Tuning a 37 85hp V-8

Tom in SW VA

Tom in SW VA

Well-known member
Does anyone know of anyone in the SW Virginia/East TN area that has knowledge of how to tune a 37 85hp V-8? It has the dual points and I have no expertise on how to begin to even check the points. Any help would be appreciated. I contacted the Early V-8 Club in Bristol, TN, but haven't received an answer.

Thanking you in advance.................. :)
 
The best way to work on that distributor is to remove it from the engine and do the work on your bench. The best way to remove it is to remove the vacuum line, ignition wire on coil, the caps on both sides, three bolts holding it to the timing gear cover and carefully bring in out from between the radiator and the engine. Send a PM to Ken Ct and ask him to walk you through the parts you may need, the cleaning/adjustments/settings, etc.
 
One thing I do is slip a piece of cardboard in between the radiator and the dist,to protect the radiator as you pull the dist out and around,this is in a 33,
Lawrie
 
The cardboard agains the radiator also helps keep the skin on your knuckles where it belongs.

A tip on replacing the distributor: Cut the head off a long bolt to act as a locating guide when putting the distributor back on. Once you get one bolt in, remove the locator bolt.
Remember that the keyway is offset, and will allow easy installation in the correct position, but will be tight in the incorrect position.
 
I thought you have to make sure your at "Top dead center" with the number 1 plug before you re install the dizzy back in?
 
Tom in SW VA said:
Does anyone know of anyone in the SW Virginia/East TN area that has knowledge of how to tune a 37 85hp V-8? It has the dual points and I have no expertise on how to begin to even check the points. Any help would be appreciated. I contacted the Early V-8 Club in Bristol, TN, but haven't received an answer.

Thanking you in advance.................. :)
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I don't know how far this guy is from you but he is pretty knowlegeable on Ford distributors and has written several articles in past V8Times. John Shelor does not list contact info in the latest V-8 Club roster but my old contact info is 105 Pershing Ave Radford Virginia 24141 Phone # 540-639 2065. I will dig through my stuff to see if this is the correct phone # as I remember having trouble last time I had him build two distributors for my 37,V8 Club Roster has lots of mistakes and years and years no change. John is getting pretty much up in years ,he retired as an electrical engineer, doesn't advertise much if any anymore,use to be at Hershey,I consider him a genius,builds one hell of a distributor, sometimes with modifications that he has come up.
 
I would recommend finding a spare and having the spare rebuilt and tuned up. Once rebuilt swap it out and have the one just removed rebuilt also. This way you will have a spare ready to go if and when you have problems. There is no substitution for being prepared and piece of mind!
 
Tom,
I do flathead distributor rebuilding and strobe them on a Ford Heyer Distributor stroboscope. I can do a core that I have and send one to you all ready to go. You can drop me a note at mlshpard@aol.com
Larry Shepard, St. Charles, MO .

Let me know if you need caps, etc. Not sure what kind of shape your wires are in as well but I would suggest doing plugs and wires as well. Be sure to use a good quality plug wire ( wire core center only for std ignition) and make sure the ends are soldered to the terminals, especially on the cap end.
 
BIG MIKE said:
I thought you have to make sure your at "Top dead center" with the number 1 plug before you re install the dizzy back in?
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well on distributors that have the bezel cut gears you have to be on TDC of the compression stroke on #1.....on the 37 ones the keys are offset and only go in one way, and since its driven off the cam shaft it will line up with the correct TDC. on other engines the TDC mark on the crank shaft dampner can line up with both the TDC of compression and exhaust strokes and thats why so many distributors get put in 180* off.
 
larrys40 said:
Tom,
I do flathead distributor rebuilding and strobe them on a Ford Heyer Distributor stroboscope. I can do a core that I have and send one to you all ready to go. You can drop me a note at mlshpard@aol.com
Larry Shepard, St. Charles, MO .

Let me know if you need caps, etc. Not sure what kind of shape your wires are in as well but I would suggest doing plugs and wires as well. Be sure to use a good quality plug wire ( wire core center only for std ignition) and make sure the ends are soldered to the terminals, especially on the cap end.
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Larry: I will get back to you this evening with the particulars. Thanks a million!

Tom in SW VA
 
Your original post/question asked if anybody knew of anyone in Virginia area who could help you,that it one reason why I particulary mentioned John Shelor, Radford Virginia.
 
Just a thought BUT did you check to see if you have a good spark. Don't go fixing somthing that don't need fixed. Go to shop @ night & hold wire off the plug about 3/8" & see if you get a nice sharp blue spark. My$.05 I say @ night as it is easier to see when you get my age. heh heh he Hope I ain't stepping on anyones toes here. Just tryin the KISS principle.
 
37 Coupe said:
Your original post/question asked if anybody knew of anyone in Virginia area who could help you,that it one reason why I particulary mentioned John Shelor, Radford Virginia.
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I am about 2 hours from Radford and know the Shelor name very well. I will try and contact him. Thanks so very much for the information. I need some help and have never worked on this type V-8 engine and distributor.

Thank you :)
 
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