Red49, you say you swapped the dist, did you do this troubleshooting the problem? If so did the problem cheange or remain the same?
I ask this because if the problem stayed the same you want to put the original dist back on. It may be the correct model whereas the replacement is questionable.
To echo others,
With the Dist out, check the shaft for side play. There shouldn't be any.
If you have a vacuum pump, test the Dist vacuum advance, if you don't you should observe the Dist rotating when you excellerate from idle to low speed. This provides the engine w/enough timing advance to smoothly excellerate from idle to slow speed. The mechanical advance takes over at mid to high speeds.
Make sure the vacuum line from the carb to the Dist is good and tight and is not a vacuum leak.
In torubleshooting it's best to work on one subsystem at a time. Check it and ensure it's working somewhat properly before going on to the next. Makes it much easier.
Good luck
Dave
