Hello all, I have recently done the break-in on my freshly rebuilt 1954 235. I had installed a small cap HEI distributor with a 65k coil, which I managed to start and run the engine with for the 20 mins, but now its time to adjust timing properly. I have a few questions since I am still kind of new to all this. The distributor came with a chart, which I have attached, that shows the advancements of the different springs and bushings. Since I don't know what these engines like for total timing and also considering that they are low revving engines, I don't know which springs and/or bushing I should use. Another question is, should I gap my plugs to .050 since its a high output coil? And lastly, what size wire should i use to power the coil. I've heard some guys using a relay to power them on a 30 amp circuit. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Set it according to the manual. There's a BB on the flywheel. Line it up with the pointer with your timing light.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Thanks Otto, I have done that. My question is rather concerning the total timing. Since the manufacturer of the HEI distributor is supplying different springs and bushings for different advancements, I was wondering if anybody has experimented/knowledge of which combo to use. Let me know if I'm making sense or you need more info.
Gotcha. I don't think you're going to get any sort of dramatic performance improvement over the stock advance but I'm sure someone more knowledgeable on the subject will set us both right.
1950 Chevrolet 3100 (Ol' Roy)
1939 Packard Standard Eight Coupe (The Phantom) | 1956 Cadillac Coupe de Ville (The Bismarck) | 1964 Ford Galaxie 500 coupe |1966 Ford Mustang (Little Red) | 1969 Pontiac GTO (The Dishpit) I 1979 Ford F-100 | 1976 Ford F-150 (Big Red) | 1995 Ford F-150 (Newt)
Thanks Otto. Even if someone knows how many degrees the stock mechanical advance had and at what RPM it maxes out at that would help a lot. Here is the link to the distributor I got: https://www.ebay.ca/itm/232482803346
Bennet, I have the same setup that you're using. I used the stock (basic) springs for the mechanical advance, the lighter springs allow the advance to come in sooner. The stock springs work best for our 6 cylinders as advance doesn't need to build that quickly.
~ Craig 1958 Viking 4400 "The Book of Thor" Read the story in the DITY 1960 Chevrolet C10 "A Family Heirloom" Follow the story in the DITY Gallery '59 Apache 31, 327 V8 (0.030 over), Muncie M20 4 Speed, GM 10 Bolt Rear... long term project (30 years and counting)
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