I have another post going about converting my 56 T-Bird to 57 carb/distributor etc. In the interim, I would like to figure out some of my issues with the present setup. I put an Ignitor 1 in the car about a year and a half ago. Set it up with a Flame Thrower coil and eliminated the ballast resistor. As a result of the coil change, I also opened the spark plug gap up as recommended. I set the timing and the car ran smoothly. However, I sensed that the car seemd to lack power.



Started checking things out and found that I wasn't getting advance due to leaky diaphragms in the vacuum advance in the distributor. Replaced this unit. That's where my real problems start... Now I am having a lot of problems with the timing. A friend of mine took a whack at setting the timing with some sort of new computerized system. He told me that he set it up and came back and checked it again later and it was off 20 degrees. I drove it home and it ran poorly... Worse than before the vacuum advance was fixed.



I checked the timing with my old trusty Craftsman inductive light and it was at least 20 degrees retarded. I set it for a very slight advance and it idled and ran very well... Albeit with a very slight hesitation and just a touch of a ping on really heavy acceleration. Power was much improved as well. Drove the car back and forth to work the next day and it became progressively worse once again. The pinging became heavier and the idle once again became rough. Put the light on it again and this time it was at least 20% advanced!



My friend (who owns a repair shop and is highly experienced) says that he has seen similar problems with a small percentage of Ignitors that he has installed over the years. It would certainly seem to be more than just a coincidence that the timing issue popped up when the vacuum advance was fixed. Looking this up on the internet, I'm seeing a lot of posts in numerous forums about similar issues with Ignitors. Anyone with any specific experience with Y blocks and Load O Matics and how to rectify the problem? I would love to hear from you.

JerseyJim

Is it possible the outer part of the damper has shifted as some do due to deterioration of the rubber?This will give you an inaccurate timing setup.Try setting timing using a vacuum gauge.Advance timing until you get the highest vacuum reading.Back it off until vacuum starts to drop.Set timing half way between high and low settings.Check your timing with light and see how it compares with the marks.I dont think your existing Pertronix will work in the later distributor.If you buy another one go to Pertronix 2.

  

I appreciate the thoughts. I have had that damper issue on another car. Had one that was a few degrees off. But what's downright strange on this is the shifting back and forth. The first time it was 20+ in one direction. When reset it went 20+ in the other. Then it was reset again... And now 20+ advanced. Not likely to be a mechanical issue such as the damper. I read on another site where Pertronix was firing the five instead of the one. The thing to keep in mind is that it was not doing this before the distributor diaphragms were replaced.

JerseyJim

Throw the old diaphragms back on to see if it stabilizes. Or reinstall the points and condenser and see if it stabilizes. Those are the two things you changed. If you go back to that setup, you can establish a base line and go from there.

To rule out the damper, place a dab of white paint as close as you can to TDC on a portion of the damper that can't slip. It really won't matter if it's exact for the sake of this trouble shooting. You just need a fixed point to use as a reference. Once the problem is figured out, then you can work on getting it set up correctly.


Lawrenceville, GA

Jim

I think your issue is with the new vacuum advance canister not with the Pertronix. Remember that the ONLY ADVANCE you get (or don`t get) will be from the vacuum can. Disconnect the hose from the distributor to the carb and plug one end with a golf tee or such. Take another hose and connect it to the distributor and with the ENGINE OFF remove the distributor cap and rotate the plate the points used to be on and plug the end of the open hose. If the diaphragm has not ruptured the plate will stay rotated until you unplug the hose. OK?

Hook up your timing light, run the engine with the first hose still disconnected and plugged by the golf tee. Run up the engine speed and observe NO TIMING ADVANCE. Take out the golf tee, reconnect that hose to the distributor and recheck that you NOW DO HAVE ADVANCE?

Since your problem is advance and the only thing that influences the timing is the vacuum can that is the source of the problem. Remember K.I.S.S.

Pete

Don't worry about a slipped damper on a T-Bird.  The timing marks are on the part of the pulley that is keyed to the crankshaft.  The rubber mounted damper has no marks on it. 

John - "The Hoosier Hurricane"