Static timing problem re distributor

[Henry K]

Just finished re-assembly of my 1967 SV engine. I set the static timing at about 8 deg BTC. However, the distributor is skewed so far to the right that the vacuum advance line won't reach. Car started okay, but this is clearly not correct. I haven't driven it yet (still on jack stands and lots more work to do, but wanted to hear it run). I'm sure I've gotten something very basic out of position but I'm not seeing it. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Henry

 

[Eleven]

I have not been into this part of my engine but in Triumph engines, there is a gear connecting the cam to the dist. It sits below your distributer and has a slot that connect to the bottom of the dist. You can reach down with your fingers and extract it. As it is a skew gear, it will rotate as it comes out. Figure out where the dist should be, look at the tab on the bottom that fits into the skew gear slot and see which direction it should be. Then put the skew gear back in recognizing that it will rotate as it seats (I think about 45 degrees or so). I think the Sunbeams are the same way. When you have the slot facing the right way, the dist should be in right. Then figure out which wire becomes number one and off you go.

 

[RootesRacer]

Just finished re-assembly of my 1967 SV engine. I set the static timing at about 8 deg BTC. However, the distributor is skewed so far to the right that the vacuum advance line won't reach. Car started okay, but this is clearly not correct. I haven't driven it yet (still on jack stands and lots more work to do, but wanted to hear it run). I'm sure I've gotten something very basic out of position but I'm not seeing it. Any advice on this would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Henry

This means someone didnt clock the oil pump during installation.
There is a factory procedure for this in the WSM.

 

[Henry K]

This means someone didnt clock the oil pump during installation.
There is a factory procedure for this in the WSM.

Thanks. You're right. Whoever installed the oil pump (btw...it was me) didn''t see that part of the WSM. Is there any quicker fix than completely removing and re-installing the oil pump now?

Henry

 

[Alpine 1789]

A longer vacuum line? Seriously. If you are 180 degrees out and the car runs fine, you could just leave it. Mine has been that way for 7 years. I'll get it right if I ever have to pull the engine again, but it just isn't worth the trouble to me.

 

[Henry K]

A longer vacuum line? Seriously. If you are 180 degrees out and the car runs fine, you could just leave it. Mine has been that way for 7 years. I'll get it right if I ever have to pull the engine again, but it just isn't worth the trouble to me.

Thank you, Jim. It's not 180 degrees out, but something less than that. But I'll get a longer vacuum line and try to avoid removing the oil pump for now and see how that works. Thanks again.

Henry

 

[Ken Ellis]

Henry,
Mine is like that too, when I got the car. In my case, it doesn't prevent the car from running, but it does bump into (some hunk of metal) that limits its travel, and limits the timing adjustment I can make. Don't know if it's a huge deal, but I also don't know if the car would run better if I could rotate it just a few more degrees.

If you review my recent posts, apparently the only solution I could find was to replace the engine/trans entirely.

Ken

 

[Henry K]

Henry,
Mine is like that too, when I got the car. In my case, it doesn't prevent the car from running, but it does bump into (some hunk of metal) that limits its travel, and limits the timing adjustment I can make. Don't know if it's a huge deal, but I also don't know if the car would run better if I could rotate it just a few more degrees.

If you review my recent posts, apparently the only solution I could find was to replace the engine/trans entirely.

Ken

Thanks Ken. I think I'll try something a bit less drastic and remove the oil pump.

Henry