1970 350 cu. in. convertible coil ignition problem.

Hi there,

I have spent since December last year on this car, I quite like
problems so I have been having a ball. The brakes took ages and now,
you will be glad to hear that it is back on the road, so I must have
been doing something good, for it to pass our road serviceabilty
test. However - although it was running fine on a HEI set up, it did
not have the rev counter, it was not according to spec. and the large
distributor was catching on the air cleaner. I took it all off and
bought a lot of spares for the old coil distributor. I put the
distributor in my vice and connected up a coil and a 6 volt dc
supply. There was a half inch solid spark, so I transferred it to the
car, got it all timed correctly, I hope, but I just could not get a
similar spark with it bolted in place, a very tiny weak one was all it
would give. This is quite repeatable and even with the same bench 6
volts, - which comes from an old battery charger, there is virtually
no spark. I just can't understand it. What could be wrong when I put
the distributor in the hole and turn the body back and forth to
operate the points? Even cranking it with the correct supply - or
even with the 12 volts which used to go to the HEI dist. Has anyone
ever come across this before? The points are new and fine, with a 30
deg. dwell, the condenser is new and tests OK on my multimeter.
Everthing looks OK but it just will not work on the engine.

I also noticed the rear camber is out, but I cannot get the strutt rod
shafts out. I cannot get my puller on it and although I have been
advised to heat up the shafts with oxy-acetylene, I am a bit reluctant
to do this laying under the car with a full tank and a fibreglass
body. Is there a less risky way? All the camber adjustments on both
sides are rusted solid and although I have got most of the nuts off,
I still can't get the whole bracket with all the gear out without
removing the strutt rod shafts. What might work with this? Does
anyone know? By the way the strutt rods themselves are curved, but my
manual shows them to be straight!

Any comments would be welcome.

Regards George.

On Sep 21, 8:46*pm, George > wrote:
> Hi there,
>
> I have spent since December last year on this car, *I quite like
> problems so I have been having a ball. *The brakes took ages and now,
> you will be glad to hear that it is back on the road, so I must have
> been doing something good, for it to pass our road serviceabilty
> test. *However - although it was running fine on a HEI set up, it did
> not have the rev counter, it was not according to spec. and the large
> distributor was catching on the air cleaner. *I took it all off and
> bought a lot of spares for the old coil distributor. *I put the
> distributor in my vice and connected up a coil and a 6 volt dc
> supply. *There was a half inch solid spark, so I transferred it to the
> car, got it all timed correctly, I hope, but I just could not get a
> similar spark with it bolted in place, a very tiny weak one was all it
> would give. This is quite repeatable and even with the same bench 6
> volts, *- which comes from an old battery charger, *there is virtually
> no spark. *I just can't understand it. *What could be wrong when I put
> the distributor in the hole and turn the body back and forth to
> operate the points? *Even cranking it with the correct supply - or
> even with the 12 volts which used to go to the HEI dist. *Has anyone
> ever come across this before? *The points are new and fine, with a 30
> deg. dwell, the condenser is new and tests OK on my multimeter.
> Everthing looks OK but it just will not work on the engine.
>
> I also noticed the rear camber is out, but I cannot get the strutt rod
> shafts out. *I cannot get my puller on it and although I have been
> advised to heat up the shafts with oxy-acetylene, I am a bit reluctant
> to do this laying under the car with a full tank and a fibreglass
> body. *Is there a less risky way? * All the camber adjustments on both
> sides are rusted solid and although I have got most of the nuts off,
> I still can't get the whole bracket with all the gear out without
> removing the strutt rod shafts. * What might work with this? Does
> anyone know? *By the way the strutt rods themselves are curved, but my
> manual shows them to be straight!
>
> Any comments would be welcome.
>
> Regards George.


Update: 24th. Sept. After taking the coil & distributor off and on
for about 6 times, with the same results every time. I gave up and put
the HEI distributor back on, perfect sparks again, but no rev counter!

I also gave up on getting out the strutt rod shafts out and cut the
bolts supporting them and the shock absorbers, off with a thin angle
grinder blade. This of course worked, but the disk shattered at the
end of each cut as the shaft shifted. Also I had to buy new strutt
shafts - about 100 dollars each plus all the bushes. Oh well, at least
it is all out and I have the spares to fix it. Please don't tell me
now that there is an easy way to get it out. Burning the bushes out on
the bench was extremely messy. that burnt rubber gets everywhere and
is a real pain to clean off everything.

Spark in the original distributor will need it to be well grounded to
the engine. Was it it just "in the hole" or did you snug down the the
clamp first?

George wrote:
> On Sep 21, 8:46 pm, George > wrote:
>> Hi there,
>>
>> I have spent since December last year on this car, I quite like
>> problems so I have been having a ball. The brakes took ages and now,
>> you will be glad to hear that it is back on the road, so I must have
>> been doing something good, for it to pass our road serviceabilty
>> test. However - although it was running fine on a HEI set up, it did
>> not have the rev counter, it was not according to spec. and the large
>> distributor was catching on the air cleaner. I took it all off and
>> bought a lot of spares for the old coil distributor. I put the
>> distributor in my vice and connected up a coil and a 6 volt dc
>> supply. There was a half inch solid spark, so I transferred it to the
>> car, got it all timed correctly, I hope, but I just could not get a
>> similar spark with it bolted in place, a very tiny weak one was all it
>> would give. This is quite repeatable and even with the same bench 6
>> volts, - which comes from an old battery charger, there is virtually
>> no spark. I just can't understand it. What could be wrong when I put
>> the distributor in the hole and turn the body back and forth to
>> operate the points? Even cranking it with the correct supply - or
>> even with the 12 volts which used to go to the HEI dist. Has anyone
>> ever come across this before? The points are new and fine, with a 30
>> deg. dwell, the condenser is new and tests OK on my multimeter.
>> Everthing looks OK but it just will not work on the engine.
>>
>> I also noticed the rear camber is out, but I cannot get the strutt rod
>> shafts out. I cannot get my puller on it and although I have been
>> advised to heat up the shafts with oxy-acetylene, I am a bit reluctant
>> to do this laying under the car with a full tank and a fibreglass
>> body. Is there a less risky way? All the camber adjustments on both
>> sides are rusted solid and although I have got most of the nuts off,
>> I still can't get the whole bracket with all the gear out without
>> removing the strutt rod shafts. What might work with this? Does
>> anyone know? By the way the strutt rods themselves are curved, but my
>> manual shows them to be straight!
>>
>> Any comments would be welcome.
>>
>> Regards George.
>
>
> Update: 24th. Sept. After taking the coil & distributor off and on
> for about 6 times, with the same results every time. I gave up and put
> the HEI distributor back on, perfect sparks again, but no rev counter!
>
> I also gave up on getting out the strutt rod shafts out and cut the
> bolts supporting them and the shock absorbers, off with a thin angle
> grinder blade. This of course worked, but the disk shattered at the
> end of each cut as the shaft shifted. Also I had to buy new strutt
> shafts - about 100 dollars each plus all the bushes. Oh well, at least
> it is all out and I have the spares to fix it. Please don't tell me
> now that there is an easy way to get it out. Burning the bushes out on
> the bench was extremely messy. that burnt rubber gets everywhere and
> is a real pain to clean off everything.
>

Bob is right, a lot of people paint the distributor hold-down clamp but they
were unpainted on the bottom side. Also, a lot of distributors get painted
over the years, and again, they were bare in the clamping area for a reason.

Also, you have a 12 volt source going to a resistive wire which drops down
to about 3 - 4 volts. If you were applying 6 volts to the wire, you were
lucky to get anything.

To get all on the same terminology:

Strut rods (camber adjustment rods) - these are the thin rods from the
bottom of the trailing arm spindle carrier to the camber bracket bolted
under the differential housing (rear end).

Camber adjustment bolts - these are the flat-sided bolts that go through the
bracket and the eccentric washers to adjust the strut rod in and out from
the centerline of the car.

Were the bolts not coming out, or the strut rods? If the bolts weren't,
they only go in one way but often people restoring cars install them
backwards. They have to be installed bolt forward (nut at rear) or you have
to remove the spring to get them out.

Or were they rusted in? If so, PB Blaster is great stuff. Spray on in
morning and evening for a few days and it will soak through.

Rather than cut parts, why not unbolt the bracket and pull it all out of the
car to work on a bench or press?

Or were the outer pieces not coming out? These are the shock mounts which
double as the outer shaft for the strut rods. These are expensive, and from
your price I think this is what you cut, and it is best not to mess them up.

With the shock off, spray PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench on a few days, then
drive them out. DO NOT HAMMER DIRECTLY ON THE SHAFT! Take a long nut
(barrel nut, not a conventional nut), thread it on until most is on flush,
and hammer on the nut. Have the nut about an 1/8 inch further out than the
shaft so that you only distort the nut if anything.

Use a LARGE hammer. 5 lb or more, as one of two heavy hits is much better
than 30 light hits.

The shaft is tapered, so once you make it move, it will come out.Once it
moves at all, spray more PB Blaster in there, tap it back IN, and then hit
it hard to drive out again.

"Bob I" > wrote in message
...
> Spark in the original distributor will need it to be well grounded to the
> engine. Was it it just "in the hole" or did you snug down the the clamp
> first?
>
> George wrote:
>> On Sep 21, 8:46 pm, George > wrote:
>>> Hi there,
>>>
>>> I have spent since December last year on this car, I quite like
>>> problems so I have been having a ball. The brakes took ages and now,

On Sep 27, 4:54*pm, "Tom In Missouri" > wrote:
> Bob is right, a lot of people paint the distributor hold-down clamp but they
> were unpainted on the bottom side. *Also, a lot of distributors get painted
> over the years, and again, they were bare in the clamping area for a reason.
>
> Also, you have a 12 volt source going to a resistive wire which drops down
> to about 3 - 4 volts. *If you were applying 6 volts to the wire, you were
> lucky to get anything.
>
> To get all on the same terminology:
>
> Strut rods (camber adjustment rods) - these are the thin rods from the
> bottom of the trailing arm spindle carrier to the camber bracket bolted
> under the differential housing (rear end).
>
> Camber adjustment bolts - these are the flat-sided bolts that go through the
> bracket and the eccentric washers to adjust the strut rod in and out from
> the centerline of the car.
>
> Were the bolts not coming out, or the strut rods? *If the bolts weren't,
> they only go in one way but often people restoring cars install them
> backwards. *They have to be installed bolt forward (nut at rear) or you have
> to remove the spring to get them out.
>
> Or were they rusted in? *If so, PB Blaster is great stuff. *Spray on in
> morning and evening for a few days and it will soak through.
>
> Rather than cut parts, why not unbolt the bracket and pull it all out of the
> car to work on a bench or press?
>
> Or were the outer pieces not coming out? *These are the shock mounts which
> double as the outer shaft for the strut rods. *These are expensive, and from
> your price I think this is what you cut, and it is best not to mess them up.
>
> With the shock off, spray PB Blaster or Liquid Wrench on a few days, then
> drive them out. *DO NOT HAMMER DIRECTLY ON THE SHAFT! *Take a long nut
> (barrel nut, not a conventional nut), thread it on until most is on flush,
> and hammer on the nut. *Have the nut about an 1/8 inch further out than the
> shaft so that you only distort the nut if anything.
>
> Use a LARGE hammer. *5 lb or more, as one of two heavy hits is much better
> than 30 light hits.
>
> The shaft is tapered, so once you make it move, it will come out.Once it
> moves at all, spray more PB Blaster in there, tap it back IN, and then hit
> it hard to drive out again.
>
> "Bob I" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
> > Spark in the original distributor will need it to be well grounded to the
> > engine. Was it it just "in the hole" or did you snug down the the clamp
> > first?
>
> > George wrote:
> >> On Sep 21, 8:46 pm, George > wrote:
> >>> Hi there,
>
> >>> I have spent since December last year on this car, *I quite like
> >>> problems so I have been having a ball. *The brakes took ages and now,- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

Thanks very much. Next time I shall know. I will certainly try the
grounding suggestion. I am still running the HEI distributor, but I
think it will be worth taking it out again for this. I would really
like to have a rev counter and also get the air cleaner back on!

With regards to the strutts I got the bolts out of the bracket OK but
I still could not get either the cam bolts out of the end of it or the
shock support outer pivots for the shafts. If I had had a lift to get
the car up a lot higher, I might have done it, but laying on the
floor, it was not possible. Nor did I know that burning the rubber
bushes out would probably have loosened them enough to get the other
bits out. Never mind, - it is done and all back together OK The
camber was easy to adjust too.

Thanks a lot, I'll have another go with ther distributor next week.

Regards George.