Yeah, actually I do, and I should've thought of the high idle solenoid, but alas, I haven't crossed that bridge yet! That was for run on and a higher AC idle yes? On the vacuum advance. how much is too much at low speeds? Will that cause an octane knock when warm outside? Cant get into a big timing debate as I don't have a clue whats inside the HEI, but judging from the PO it may very well have points. Just want a responsive street driver to make the wife go wee-wee once in a while! Bill
There are no points in an HEI, and who knows what you have in there. There's no sense in guessing. When you are ready to check and adjust your timing, read my Power Timing thread and ask questions then. When you run manifold vacuum to the vacuum advance, it will drop out under heavy engine load. Manifold vacuum drops rapidly to near 0 at WOT. No vacuum, no advance.
I really do appreciate your input, but you missed my intended sarcasm. "Knowing the PO there very well MAY be points inside". Yes, I have a pretty good grasp on how an HEI is set up. I do run strictly mechanical on my 2 454s in my boat. Those are set off the damper OEM marks and have been re-curved on a Sun Dist. machine to match what the book calls for. I am under the impression that with vacuum AND mechanical, that the initial advance is vacuum and after a throttle open change the mechanical advance supersedes. A week from Monday I am getting two new knees so the job is gonna grind to a halt for a few months. When we resume here, Id like to get your take on a "Little" dist. work. I need drivability, (maybe with AC) around town and expressway driving with a pretty mild hydraulic cam (unknown #s) stock T400 with a 3:42(?) Olds station wagon gear. Back in the 60s and 70s, it was pretty common to advance the dist. until there was a bit of starter buck, then retard maybe 1 or 2 degrees. Vacuum advance intact with a stock curve on the weights. That's really about what I need. These cars run well enough for what I need with stock parts. Thoughts? Comments?? It is good that I can get straight answers from you... a lot of stuff here is pure conjecture. Just like the 2 bolt holes. Yeah, Im an asshole for not realizing that, but, I wasn't looking at it either until I saw them in that pic tonight. I deal pretty well with criticism, so if ya see something wrong, let me know. Not trying to make a show car, just a Grand 'ol Gran Sport. If I KACK on the table next week, I want my wife to be able to drive it too. She loves it and would treat it right. I don't think she'll sweat the big car fan shroud and overflow tank LOL... ws High tech for 1925 eh? The commutator grounds the four individual coils with an advance /retard lever under the steering wheel, Retard to start and advance while running. Starts jerking uphill, retard while rolling, but she will get hot.
I hear that advice all the time. Crank in the advance until it bucks the starter, or advance the timing until the vacuum is at a maximum. To me, that's a good way to detonation. In 5 minutes time, you can simply measure and adjust how much total advance you have, then set it to where you want it. All you need is a good timing light and a light set of distributor springs. I see many guys who seem to think that all distributors are the same. This leads to someone getting a distributor out of another engine, and setting the initial advance to 14*, because that is what his neighbor Joe Blow runs in his street car.:grin: Distributors differ in the amount of mechanical advance built into them, so if you happen to have a distributor with 34* of mechanical advance, and you set the initial to 14*, the first time you nail it, your timing will be, well you do the math. I wrote this Power Timing thread a bit over 9 years ago. http://www.v8buick.com/showthread.php?63475-Power-Timing-your-Buick-V8 I've tried to explain timing every which way I can in the 24 pages of the thread, but guys continue to make the same mistakes when it comes to timing. I don't mind answering questions of course, but I'd like you to read the thread (yes, all of it), and attempt it. I don't think it is that difficult, but some guys need to actually be shown how to do it. Their reaction is always the same when I do. Wow, that wasn't so hard. Figure out where the timing is now, initial, mechanical, and vacuum. We'll go from there.
Made it to the start of page 8 and me heads a'spinnin'. After the leg job is done I may have to play with the distributor. The vacuum advance looks OEM (1975ish) and I have no idea if anything was done inside as far as springs or vacuum limiting is concerned. I have NO IDEA where the HEI came from so Ill hafta start at square oneou:. What a powerhouse of info!!:TU: Thanks, Bill in TR
Just had a few minutes in the shop this morning... switched the vacuum gage from ported to manifold port as instructed and gage works as it should. Gonna try and get her out this weekend (weather permitting!) before the knee job Monday. Its gonna suck spending 3 weeks in a nursing home then another 3-4 at home getting back into the swing of things. Really wish I could be doing stuff outside on the hot rod! Shes almost ready to go for this summer minus the AC... Ill concentrate on that part next year! Bill in TR
that solenoid thing by your carb, TOSS it. U know what your vac line should look like, advise for switch is sound from up above. Make sure there is no oil in your modulator vac line at the modulator
The solenoid /vacuum switch in pic #3 is long gone. Tomorrow at 0630hrs Im getting two new knees so itll be a while before I can get under to inspect the vacuum line at the modulator; but yes, that is on the agenda. Might have a look at the governor then while Im there! Bill in TR
Good luck with your op! I've never heard of getting both knees done at the same time. Make sure your wife leaves the cookies within your reach and not up on the fridge.
Thanks Frank... Poor Pat has been runnin' her a$$ off trying to help me get everything in order; appts, tests, papers etc, and today was spent literally disinfecting the house from the bathroom to the bedroom. Ill betcha Ive spoken with 50-100 people who had them both done "Bi-lateral" from the same sawbones and everyone is thrilled with the outcome. I am following the directions to the "T". Bought several "grabbers" from ebay with all the other invalid stuff for the house. Should be 3 nights and 4 days in the hospital, then 2 weeks at a rehab in patient place for therapy, then home and another month of out patient therapy. The advantage to living in a small town is that the wife can bring the cookies and grapes" and feed me! ws
Switching off the A/C compressor under full throttle is sound engineering and is harmless. I installed an aftermarket vacuum operated switch on mine to accomplish the same thing. Just personal choice I guess. I don't prefer to just toss perfectly good OEM devices, at least save it for the next fellow. ---------- Post added at 04:17 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:04 PM ---------- Bill, here is wishing you a speedy recovery! As for your distributor setup, If you want that sweet and dependable driveability of original, get an original distributor, refurbish if needed and hook up the vacuum advance as it was from factory. OEM engineering and driveability is hard to beat. I would rather take a beating than to recurve and tune an aftermarket or mismatched distributor. Same goes for carburetor. But that is just my opinion. Building an engine from original components is easy, re-engineering and tuning is not.
