OK Distributor experts, I have finally installed my ford prefect mechanical advance dizzy in my model A banger. It had 10 deg stamped on the advance plate and that’s about how far it advanced when running. I removed 1 weight and filled the hole that stops the weight moving to far it now advances about 30deg. My question is, is it ok to run 1 weight? Brendan
The real experts will probably chime in here, but IMO it will wear out the bushing being off balanced. Put it in a distributor machine and reall measure how much advance it has.
Thanks for the up date and congratulations on your new found speed. Do you have a post or thread showing your new up dates?
I have no access to a machine, but I did make a degree plate when I timed it with the original dizzy, I should have written on my wall what the increments are (I have important numbers on the wall that I have no idea what they are for) but I am pretty sure the last one is ~30 deg and thats about how far it advances when I put a timing light on it. I am not far off fitting my headers and dual SUs, but I like to change 1 thing at a time if possible so if there is a problem I can reverse out. It did seem to run better when I drove around the block with one weight. Brendan
Try it! Bushings are cheap. Maybe try to cut weight down on weights. The Ford B distributor limits the travel of the weights by the length of a slot in the weight, this slot can be lengthened but that can cause other problems. I used some lighter rate springs in mine. I also "whittled" a bit on the weights. The weights as supplied for the Ford B by FS Ignitions are slightly lighter but that might be because of the elongated slots in them. They also include lighter springs. Realize this is not same dist but is in regards to modifying dist. Haven't tried to put it on a machine but it seems to work well. Really not sure about this as I'm not a distributor expert, just an old fart that is willing to experiment. If we took all cautions seriously we would have no fun.
Well we were finishing up the new water pump and such as a finial effort before World of Speed. When a previous repair to the water jacket in cylinder #4 gave it up. Water everywhere. Zenon hasn't figured it out yet, but I quit for this year. It's costing me to much in money and effort. The Morton & Brett is a hanger queen again.
We will see. needs welding in the exhaust port. It looks like a patch was put in the port before. About the size of a quarter. I hope it was welded and not brazed. It's near the port face and it's a big port so a welder can get at it.
Well done you lot, that guy beside the car in video #5 is either brave or stupid though, if something let go with either the car or it's restraints.. Can we ask what HP and TQ you wound up with? Cheers, Rob
pretty safe being around a car on a dyno... especially a measly little model b banger. i work on that exact dyno day in and day out testing and tuning cars that make waaaay more power and so long as you know what you're doing it's totally safe. based on the dyno numbers we're figuring about 160hp at the crank and an equal amount of torque.
Stewart and Creel did a pretty good job, 150mph flathead motor on gas with stock port configuration. I should hope to go as fast. John
Are those 5/8 stem with 1 inch foot? That is what was in my PB Plymouths. I bought new from International Harverster which use similar lifters or had my old ones resurfaced. My Dodge Bros. also has such lifters with a 1/8th larger foot. They seem a pretty popular lifter in days gone by.
The lifter is 5/8" body, the foot is 1.280". Stock B lifter is 1/2" body with a 1.188" foot. No Jim, I didn't ask Isky. .
I asked Isky about them, without a specific application, it was going to be difficult. Something to watch, is the stem size, I had a motor here in the shop that had .633 bores and .625 lifters, not good. Also, the foot diameter may have to be trimmed near the bearings on the cam. Check the assembly prior to final assembly, it will be painfully obvious when you see the interference. I currently have another batch of 8620 cam blanks in stock. Both 1.56 and 1.75 finish dia with dist drive gears cut. I have been working up cost to make tool steel lifters for the A/B ford motors, however if lifters are available still I see no point. Cheers, John
With a steel cam chilled iron lifers work well. A cast iron can and steel lifters would be a good thing You really don't want the cam and lifters the same RC scale numbers
Bluto, correct, the lifters should be harder by some percentage than the cam. Carbon contect also plays into the equation along with design. I don't think that a flathead motor will spin fast enough to worry about. Rocker arm heads will cause heartburn due to spring and ratio multiplication. I am also playing around with tool steel cams, in my spare time. Cheers, John
We made solids for SBC's in the late 50's out of 12L14 and if the surface hardness was 65c + they worked with all cams. We did R&D on lifters for Dempsey Wilson (Clay Smith Cams). We would make them and he would try to destroy them In boat engines at the river. I think the material to use now would be 86L20. I made some long adjusting screws for my single lock lifters a few years back out of 12L14 cased "file hard" still working. I think tool steel would be overkill. Cost of machining has to be a big part of it.
I like the chilled iron lifters, the surface carbides make for a near perfect running surface. It is just not as easy to make new ones. Besides, the cams do get beat when rotating assemblies disassemble themselves at high speeds. I have straightened and run parts before that I would never let a friend use.
Bluto Is that a picture of you in your avatar? What do you mean by the Eastern Front? I had lunch with Ed one time. He was at the first Hot Rod Reunion and I did not know who he was. A friend and I were looking at a Ford Flat head and Ed walked over to BS. He invited us to lunch on Monday and a tour of his shop. All the cam grinders were female. Kong Jackson came to visit Ed and talk about Ed's cam grind for a flat head. Kong went to lunch with us. Ed's grandson was working on some kind of muscle car. Ed told the grandson that it was hydraulic lock because he had too much raw gas in the cylinders. Ed used everything for an ash tray. Pistons, coffee cups, etc. were full of cigar butts and ashes. His shirt pockets were full of papers and cigars. He had his Hot Rod at the reunion and drove it around. No fan belt. He had some good stories about the old days. He never bragged about himself, he did not need to brag. He said he had a lumpy cam that was not really that good of a grind but it was his best selling cam because the drive in restaurant crowd loved the sound. The lunch with Ed was one I will not forget. The other lunch was with El (Al) Teague and his brother Harvey
That is the photo of the Champion of France. A friend I miss very much Eastern Front ..... Poland Isky is a national treasure. Another old and dear friend at 91 he's going strong
So I was picking up some bits today (a Canton 460 pan 'trimmed' to better clear a '64 Galaxie crossmember and a jig to let me mill consistently on the back side of '60-73 Galaxie drum-brake spindles, if anyone really cares...) and what to my wondering eye should appear but... It's yellow!
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