It finaly arrived !

P

pistonbroke

Well-known member
I retired back in march and my boss told me to think of something I wanted but would never spend the money on under $1000.00. So I thought about it for a week or so and settled on the intake I had always wanted as a kid but was totally out of reach. My reproduction Slingshot intake arrived last week. The linkage and PCV is all laid out and I will run a nice pair of ford 1 1/16"carbs that I've been saving for something like this. I have a aluminum front cover and loadomatic distributor with a dual point set up. I'm looking for knowledge on hooking up the vacuum advance. Do I split the line and go to both carbs or just hook up to one carb and plug the other ? This is not a race motor just a fresh rebuilt 255 that I plan to drive to the ends of the earth in my 41 pickup. Tim
 
AS far as I know the loadomatic dist only works right with the stock carb. Its a nice step up to go with the chev dist thats made to work on the flathead.
 
Actually, a better match would be a mechanical advance Mallory "flattop", if only for aesthetic reasons. SBC versions are much easier to source (and cheaper) than the original flathead units and can be converted to flathead use. Charlie in New York did one for me.
 
CONGRATULATIONS. Your boss treated you fine. Make sure the aluminum timing cover you use is the correct matching one for your distributor shaft and gear as there are several types of alum timing covers.
 
Thanks guys, I am using loadomatic friendly carbs. the distributor and timing cover are both of the stock wore out 8ba that was in the truck when I purchased it. Just for those reading along, the aluminum timing cover has a boss for the distributor shaft below the gear and a much shorter tube for the distributor to be supported by in the cover itself.
 
pistonbroke said:
I retired back in march and my boss told me to think of something I wanted but would never spend the money on under $1000.00. My reproduction Slingshot intake arrived last week.
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Man, that's way mo-better than a clunky ol' (fake) gold watch that was hammered-out somewhere in southeastern Timbuktu. COOL boss, for sure!!

Coop


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From everything I've ever heard, the advance mechanism on the good ole' "LoadoMatic" is specifically designed for a single carb, associated vacuum signal and a stock engine.

The vacuum signal that it will see with your new manifold and carb setup will undoubtedly be different than stock. Will it run . . . sure . . . will it have the correct advance/retard curve . . . common flathead knowledge says "No!".

Yes, there will be "somebody" who says they made it work - but did they compare it to an alternative with mechanical advance or a converted SBC distributor?

I'd sure think about a different distributor if it was mine . . .
 
Congratulations on the retirement….I have a similar story; May 2021 my dad gives me his ‘34 pickup (he passes away a month later in June) and I begin to come up with my build plan for it. June 2022 I decide to retire. My boss takes up a collection from my colleagues for a retirement gift and got $600 that I knew exactly what I buying with it; Edelbrock Slingshot for my build.
 
I see new Mallory dual point distributors on the web. That would be my next choice but then I think I would lose the the polished aluminum timing cove if what they show in the picture is what the are selling. Still not convinced I can't make it work and have the correct advance curve. I wish I had brought my old distributor machine when we move back here from left coast. Then I could have messed with it until it was perfect. Hindsight is a terrible thing. Tim
 
Even with a distributor machine, it is not easy as you cannot mimic the vacuum signal as it would be in the car. I have a distributor machine - and while I can turn the vacuum knob and see what it does to the advance curve, I cannot guesstimate the actual vacuum curve that the engine will put out.
 
I’m not adding this info to disprove any flathead loadamatic knowledge.
I do believe one Venturi line to one carburetor is generally the correct information.
I’ve run this setup now for 20 yrs.
I split the Venturi vac lines and run them to the loadamatic.
I then removed one spring on the advance.
I did try running one of gmbubba’s chevy distributors but it didn’t even come close to the response I was getting on this setup. I don’t have any timing numbers. Never really was unhappy so I never bothered.
 

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OhioRick said:
I’m not adding this info to disprove any flathead loadamatic knowledge.
I do believe one Venturi line to one carburetor is generally the correct information.
I’ve run this setup now for 20 yrs.
I split the Venturi vac lines and run them to the loadamatic.
I then removed one spring on the advance.
I did try running one of gmbubba’s chevy distributors but it didn’t even come close to the response I was getting on this setup. I don’t have any timing numbers. Never really was unhappy so I never bothered.
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532110
 
OhioRick said:
I’m not adding this info to disprove any flathead loadamatic knowledge.
I do believe one Venturi line to one carburetor is generally the correct information.
I’ve run this setup now for 20 yrs.
I split the Venturi vac lines and run them to the loadamatic.
I then removed one spring on the advance.
I did try running one of gmbubba’s chevy distributors but it didn’t even come close to the response I was getting on this setup. I don’t have any timing numbers. Never really was unhappy so I never bothered.
Click to expand...


Do you know what camshaft is in the engine? I'm curious if idle quality and vacuum signal in the intake affect the venturi vacuum signal for the distributor advance.
 
It has the original 53 merc cam, I had it checked and machinist couldn't believe it was in such nice condition. He said he had seen reground that weren't as nice. Tim
 
Yes, I follow everything. Your getting good advice here. B&S has it right. The Load s matic dist just ain't gona work. Get a chevy from Charly. That works/
Gramps
 
Thanks Ron. I appreciate all the thoughts and knowledge and experience here on the board. As I said earlier I just can't run a Chevy distributor,(nothing against Chevrolet I own two) the esthetics alone are a deal breaker but what about the vacuum signal for it ? Or does it need one? I think my next best bet will be the new Mallory dual point. They do make it to work with the aluminum timing cover after all and I can live wit that. Anyone running one on the street? Thanks again ,Tim
 
38 coupe said:
Do you know what camshaft is in the engine? I'm curious if idle quality and vacuum signal in the intake affect the venturi vacuum signal for the distributor advance.
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No sorry, I don’t know what cam is in this 8ba. I would guess its pretty close to stock by the sound of it at idle.
I will say that trying this setup on your engine may be successful. There’s absolutely no money invested and very little labor.
 
pistonbroke said:
Thanks Ron. I appreciate all the thoughts and knowledge and experience here on the board. As I said earlier I just can't run a Chevy distributor,(nothing against Chevrolet I own two) the esthetics alone are a deal breaker but what about the vacuum signal for it ? Tim
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Tim ..... If Aesthetics is what is bothering you, what's wrong with just keeping the hood shut? On those Saturday night car show outings at the "Tasty-Freeze" parking lot with your hood open, the little 'kids' that even take the time to look at your flathead ain't got a half a clue about what they're looking at, much less having known what a Chevy distributor ever looked like in the first place.

Coop


.
 
pistonbroke said:
Thanks Ron. I appreciate all the thoughts and knowledge and experience here on the board. As I said earlier I just can't run a Chevy distributor,(nothing against Chevrolet I own two) the esthetics alone are a deal breaker but what about the vacuum signal for it ? Or does it need one? I think my next best bet will be the new Mallory dual point. They do make it to work with the aluminum timing cover after all and I can live wit that. Anyone running one on the street? Thanks again ,Tim
Click to expand...

There are usually two things wrong with the new Mallory dual points currently available. The first is that they come with a Chevrolet advance curve (which is about 36 degrees total) and they have RED caps (talk about aesthetics) The last one I bought had a plastic "key" that you inserted into the advance plate that allowed you to select either 36 or 23 degrees total advance (23 is better suited to a flathead). I have heard the the units currently available do not even have this feature. I remedied the red cap with some black plastic paint. This will result in an acceptable unit.

I am hooked on the older "flattop" Mallory's (talk about good aesthetics). These can be hard to find and expensive in the original configuration, but SBC units are available and can be converted for use in a flathead. Charlie Schwendler in New York can do this (he has done a couple for me). These distributors are almost alway mechanical advance only (no vacuum), but with a flathead, it's not a problem.
 
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