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EFV-8 Club Forum / General Ford Discussion / New distributor timing fixture

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Posted By Discussion Topic: New distributor timing fixture     sludge 12-10-2009 @ 5:34 PM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 4 Joined: Dec 2009 I was told that at the 2009 Eastern meet, a new "simplified" timing fixture for gapping points and setting timing Pre-set was introduced and avaiable for sale. Can anyone direct to that person or company? Thanks, Sludge supereal 12-11-2009 @ 9:38 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I'm not sure why anyone would want to buy such a fixture for a job that is done so rarely. The advance timing is controlled, for the most part, by the slider on the side of the distributor that moves the point plate. Most service manuals show the "straightedge" method, which can be very accurate if an ohmmeter is used to confirm when the points open. As often mentioned, it isn't a substitute for a distributor machine, but will produce a very close point setting if the instructions are carefully followed. MTLott 12-12-2009 @ 4:12 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 38 Joined: Oct 2009 Sludge, I have not seen any mention of a new device being offered. Perhaps there's an ad in a club magazine somewhere ... but, nothing online that I've seen. If someone were making and selling one, I would expect it to be offered on eBay ... nothing. There was a recent thread on Fordbarn which showed a simplified device. Maybe this new one is similar. www.fordbarn.com/earlyv8/forum03/messages3/5278405.html The standard for manually setting up an early flathead distributor is the K R Wilson fixture. As you no doubt already know, they show up on eBay regularly. They are a bit pricey, but once in a while you can snag a bargain. Once purchased, a K R Wilson can easily be resold if you decide you no longer want it. The "straight-edge method" is helpful only in setting the initial advance. It relies on feeler gauges to gap the points making dwell completely uncertain. There is , again, a current discussion on Fordbarn in which there is considerable disagreement on how the points should be gapped. Whatever you choose to do and whatever methods you mess around with, it will teach you a lot about the early distributors. Once you become familiar with how they work, if you are not already, a lot of the mystery will disappear. Have fun. supereal 12-12-2009 @ 10:30 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 When we set up distributors on our machine, we adjust the dwell by changing the point gap, one side at a time. While the straightedge method is certainly less accurate than the machine. it will get you close if you use an ohmmeter to determine when the points open. I've set several up that way, then put them on the machine. Most are close enough to perform well. Timing of flatheads isn't critical, for the most part. That is why there is no marks on the crank pulley. The initial advance is preset at about 4 degrees BTDC, and is varied by the slider on the side of the distributor. If not completely rebuilt, most old distributors have enough "slop" in them from wear to make really accurate point setting nearly impossible, anyway. zford39z 12-13-2009 @ 6:33 AM reply profile send p.m. Member Posts: 1 Joined: Oct 2009 can someone provide for me an intuitive explanation of "dwell angle" vs point gap? thanks b.davis Stroker 12-13-2009 @ 7:31 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 1460 Joined: Oct 2009 Dwell is the time devoted to building up the primary electromagnetic field in the primary windings of the ignition coil. When this connection is broken by the ignition points opening, this field collapses, and induces a secondary high voltage current in the secondary windings of the coil, which is sent to the spark plug. More dwell, allows for more time for the primary field to become established within the coil. Physically, dwell is the "duration period" that the points are closed. Because the points are opened by the breaker cam, this duration is affected by point gap. Measuring dwell angle (the degrees of rotation of the breaker cam) is a much more accurate way to set points than is simply measuring the distance the points open. supereal 12-13-2009 @ 9:18 AM reply profile send p.m. Senior Posts: 6819 Joined: Oct 2009 I can add a bit to Stroker's explanation. When the original V8 distributor was devised, it didn't provide a sufficient time (dwell) for the coil to saturate (fully charge)in the brief interval provided by the eight lobe cam. The solution, often called "elegant", was to use two sets of points, one to close the circuit to ground to provide power to the coil, and a second set, which closed after the first to continue the circuit until they opened, causing the coil to be deactivated which, in turn, provides the high (spark) voltage to the rotor, and on to the spark plug. The point gap(s) affect both dwell and timing. The design of the Ford dual point distributor should be given major credit for the success of the brand.

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