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Re: Distributor Rebuild?

To: mgs@autox.team.net
Subject: Re: Distributor Rebuild?
From: Mark Moburg <markmoburg@mindspring.com>
Date: Thu, 16 Jan 1997 11:27:44 -0500
At 11:53 AM 1/14/97 -0500, you wrote:
>I'm about to reassemble my 1275 which I took apart to have the head
>rebuilt.  This is a '70 Midget (is there a Spridget list by chance?).
>Anyway, before I pulled the head, the idle was always a bit erratic.
>I know this could be the carbs or the distributor.  What I want to
>know is, is there a way to tell (before I put it back together) if the
>distributor is bad?  Any preventative/cleaning maintenance I can do?
>I'd like to stem off any potential problems NOW rather than in the
>middle of the summer.
>
>Yours,
>-- 
>Matt Liggett <mliggett@pobox.com>
><URL:http://pobox.com/~mliggett/>                 Bloomington, IN, USA
>'60 Morris Mini 850
>'70 MG Midget
>'89 SAAB 900 turbo SPG
>
Most machine shops or speed shops will have a distributor machine.
Find a shop you trust, get the specs for your distributor if they 
don't have them (advance curve, etc.), and pay them the $15-25 
they'll want to set up your distributor.  They can tell you 
exactly where any problems are.  They clamp the distributor in a 
machine which spins the shaft, and uses the points to trigger a 
strobe light.  They can tell whether it's firing consistently 
or erratically, and since the machine's speed is adjustable, can
compare actual mechanical advance curve to specs.  These machines
usually have a vacuum pump, too, with adjustable vacuum, so they
can check the vacuum advance.  IMHO, there's no better way to 
check/set up a distributor.

FWIW, on the 6.3 Benz, the distributor is a 4-lobe dual point 
distributor.  I set up the distributor once at home, by the book.  
Took almost 4 hours just to get the dwell right (you have to 
test one set of points, set them, test the others, set them,
re-check the first, reset them, recheck the second, reset, etc.
Then you have to set the timing.  6.3 Benz timing is set at 
3000 RPM, which is a lot of fun, shoving one arm with the 
timing light down through a nest of pulleys and moving fan while
trying to jiggle distributor to advance or retard while trying 
not to touch ignition leads, because if you jump, the arm 
holding the timing light is going to get diced by the fan.

At least having the distributor set up by the shop saves the 
aggravation of having to fool around with the dwell, so I can
be awake enough to set the timing without being maimed!

Mark Moburg
markmoburg@mindspring.com

57 Jaguar MK VIII
58 MGA
70 M*rc*d*s-B*nz 300 SEL 6.3
85 XJ6 VDP


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