Distributor Advance Setup

frank.herbst_old · April 22, 2011 at 7:46 AM

What advance setup do you guys like for street use on a K-Code engine that will not see much use above 6000RPM? Would an initial setting of 12° with 24° centrifugal advance (giving 36° total) be good? The engine is stock but built to much better tolerance and balance standards than the production line.

Thanks…

zray · April 22, 2011 at 8:56 AM

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What advance setup do you guys like for street use on a K-Code engine that will not see much use above 6000RPM? Would an initial setting of 12° with 24° centrifugal advance (giving 36° total) be good? The engine is stock but built to much better tolerance and balance standards than the production line.

Thanks…

no reason not to go with 40 degrees total advance unless your premium gas isn't high quality. If your cent. advance won't give you 28 degrees like the Hi-Po dist. would, I would start off with more initial advance (15 to 16 degrees) to give you the 40 degree total.

Z.

cobraboy · April 22, 2011 at 10:04 AM

Whats the best way to do this ?. Make up a degree tape and fix to the balancer or use an adjustable timing light.

What RPM is best to set max advance at - ie 3000, 3500 ??

Thanks

zray · April 22, 2011 at 7:34 PM

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Whats the best way to do this ?. Make up a degree tape and fix to the balancer or use an adjustable timing light.

What RPM is best to set max advance at - ie 3000, 3500 ??

Thanks

289 Hipo C5OF-E distributor curve

From the1966 Ford Shop manual & identically from the book Mustang & Ford Small Block V8 by Bob Mannel & Ford High Performance Booklet:

This is 289 Hipo C5OF-E distributor curve

The RPM & advancement is at distributor speed & not engine speed. To determine the engine's corresponding values both the RPM & advancement must be doubled.

Initial timing 12* BTDC

Total Advance 40*

650 RPM Centrifugal Advance 2 1/4* - 3 3/4*

750 RPM Centrifugal Advance 4* -5 1/2*

1000 RPM Centrifugal Advance 6 1/2* - 7 1/2*

1600 RPM Centrifugal Advance 7 1/2* - 8 3/4*

2000 RPM Centrifugal Advance 8 1/4* - 9 3/4*

L(limit) Centrifugal Advance 14*

With the aide for a timing light & timing tape you can check for correct distributor function."

in my experience, unless you have reason to suspect the advance unit is not operating properly I would dispense with the timing tape, etc. just set the initial timing at 12 degrees and observe that the timing advances when the engine is revved.

according to above chart, at actual engine rpm of 4000 the timing should be between 28.5 degrees and 31.5 degrees (add the 12 degrees initial timing & double the above numbers).

The factory (manual) does NOT state exactly when full advance should occur. But if you get 30 degrees (average of the timing spec) @ 4000 rpm) then you would think another 1000 rpm would get you the final 10 degrees of advance for a total of 40 degrees.

All that said, most people in the hot rod world expect all advance to be in by 3,500 - 4000 rpm, but not Ford apparently. I expect they are trying to be conservative, as timing that advances too quickly will result in detonation.

Z.

Edited by - zrayrichter on 04/22/2011 20:25:43

cobraboy · April 23, 2011 at 3:33 AM

Thanks very much. when my motor has loosened up a bit I will plot the curve.

I asked as I do not think the distributor is as should be, as there is a lot of 'slack' in the return when the rotor arm is turned against the springs, and one of the springs is so loose it barely does anything.

Cheers

Mark

6hypo5conv_old · April 23, 2011 at 4:06 AM

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Thanks very much. when my motor has loosened up a bit I will plot the curve.

I asked as I do not think the distributor is as should be, as there is a lot of 'slack' in the return when the rotor arm is turned against the springs, and one of the springs is so loose it barely does anything.

Cheers

Mark

Mark, Sounds like you need to send your Distributor to Chuck at Distributor Dynamics for a rebuild recalibrate......Chuck is the best on Ford Distributors...

zray · April 23, 2011 at 8:16 AM

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Mark, Sounds like you need to send your Distributor to Chuck at Distributor Dynamics for a rebuild recalibrate......Chuck is the best on Ford Distributors...

a great fix for certain. Also you can get quality work done at:

http://428cobrajetcars.homestead.com/services.html

or at Jim Cowle's Shelby Parts & Restoration:

http://s247533021.onlinehome.us/catalog/rest.p…4d4b64571fc7614

Distributor (12127)

Disassemble, degrease, restore case, new points, new condensor, rotor & cap. $175.00 Add $45.00 for factory spec. blueprinting! Extra if major components need to be relaced.

But I would try a set of new advance springs first to see if that cured the problem. Cheaper and less down time. I remember seeing a source for the springs somewhere..... but don't recall where.

Z.

cobraboy · April 23, 2011 at 9:29 AM

Cheers fellas.

Sorry I seem to be hijacking now.

I dont really want to ship the dist out of the country if I can help it, so will plot a curve and see what I have.

I got a set of springs for one of my other cars so I will try to find out where from.

Mark

frank.herbst_old · April 26, 2011 at 10:11 AM

Thanks for all of the good information.

zrayrichter - provided great details.

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