Finally Got the Work Started on the '79

[ledzilla]

Looks like I could get a heater tube in there if I found the right parts, based on this manifold plate. But yeah, I'd rather not deal with it. Supposedly for handling opening the choke the combo setup is reportedly the best, with full electric being the worst, but I don't know how true that is.

So that leaves me wondering what to do about the electric choke heater. I agree that it's likely best to just do electric. But I can't help but to wonder if the heater for a combo setup is sufficient, or if I ought to get a heater for a full electric setup like what's on the factory VV 7200. It looks like they're a direct swap in terms of fitment and connections.

[gadget73]

If that plate comes off and its not blocked up, the heat choke would probably drop right in there.

I'd expect the one meant to work with the manifold heat choke would not heat up as much as the all-electric one. Choke would probably tend to stay shut too long.

[ledzilla]

If that plate comes off and its not blocked up, the heat choke would probably drop right in there.

I'd expect the one meant to work with the manifold heat choke would not heat up as much as the all-electric one. Choke would probably tend to stay shut too long.

That's what I was thinking, but it's been difficult to determine where to find an electric choke heater for a full electric system. I've been curious if the heater for the carb on my '87 F250 would fit on the 2150. I think it's full electric as I've pulled the carb without having to deal with a heater pipe. I'm also in a position to deal with this on my '78 LTD, too, as I recently had cause to remove the carb and the heater pipe snapped while trying to disconnect from the choke housing on the carb. Need to get myself over to the hardware store, too, so I can find a cap nut and a small spacer to use to black off the port on the choke housing to prevent a vacuum leak. Figure I'd use some thread tape while I was at it to help make sure there's no leak.

[ledzilla]

Ok, so lately I've been working on rebuilding a Duraspark II distributor I had procured. I have a new cap and rotor, new vacuum advance, new pickup coil and reluctor, and new mounting o-ring. I finally managed to remove the old reluctor (couldn't pry it out so I used a chisel to break it apart, didn't lose the pin either), and remove a stuck screw holding down the cover plate for the mechanical advance. I've scrubbed down the outside of the case, I've cleaned off the mechanical advance cover plate, and I've gotten a bit of cleaning done around the mechanical advance. I did a quick check of the mechanical advance. The weights move freely and the springs don't appear to have lost any tension, so it appears to still be in decent shape.

I'm thinking that I ought to replace the internal screws that held the mechanical advance cover place and pickup coil because the heads got damaged during removal. I don't feel confident that they'll behave well during reassembly.

So, is there anything I should also examine/clean/replace? I saw some stuff about bushings, but not anything that was useful.

[gadget73]

what advance plate is in there? Depending what you're doing to the engine you may want to consider re-curving it. The stock setup tends to have overly stiff springs so the advance comes in late, but more available advance than is really needed.

[ledzilla]

For now I just want to just get it running, and looking at mostly stock ignition and valve timing. Took a picture of the mechanical advance. For clarity, the weight in the foreground is actually stamped "G1".

[gadget73]

looks like a 10L / 15L plate. That will allow 20 or 30 degrees advance, depending which way. Its currently allowing 30 degrees. If it pings you may need to flip it over.

[ledzilla]

Flip it over?

Also, while it rotates freely, it is a bit noisy. How big of an issue would that be? The original Duraspark III distributor is about the same.

[gadget73]

pics might help some

http://www.reincarnation-automotive....ons_index.html

basically in the state it is now, you should be able to pull the clip and slide that plate with the springs up and off the tab that is currently in the 15L slot. If you rotate the plate so the tab is in the 10L slot, it will reduce the amount of mechanical advance available.


if its noisy I'd be tempted to pull the thing completely apart. Drop the shaft out of it and make sure the oil groove is not clogged and give the area up inside the distributor a good cleaning to make sure it can actually get oil up there. What usually happens with distributors is the little spiral groove on the shaft gets oil sludge caked in and oil stops getting to the top bushing. Once that happens the bushing gets dry and then it starts to wear out. If the shaft is floppy the upper bushing is shot. Never messed with d-spark distributors all that much but if it comes apart anything like a TFI distributor I'd expect the gear comes off and then the shaft just pulls out the top. With TFI distributors I use pick to dig the crud out of the shaft and round brushes with solvent to get up inside. Lube the upper bushing with motor oil before putting it back together. I'd get some oil in the advance mechanism too just to make sure it moves properly.

[ledzilla]

Took some work, but I got it apart. The oil grooves definitely look dirty and at minimum partially clogged. Also seems to be a bit of corrosion and/or just deep dirt.

[Mainemantom]

That shaft needs a good soaking to get all that sludge off.

[gadget73]

yeah, deep fried oil sludge. A soak in degreaser and a light polish with Scotchbrite will make it go away. You can see where the bushing at the top rides, the shaft has some slight rub marks.

Same with the distributor, but watch what you use. Some will dissolve aluminum. I use a lot of Spray Nine at work on gross aluminum parts. If you have any intention of painting it so it looks nice, the Duplicolor Cast Coat Aluminum does a really nice job of making cruddy AL look fresh without it looking obviously painted.

[ledzilla]

I have to clean out the dist casing some more, as all the dirt and debris in the photos was released while removing the shaft. Figure I'll just hose it down with some more brake cleaner. Not too worried about appearance right now as I managed to scrub down the exterior pretty well. It's not perfect, but I'm not too worried about that.

As for the shaft... Is Simple Green safe to soak it in? Figure maybe a 10:1 solution. Also, is it worthwhile to attempt removing the lower plate of the mechanical advance for degreasing? If there's no real need to remove it, I'd rather not spend the effort on it.

When it comes to swapping from the 15L advance to the 10L, does 12° seem like the ideal initial timing?

[gadget73]

shaft is fine in simple green or really anything else.

10-15 initial is probably not far off the mark.

[ledzilla]

I finally remembered to check in at the radiator shop about the radiator. No one is sure exactly what happened as to why I haven;t gotten any notice about the radiator, but whatever. So, they fixed the out-of-round inlet, but when they pressure tested it, it leaked pretty badly. I'm guessing that's why the cooling system was devoid of fluid when I started disassembly. So it has to be re-cored, and with the cost of copper these days it won't be cheap. They gave a broad estimate between $300-$600, but if asked for a accurate quote they'll get one for me. Thinking I might just have to pull the trigger and have them do it and hope for the best. Definitely don't want to cheap out with some low-cost aftermarket radiator. The last one I bought started leaking after two years of daily driving, maybe two weeks outside of warranty expiration.