Non-Ford distributor rebuild

Henry Floored

Henry Floored

Well-known member
Hey guys I’m helping a friend with a 1950 Packard straight 8 I believe 288 cubic inches.

He’s had an ongoing overheating problem and I suspect late timing is playing into that problem.

I’m interested in speaking to someone who can go over this distributor and check the advance curve and it’s overall function.

The owner did install a Pertronix which in light of his problem I would like to go back to square one with an original points and condenser setup.

Thanks in advance fellas.
 
NOT sure IF Bubba from Bubba's ignitions is still doing stuff, he had some health issues BUT he might be a good source of information. ALSO CharlieNY does Ford distributors here on the barn, the process and operations are all the same principle "MAYBE" he could answer your questions as well? Maybe just NOT Packard specific
 
each set of points do 4 cylinders ,there should be a window to see the timing marks on the flywheel. There were "NOS" dist for sale that were surplus WWII boat ones they seemed to have a slow advance compared to original one ,I take care of a 36 packard) it can be done with a timing light sort of trial error.
His car had borderline overheating issues then burned a valve when I took off the head it was obvious that there was a slight headgasket leak between cylinders and to the waterjacket but it did not get coolant into the combustion chambers.
 
If you want to check a mechanical system like a distributor with flyweights, all you need to do is pull it from the engine and measure the amount of movement in degrees, if camdriven multiply by 2 and you got the max advance. To find out when it starts to advance you need a variable speed motor to drive the dizzy, as soon as the flyweights start to move, the timing starts to advance. As those springs cannot hold a force that differs a lot you will find that when accelerating the speed a bit more, the flyweights will go to full advance. Compare your findings on your test to the revs and speed of the car on the road, it might be way too advanced when touring or way too retarded. This can be corrected by selecting the springs or reducing/adding weight.
 
Thanks guys for the tips. I’m going to disassemble and do some checking. I’m going to take your advice Vincent and spin the distributor up to watch the advance mechanism etc.


You guys are great and I appreciate everything.
 
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