Tune Up & Going Nuts

[chance1]

HAVING A LITTLE TROUBLE TUNING THIS BABY . DWELL IS SUPPOSE TO BE AT 30 DEGREES I CAN ONLY GET IT AT ABOUT 34 WITHOUT IT RUNNING FUNNY ,, ALSO ON THE RPMS SUPPOSE TO BE 550 WITH THE CAR IN DRIVE I GET AROUND 800 WITHOUT PROBLEMS , I SET THE TIMING TO TDC BUT WITHOUT THE DWELL AND RPMS RIGHT THE TIMING IS A LITTLE OFF TOO. THE CAR CRANKS AND RUNS SMOOTH BUT AFTER A SHORT TRIP AROUND THE BLOCK AND IT DOESN`T WON`T TO CRANK RIGHT UP .. I ASSUME THATS BECAUSE OF THE TIMING ISSUE ? THE CAR HAS A NEW ALT., 800 CCA BATTERY, STARTER, AND CABLE, COIL, POINTS,ROTORCAP, CONDENSER AND DIST.CAP. SO WHAT ELSE CAN IT BE BUT THE TIMING . WITH ALL THAT SAID I`M NOT SURE IF THE DWELL METER I HAVE IS CORRECT ? OR IF I`M USING IT CORRECTLY . I CONNECTED THE RED WIRE TO THE NEG SIDE OF THE COIL TO THE DIZZY, NEG WIRE TO THE AIR CLEANER SCREW WHERE THE WINGNUT GOES .. I CRANK THE CAR AND TRY TO ADJUST THE DWELL BUT CAN`T GET IT TO 30 ? ON THE RPMS SET IT TO LOW RPMS ON THE METER SET THE BRAKE PUT IT IN DRIVE CAN`T GET IT TO 550 ? EVEN THOUGH I KNOW THESE SETTING AREN`T READING RITE ,EVEN THOUGH THE ENGINE SOUNDS RITE , I DISCONNECT THE VACCUM LINE FROM THE CARB END PLUG IT AND SET TO TDC . CAN ANYONE SHED SOME LIGHT ON THIS .I`M SCARED TO GO OFF IN THE CAR ?? ARE MY VALVES OUT OFF ADJUSTMENT ?? IF THEY ARE HOW DO I KNOW AND I`VE NEVER DONE THAT ONE BEFORE ,SCARED I`LL Screw the engine up ..I`VE SPENT ALL THIS MONEY ON ALL THESE PARTS EVEN THOUGH THEY WERE ALL NEEDED , BUT THE CAR STILL ISN`T RITE, THANX CHANCE

[304_dude]

A number of things may be causing this.


Worn distributor bushings
imporperly installed points
Cracked or fouled distributor cap
Worn rotor
Improper plug gap
Worn out, or gummed up dwell lobes


Sorry for the long list... At least most of what you need to check is in on the distributor.

[donsjave]

I have had AMC's for over 25 years and have found that the point system is sometimes a bear to work on. Over the years I have found that some of the original equipment needs to be replaced.
My Javelin had a 304 in it originally and it too was a bear to set everything up. What the big problem with the dist was that it was worn so badly that it was next to impossible to set the dwell on it correctly. I found that the if suffered from the wobbly center shaft and it would not run the same at any given RPM. I managed to set the dwell on the thing at about 25 and it would run okay there for about a year or so. I hesitated in spending big bucks for a new electronic ignition for a car that I only drove during the summer putting 2500 miles on it per year.
It was not until I put a 401 in it that I changed to MSD electronic ignition and the cars runs as near as perfect as it can.
Suggestion: If you want to stick to a point system on your car, try getting a remanufacture dist from your local parts stores. Although these are not perfect, they are better than trying to deal with a dist that given you fits. :)