I ended up buying that 67 Riviera with a nice option I did not expect, POSI!!! Now, it has an edelbrock 1406 that needs a little help. I definitely will need to address that. Right now I am planning to order light springs for the distributor and maybe change the bushing as well. New coil, battery, plugs, wires. But none of that matters unless I have correct ignition timing. What do you all recommend for timing, and can I pick up horses and torque doing it right? Also what was the stock mechanical advance, not including initial timing? Any cheap performance tips are totally welcome for a nearly broke college student.
Congrats. Is it a normally-badged Riviera? Non-GS? If the posi is genuine, then you have the 3.42 final drive & will have fun driving in clear weather, but wet conditions and freeway cruising may be an issue. Does the AC compressor have that over-sized pulley on it? Read Larry's power-timing thread here: http://www.v8buick.com/index.php?threads/power-timing-your-buick-v8.63475/ Initial timing for that engine is 2.5 degrees BTDC. I'd lose the Edelbrock and get a good condition Rochester 4MV (7027241/7027248 if AIR-equipped) Q-Jet...several folks on the board have good carbs for sale. I have a couple, myself which I could be persuaded to sell. Reman/aftermarket carbs will only pass emissions, for performance they are crap. I'd also lose the points & upgrade to HEI or breakerless ignition if you're looking for low-maintenance. MSD has nice offerings, I use the Pertronix Ignitor III package (coil/pickup/wires) and the MSD spring kit on mine. Fits totally under the stock cap with no issues. Change out all of your vacuum lines & hoses...any leaks will make it difficult to tune the engine.
Yes its non-GS. So I wont be able to take it too fast, but it must get up and go. A/C is oversized as well. Would it make sense to add in initial advance greater than the 2.5 from the factory? I live 20 minutes away from the owner of Everyday Performance, money is just the obstacle. All the ignition stuff i mentioned above I bought, so I'll be staying with points for a while. I was only able to spend one day fixing it up before I had to go back to school. When I return from finals, so much will get done. Thank you for being a big help already.
Okay, so it seems that you've got yourself a nice non-GS badged Riviera with dealer-installed performance options. A lot of folks run the stock points, just be sure to periodically check dwell and gap so that they don't burn up on you. I'd be wary of adding initial advance with worn springs in the distributor, at higher RPMs you could start pinging which is never good news. Just get the factory tune-up specs, get it close as possible to 2.5 degrees BTDC, and set your distributor springs to go all-in at 2300-2500 RPM for starters. The Q-Jet will add a lot to the mix as well, especially if you have the big-port heads like mine:
Len I will be changing the distributor springs ASAP as well. Is there an external difference on large port heads and the later smaller ones?
Does anyone know how much mechanical advance comes stock in a 67 430 with points? I want to hit that sweet spot of 32-34 degrees combined.
Put on your timing gun and rev it until it stops advancing, then you know how much advance there's in it.. Use Larry's power timing thread, that works really well..
Before doing anything, I'd get the proper Q-Jet back on there. THAT alone will restore a ton of the performance your engine is capable of.
