Inliners International Forums General Discussion Engines A strange thing happened on the way to.....

a tune-up.

By now you may know that I just purchased a 19K mile original 57 Model 3100. I thought I'd tune her up a bit. I installed new plugs, points and condenser and decided to check the timing. The mark wasn't anywhere close. In fact, using a timing light with a dial it was off by about 40 degrees.

It looked like the wires were shifted counter-clockwise one plug so I made the switch. She wouldn't fire anywhere so I put the wires back.

I put the light on #5 wire and the marks lined up and the truck ran fine (well; except for a little spark knock.)

I did not remove the timing gear or distributor. What are your ideas about this? I'm planning a 300 mile trip for Thursday. Am I putting the engine at risk?

Thanks for your help.

Jerry

Did you take off the vacuum advance line and plug it before you checked the timing? If you didn't that will make it show as way advanced.

Gael

Yes; the vacuum line was plugged. I am getting a lot more ping than I'd expect with 89 octane fuel.

It sounds like your marks are off for some reason. I'd back the timing off until it quits pinging, and find the ultimate solution after the trip.

First, you should be using the "ball" mark on the flywheel, not the triangle or anything else. Using #1 cylinder, set the light to zero, and line up the ball and pointer. You may need to adjust the throttle speed as you go. If you try to set it at too fast of an idle, you may start to engage the centrifical advance.

One thing to consider, If it runs good in the driveway, but as soon as you try to drive it under load it pings, it may be a sign of a blown head gasket between cylinders. I have had this happen to me before. Pulling the plugs and doing a compression check would determine this.

Also make sure the points are set at .016 or 28-35 degree dwell.The point gap will change the timing. As mentioned the idle speed (425 rpm) is critical. Paul

Marks line up when light is on the #5 cylinder and wires are shifted one position? Sounds to me like a previous owner put the distributer in wrong. For the time being you can probably time it by ear but when you get the time you should probably pull the distributer and go through the steps to get it installed in the right position.

Thanks everyone. I will go through these and get this right. In the mean time, I just got back from Nashville (about 575 miles) and she ran perfectly without me doing anything. She's currently set at the ball on #5. I haven't done an overall check on mileage but I think I got around 15mpg. I did get some spark knock on acceleration; especially up hills. I put 92 octane in on the last tank and it seemed to help some but didn't stop it.

I'm converting to HEI distributor from Langdon so I'll be pulling the distributor anyway.

Thanks again.

Jerry