Distributor and timing

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Forgot my phone at home today, so no pictures but I managed to get it straightened out. Just had to play with the rotor position a bit. For some reason it was being stubborn and it took me a few tries and trial and error to get it right. The vacuum line is now about parallel with the engine block and I was able to set the Octane selector in the middle and have it correctly timed.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions and help.

Robert
 
Would love to see pics of this later. I had this same issue pretty much. Still need to sort it out. The dizzy was 180 off so the PO just swapped all the wires 180 to make it work. When trying to correct it I had issues getting it timed and that vac line hitting the oil filler tube.
 
red66toy said:
Would love to see pics of this later. I had this same issue pretty much. Still need to sort it out. The dizzy was 180 off so the PO just swapped all the wires 180 to make it work. When trying to correct it I had issues getting it timed and that vac line hitting the oil filler tube.
Click to expand...

Will do when I get back and have the chance to get some photos. Basically it's just like the FSM lays it out except on mine the rotor is about the 11 o'clock position when set right. For some reason it kept going in easiest at the 10 o'clock position causing a more advanced position of the distributor.

If you need more details just ask and I will post a step by step of what I did.
 
Here are a few photos of the position of the distributor:

1906271


1906272


View from underneath

1906273


Another from underneath

1906274
 
Ok, although I have the major issues straightened out, it appears that I have one last dilemma.

That being the timing is fluctuating from day to day. I had timing all set yesterday and I rechecked it today and the timing mark was not even visible in the window. What's up with that??

Any suggestions???
 
Check to make sure your mechanical advancing mechanism is working. Take the cap off and rotate the rotor. It should move about a half inch and spring back. I had the weights come apart in a non us distributed I had once purchased for my 2F. If it is stiff or just not there your timing cannot stay set. Also take off the dust cover under the rotor and you can see if everything is in place.
 
1962fj40 said:
Actually the vacuum line of the distributor is hitting against the oil filter spout. In order to even see my timing mark I've had to bend the vacuum line. I can get a photo of this later today.
Click to expand...


are u Leaving the Octane selector where it is then checking the timing
or
setting it to Zero first , then checking the timing as outlined in the FSM ?

also ,

because i get them confused sometimes , I hand rotate the engine till the Round BB shows in the window , hit it with Yellow Touch up Paint Dot

then rotate it to the long skinny line , and hit that with a different color like RED


both those color show up well under a strobe-timing light

, i forgot to mention , hit each spot with a shot of brake clean real quick , so the touch up paint adheres good

now u have 2 Solid points of easy to distingwish and read refrence
 
And the vac line is disconnected and capped/plugged when setting the timing. Then reattached afterward.
 
1962fj40 said:
Hmmmm, I don't recall that being in the FSM? I've always left it attached when setting timing.

????
Click to expand...
i didn’t see that in the 1964 FSM as well.
 
ToyotaMatt said:
are u Leaving the Octane selector where it is then checking the timing
or
setting it to Zero first , then checking the timing as outlined in the FSM ?

also ,

because i get them confused sometimes , I hand rotate the engine till the Round BB shows in the window , hit it with Yellow Touch up Paint Dot

then rotate it to the long skinny line , and hit that with a different color like RED


both those color show up well under a strobe-timing light

, i forgot to mention , hit each spot with a shot of brake clean real quick , so the touch up paint adheres good

now u have 2 Solid points of easy to distingwish and read refrence
Click to expand...

Forgot to comment on this. Yes, I did ensure the Octane selector was set as zero. And previous photo shows my white paint on BB.
 
Travis 76 said:
Check to make sure your mechanical advancing mechanism is working. Take the cap off and rotate the rotor. It should move about a half inch and spring back. I had the weights come apart in a non us distributed I had once purchased for my 2F. If it is stiff or just not there your timing cannot stay set. Also take off the dust cover under the rotor and you can see if everything is in place.
Click to expand...

Btw, this has an electronic Ignition upgrade.

Well, I'm working on things now and probably till 5pm Arizona time. It appears that can get no springy feeling when trying to move the rotor in either direction (not sure how that works since the rotor shaft is directly connected to the cam shaft driver gear on the distributor), by but pushing in the Octane selector I get the parts below the rotor to move against the spring and return to position. When this happens you can see the electronic pickup coil move in a ccw direction when pushed in.

And yes, I backed out the Octane selector after I removed the distributor.

Video link:

www.dropbox.com

20190217_152413.mp4

Shared with Dropbox
www.dropbox.com www.dropbox.com

External Suction moves the vacuum advance just fine and pushing the Octane selector seems to test the mechanical portion correct??? So I think it is in good working order???

20190217_152409.webp
 
I just looked in my F engine repair manual and there isn’t anything about disconnecting the vac advance line as mentioned above. I guess that’s a leftover brain memory from the Chevy dizzy days. Thought it was common practice with all dizzy systems, guess not. Another brain f@rt on my part, ignore once again. :bang:
 
middlecalf said:
I just looked in my F engine repair manual and there isn’t anything about disconnecting the vac advance line as mentioned above. I guess that’s a leftover brain memory from the Chevy dizzy days. Thought it was common practice with all dizzy systems, guess not. Another brain f@rt on my part, ignore once again. :bang:
Click to expand...

No problem, I recall doing that on my old Camaro back in the day.
 
hey robert ,

any progress ?

i was thinking , do u have a internal Resister coil installed currently ?

i noticed it looks older , and has NO external resister on it

- also , did the coil work before your upgrade ?
 
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