[Shotimes] Distributor Orientations and other good memories....was: Re: Need Help ....

[George Fourchy]

On Sun, 8 Jan 2006 14:38:34 EST, MonsieurBoo@aol.com wrote:

>George writes:  "...the limiting factor in the old days was the  location of 
>the vacuum advance diaphragm..."
> 
> 
>Yeah, if you made note of where the vacuum hose nipple on that thingy was  
>pointed at, you could usually drop it back in close enough to get it to  fire.

Also.....I only worked on Ford small block V-8s.  I was so used to them...mine and
others....that I barely had to use a torque wrench...all specs and layouts were
memorized.  (I still remember when I first changed the points....I had to have a
service station mechanic show me how!!!!!!)  We were into them all the time, not
because they broke, which they didn't, but because we were trying to make them
better and faster.  There was also one '62 283 in a very nice Impala 2 door HT.  I
did an in-frame OH on that one, and traded the PG for a 3 spd manual.  It belonged
to a very good friend, who now REALLY regrets selling it way back when.  I was in a
Mustang club in California while in college in the mid '60s, and we were doing all
kinds of tune up tricks to our cars...the '65 and '66 Shelbys (5 white ones in our
club) were what we were all aiming for.  I built my '65 289 HT into a 306 HP version
for less than $500 worth of parts over the counter at the dealer, where we all got a
25% discount.  It turned a 13.5 quarter mile the first time I dragged it (went from
2.80:1 to 3.89:1 gears, and 25 mpg+ to about 18 on the highway)....my winnings that
Sunday paid for the total rebuild, which I did at college in my auto shop class. 
This all happened after it was two years old....like an idiot, I ignored the
sticking thermostat its second winter, and then let the water run out via a loose
radiator cap one day the next summer.  Locked the engine up tight, and had to have
it towed (yanked) with a one-ton truck to get the engine to turn over (start) so
that I could put water in it.  I checked the oil and wiped it off the dipstick with
my finger....blistered my finger!  Cooked the valve springs, but the rest of it was
OK at the rebuild, 4 months later.  Four thousandths of taper in the cylinders with
45,000 total miles.  No warped heads or blown gaskets!

I traded that car...the yellow one on the webpage...for the Boss...got $1200 for it
with 108K on the clock.  By the time the Boss was getting older, I knew to hang onto
it.

It gets restored this spring, after BD hits the road.

George