So, I've been having some hard starting problems. Sometimes it would fire, and sometimes it wouldn't. Timing was just fine, but starting it up was like trying to move a mountain. Motor is a 10.8:1 383 SBC with a 258/263 @ .05" solid roller cam, so there isn't a whole lot of cranking compression.
This past weekend was the last straw. I locked out my timing to see what it would do, and it was an absolute dog (which should be quite the opposite considering it needs so much initial). I set it at 36 degrees locked out and went for a test spin. It wanted to die, but I think it's due to the carburetor tune/vacuum leak that I found prior. That's fine. I pulled over to grab some food, finished, and went outside to start, and it would not start, no matter what I did. I advanced timing, then retarded it to see if it had any effect at all on spark. Nothing.
I finally got down and dirty and started looking at parts and doing some debugging. I did the MSD coil wire jump test to the firewall, and I know for a fact I have spark from the coil. It had to be in the distributor. I was recently in a wreck where the car was totaled, but the engine was salvageable. The advance weights on the distributor were bent a tiny bit, but it wasn't anything that was major (or so I thought). I took out the distributor yesterday and gave it a once-over, and noticed the reluctor paddle to magnetic pickup clearance was varying as I turned the distributor gear. It was wobbly!
I know this would cause hard starting issues, but I never noticed it once it would fire. Before I had the timing locked out, it would fire, but it would take 10 or so seconds of cranking to light up. It just stopped starting all of a sudden after I locked the timing out. There was plenty of voltage, but after cranking for a while, it obviously lost 1-2 volts or so. Once I hooked up my truck, and used jumper cables, it would start (with the wobbly shaft/reluctor paddles), but only if I was getting around 13 or so volts. Even then it would take 5 or so seconds to crank up, and starting was hit or miss. Once it lit up though, it sounded fine and idled well.
I know the reluctor paddle clearance would cause hard to start issues (which is why I already have a new distributor on the way), but would it cause some power (HP/torque) loss? Does the magnetic pickup serve any other purpose other than a trigger signal in relation to the spark sent from the coil? Does it control the 'intensity' of the spark sent from the coil in relation to the clearance of reluctor/magnetic pickup?
Thanks.
This past weekend was the last straw. I locked out my timing to see what it would do, and it was an absolute dog (which should be quite the opposite considering it needs so much initial). I set it at 36 degrees locked out and went for a test spin. It wanted to die, but I think it's due to the carburetor tune/vacuum leak that I found prior. That's fine. I pulled over to grab some food, finished, and went outside to start, and it would not start, no matter what I did. I advanced timing, then retarded it to see if it had any effect at all on spark. Nothing.
I finally got down and dirty and started looking at parts and doing some debugging. I did the MSD coil wire jump test to the firewall, and I know for a fact I have spark from the coil. It had to be in the distributor. I was recently in a wreck where the car was totaled, but the engine was salvageable. The advance weights on the distributor were bent a tiny bit, but it wasn't anything that was major (or so I thought). I took out the distributor yesterday and gave it a once-over, and noticed the reluctor paddle to magnetic pickup clearance was varying as I turned the distributor gear. It was wobbly!
I know this would cause hard starting issues, but I never noticed it once it would fire. Before I had the timing locked out, it would fire, but it would take 10 or so seconds of cranking to light up. It just stopped starting all of a sudden after I locked the timing out. There was plenty of voltage, but after cranking for a while, it obviously lost 1-2 volts or so. Once I hooked up my truck, and used jumper cables, it would start (with the wobbly shaft/reluctor paddles), but only if I was getting around 13 or so volts. Even then it would take 5 or so seconds to crank up, and starting was hit or miss. Once it lit up though, it sounded fine and idled well.
I know the reluctor paddle clearance would cause hard to start issues (which is why I already have a new distributor on the way), but would it cause some power (HP/torque) loss? Does the magnetic pickup serve any other purpose other than a trigger signal in relation to the spark sent from the coil? Does it control the 'intensity' of the spark sent from the coil in relation to the clearance of reluctor/magnetic pickup?
Thanks.
