

Total timing = initial timing + vacum advance + distributor mechanical advance.

If you disconnected your vacum than you only have two variables to worry about.

Get a $10 timing tape to attach to your damper if available otherwise you are kind of just guessing.

Set your initial timing where you can get it to idle. say 15 degrees. you than have 20 degrees needed of mechanical advance before your 3000rpm.

The initial will always stay the same unless you have another problem.

Simply change the springs in your distributor so that you have 35 before 3000 rpm. there are also slots in the cams that can be limited so they don't keep advancing past that point. The spring kit is under $10 and includes the bushings.


The easiest way out is to spend about $300 and call D.U.I and get yourself an all in one already set up distributor. No other boxes or widgets needed. They work very well and you will easily open your gaps to about 55 and see a difference on a street motor. Cheap compared to the boxes and billet dist stuff. Not flashy but they work.

[Jack Gifford]

FYI- The above post by tc is about the vacuum advance, which is accomplished by moving the breaker plate. The mechanical (centrifugal) advance mechanism works by rotating the breaker cam, in relation to the distributor shaft.

[Lerry: The Body Ventura..]

You will spend some back breaking hours bending over your car fender getting it set right(been there done that). Unless to take it have it done. In your case I would definitely think about investing in a timing computor. You lock out distributor. There are 3 screws on box to set initial, total, and then the curve. Plus when you change things. You just readjust settings on box...

[Lerry: The Body Ventura..]

Here check this web page out. It will help you understand. http://www.pontiacstreetperformance....distcurve.html

[raws6]

Thanks Everyone, this is a great forum. I am going to try the lighter springs first, and the maybe look at an HEI set up that has more adjustment,