Help me not screw up the distibutor swap please...

[Anonymous]

Hi I'm hoping you guys could share your expertise regarding swapping out my distributor. I have ordered another Load - O - Crap. I know I should do a ds2 swap but at this point I am sooo sick of working on the car it isn't even funny. A rebuilt distributor is only $60.00 so hopefully it will work and I can do the ds2 swap later after I enjoy a little car actually drives time.

First off the distributor they ordered for me seems to be wrong. My rotor will not fit and it looks just a bit different. Apparently I need the one for an emissions equipped vehicle. My 1967 Mustang had no smog stuff but I'm guessing that since it is a CA car it must have had it at some point. New one will be here tomorrow.

I covered #1 plug hole cranked engine until air blew out then confirmed that the rotor is pointing at #1 spark plug wire (actually between #1 and #5 so it's close?). One problem though, the cap has a mark where the #1 plug wire is supposed to be. It is not, it is the #3 wire. Another words the firing order is correct it is just walked around the cap so the mark on the cap that say #1 is #3. I have driven the car for years like this with no problems but I would like to get it right (#1 wire at #1 mark on cap)

Should I just leave it? Does it make any diference at all?

How do I fix it? Just turn the distributor and put it in a few teeth over? I am ready to pull it and the rotor is pointing at the #1 spark plug wire, as it should....

Any advice. Thanks for all the help you guys have already offered!

 

[Bort62]

Hi I'm hoping you guys could share your expertise regarding swapping out my distributor. I have ordered another Load - O - Crap. I know I should do a ds2 swap but at this point I am sooo sick of working on the car it isn't even funny.

First off the distributor they ordered for me seems to be wrong.

Any advice. Thanks for all the help you guys have already offered!

Yeah, Switch to DSII so you actually can get your car working right, and stop stepping in the same crap over and over again. It takes about 10 minutes to do the DSII swap. If you can't handle the complexity of this swap, you should probably sell the car and buy a honda 'cause it's only going to get worse from here.

 

[Anonymous]

Well, I can handle the complexity of the swap. I have had this car for 7 years and as you can imagine I have done a bunch of work and repairs to it over that time. I was in need of restoration when I bought it...

I do not take it to a mechanic so I have done a everything myself except rebuild the motor. I took it out and put it back in though. I'm not a great mechanic (obviously) but I can manage. Especially with the help of this forum.

I am just completely FRIED on working on this car. I had a big ordeal with my resistor wire going bad and then this issue that took FOREVER to figure out. I just want to put in a new dizzy and hopefully just drive the car. It is a weekend driver. I just want to enjoy a few weekends of driving the car and not wrenching on it!! There is no reason why the car shouldn't be able to function OK with load-o-crap and points as long as all is adjusted well. Once again, it is not a daily driver and I really don't care that much about mileage for as little as I drive it.

Would you bother trying to get the #1 wire to be at the #1 point on cap? I guess that is my main question.

Thanks

 

[Bort62]

There is no reason why the car shouldn't be able to function OK with load-o-crap and points as long as all is adjusted well.

I would question the validity of this assumption. Have fun. it doesn't matter where the plug wires are as long as they are correct relative to each other.

 

[wallaka]

Would you bother trying to get the #1 wire to be at the #1 point on cap? I guess that is my main question.

Thanks

Nope. As long as the rotor button is pointing near a terminal on the cap, that's good enough for me.

 

[grocery getter]

you've had problems with this dist. WHY would you replace it in kind ?


how many times do you need to hear DS2, before you make your life easier ?

 

[Mercury Mike]

I'll throw it out there twelve or thirteen more times. DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII, DSII. =) Trust us! If you're spending this much time on the Load-o already, your DSII could already have 100,000 miles on it by now. Hahahaha.

 

[bigcatchdaniel555]

Go with the ds2 it makes the car run so much smoother you and never adjust points again. With my load o the car could never get rid of a small jitter miss the ds2 cleaned it right up. The only thing different is running the electronic box wires to the dizzy and they're all color coded. I am still running my stock coil on the resistor it works great.
Dan-

 

[Bort62]

Go with the ds2 it makes the car run so much smoother you and never adjust points again. With my load o the car could never get rid of a small jitter miss the ds2 cleaned it right up. The only thing different is running the electronic box wires to the dizzy and they're all color coded. I am still running my stock coil on the resistor it works great.
Dan-

Exactly!

Wilhelmus you have too many cars. Just think about the carbon footprint...

 

[fordconvert]

I have my ds2 setup with a relay to bypass the resistor wire so I can remove it and run through the resistor and I have not noticed any difference in performance. I would assume there has to be some difference but it does not appear to cause any problems under 'normal' conditions.

Have you had a dizzy out before? Other than researching and marking its location before you remove it (like you have done) you also have to deal with the oil pump. It does not really matter where it is if you are not going to move the engine while the dizzy is out. You just need to mark where the rotor is pointed. Sometimes I will bump the starter or turn it by hand till it stops in a spot that I can easily sight along other components under the hood. The compression #1 thing works also especially if you have worked on the motor while the dizzy was out. Like others have said as long as the rotor is pointed to the #1 wire and the rest are in the proper order (and direction) it does not matter. Some wire sets you will run into length problems if you get too far off. The reason systems get like this is a combination of the oil pump and other factors like the vacuum advance can running into things as you rotate the body. As you lift out the dizzy the rotor will turn a bit, you want to note where it stops turning and rotate the new one to that position as you drop it in. The hope is that if you start dropping it in at the same point the other one came out it will end up in the same position when it drops in all the way. The next catch is that as it drops in it has to engage the hex for the oil pump. If it looks like you are going to get the rotor in the correct location you may have to pull it out again and use a small socket on an extension to rotate the oil pump shaft slightly and then try to drop the dizzy in again. If you are not a lucky person you may have to go back and fourth a few times before you get it right. By right I mean get it the rotor to end up in the right place and have it drop on the oil pump shaft. At this stage someone could give up and just move the wires around to where the rotor is. Next catch is to get it timed. You may find that the vacuum can runs into something so you cant quite get it in time. The right way to fix this problem is to pull the dizzy and move it a tooth or two (which may mean having to play the oil pump shaft game again). Sometimes the fix for this problem is to rotate all the wires one spot to get it right. I did this on mine last time I had it apart and the only issue is the #6 wire is a bit short and there are lots of numbers scribbled onto the cap.

 

[Bort62]

Basically, shifting the wires over right or left is the lazy man's way of getting it lined up right.

The right way is to pull the dist out and re-seat it.

 

[page62]

I'm swapping out a Load-o-matic with Pertronix (which actually works well) for a non-Load-o with Pertronix Ignitor II (which should work even better).

This means I'll have a surplus Load-o with Pertronix soon (5/16 oil pump shaft). PM me if you're interested...

 

[66 E100 Pickup]

A rebuilt distributor is only $60.00 so hopefully it will work and I can do the ds2 swap later after I enjoy a little car actually drives time.

Ouch a rebuilt DSII is only $40

http://www.partsamerica.com/ProductList ... istributor

Throw in a $15 HEI ignition module and a 12 volt coil and you'll see a huge difference....

John

 

[wallaka]

Basically, shifting the wires over right or left is the lazy man's way of getting it lined up right.

The right way is to pull the dist out and re-seat it.

Why should I spend an extra 15-20 minutes to line up the wires to an arbitrary "correct mark"? Especially when there is no functional difference between #1 and any of the others. As long as there is enough clearance to turn the dizzy without the vac canister hitting anything, it is sufficient.

I had the dizzy in and out enough in the past couple of months to learn that it doesn't matter. In fact, I don't even know where the #1 plug wire is supposed to go on the cap. I'm not going for a concours restoration, and the firing order is far enough apart to eliminate induction.

I guess we'll agree to disagree.

 

[Bort62]

Why should I spend an extra 15-20 minutes

lazy

 

[wallaka]

Hey, it adds up when you install it, turn the engine over, and then take it right back out and repeat several times.

It's just a cosmetic difference, anyhow, therefore there is no real reason to do it.

 

[jamyers]

Now fellas...

Agreed that the dizzy doesn't care where #1 is, but I'm just curious - IS there a "correct" place for the #1 wire, and if so - where should it go?
(not that I'm gonna go out and move wires around - if I did that it'd be just giving my wife another reason to wonder about me, and she's already got too many of those.)