All Small Six '68 200 Engine 1100 Main Jet Size and Distributor Questions

[cwbrick]

Hi,

Helping a neighbor friend with his newly acquired early '65 Mustang. The engine is a '68 vintage 200 with a non-SCV carb, which we rebuilt with parts from Mike's Carb. The car came to him with the Load-O-Matic distributor so we replaced that with a Cardone single vacuum distributor, p/n 842613. It now starts, idles and runs fine with one exception -- there is what I would call a persistent stumbling/miss (possible lean surge?) when holding a steady 60 MPH on a level road. Giving it more throttle temporarily smooths it out as the vacuum sensitive power enrichment piston/system is now working properly.

I failed to measure the diameter of the main jet in this 1100 carb during the rebuild process, but I do recall looking on the jet for a stamped "xxF" number and did not see one under a magnifying glass, so I have no idea what the jet's diameter is that's in the carb now. Can anyone help me with what the 1100 main jet diameter should be for this '68 era 200 engine? The car has had no performance enhancements. It is a 3-spd manual trans.

I also noticed something unusual (to me anyway) with the new (not-rebuilt) Cardone distributor's vacuum advance system. I admit my knowledge of all things Ford is extremely limited. On a typical small block Chevy point style distributor, when vacuum is applied "on the bench", the plate the points are attached to rotates concentric around the centerline of the distributor shaft which results in the point gap/dwell angle not varying under different vacuum scenarios. But, on this Ford Cardone distributor (their p/n 842613), when vacuum is applied "on the bench", the points plate does not rotate concentric with the mainshaft -- it pivots from a fixed point. This cause a significant decrease in point gap (and increase in dwell angle) as the vacuum level increases. Is this how an OEM 200 6 cyl Ford distributor's vacuum advance system works, or did Cardone re-engineer their new Ford 170/200 engine distributors to this "off-center" system of advancing the points plate under vacuum that causes a huge change in point gap/dwell? Just doesn't seem right to me...

 

[B RON CO]

Hi, the breaker plate has a pivot point opposite the points. The dwell should not change as the plate moves. The only way the dwell can change is if the bushing on the distributor shaft is bad. I guess if there is something wrong with the bushing on the breaker plate that could also be a problem. The old test is to use a dwell meter and rev the engine. The dwell should be steady. If the dwell varies, the bushing is worn. Work on the ignition first. Good luck

 

[bubba22349]

X2 yes there is something defiantly wrong with your Distributor having the Dwell change like that, so that's the first thing to work on. Sadly today just because a part is new doesn't mean its in good working condition, I would return it while its still under warrantee, that is if you can. Best of luck

 

[wsa111]

Upgrade to a DS11 distributor.
Check out my recurved DS11's for your combination on the small six part of the forum. Bill wsa111

 

[cwbrick]

Update: The Cardone point style, single vacuum tap distributor (Cardone p/n 842613) we installed in this '68 200 engine is the 2nd one we purchased. The first one that arrived had a gross vacuum leak in the vacuum advance can, so it went back to Rock Auto without ever going into the car. The replacement Cardone unit they sent went into the engine and lasted 10 miles. In that very short time, the point rubbing block wore down to change the gap from an initial 0.026" down to 0.002" Yes, it was properly lubed before going in. In order to remove this distributor, we had to literally "lever" it up out of the block and the oil pump intermediate shaft came out with it. The internal 5/16" hex in the bottom end of the distributor's mainshaft had brinelled itself tight to the oil pump shaft -- very poor metallurgy in the Cardone distributor mainshaft!!! Also, the vacuum advance unit failed. So, I'm done with anything from Cardone -- and we still need a serviceable distributor to get this car back on the road.

I know there are option upgrades for HEI, DSII, etc. distributors for the 200 6 cyl., but all my friend wants is a good ol' '68 vintage points style OEM Ford distributor with the single vacuum tap and 5/16" hex drive in decent shape. Does anyone have one to sell or know who actually has these for sale? For what it's worth, he is more than willing to trade his '65 Load-O-Matic piece (that the PO had in the engine for some odd reason) for a portion of the price as his carb is a non-SCV 1100 and cannot use that older style distributor.

Thanks for the help!
Chuck