Distributor?
My gut feeling is that it is in the electrical system but it sounds like you have tested everything possible. Out of curiosity, is the distributor stock? Is it tight and timed properly? I had one once that the shaft had warn enough that it was wobbling and would give me erratic...
If it was me, I would pull the plugs and turn it over first just in case there is any oil in the cylinders. Oil won't compress, so its better to be safe than sorry.
The early 40s had a hood strip that made them look a little taller but the hood itself is the same size. the only difference was the early ones had a seam up the middle.
I'd have to agree, there is a lot of Bondo on that thing. Almost all of the body seams are filled in. Also looking at the inside lips on the rear top, they look like a good amount of rust was covered there too. When you go to see it, take a magnet and see just how much filler is on it.
Well I found the problem
After checking the distributor shaft for play I found that there was significant wobble. I pulled it out and swapped in a non USA dist to compare and after resetting the points gap it and clocking it correctly it fired right up.
It now runs soooooo much smoother...
No it really doesn't seem like it is lose at all after I crank it down. I give it a quick check and see if I can turn it before I loosen it back up.
I have a feeling that the dist shaft is loose enough to throw things out of wack. Maybe I'll try one of the non usa distributors I have on my...
Hmm good question. I am assuming that it is a stock distributor, but it does have a vac advance on it. The points I put in it are for the stock one as well as the cap and rotor.
The cruiser is a 9/69 model so it could have some 70 stuff on it.
I did notice that the hold down on the dist...
What would cause my timing not to "hold"? Each time I get into the truck and start it, it runs a bit differently. I check the timing and it has changed. The hold down clamp is tight so the distributor isn't moving.
So far, while working on tuning my 69 Fj40 and I have replaced the points...
Wow that reminds me a lot of my July '69 titled as a 70. Same color and all.
Here is a before and after pic of mine.
and after
Gotta love the color.....
If you are concerned that the vin plate may not be original you can match the vin number with the one stamped on the front passenger side frame horn. It can be tough to see sometimes.
The Belleview winch is still a good one. I believe it shares much with the 8274 except that it won't power feed out (I could be wrong). Nice find on the 69. My first one was a 69 and it started the addiction.
It is probably obvious but i would first take a look at the U-joinjts in the rear drive shaft. You may not have notices a vibration previously but now that there is more of an angle it could be amplified. I like to look at the easy stuff first.
Good luck!