@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 So basically the adjustable vacuum advances are the same as installing one of them store bought curve kits...just easier?
Before I watch this video, I'd like to state my belief's and understanding of the mechanical distributor on carbureted engines. ALSO THANK YOU FOR GREAT INSTRUCTION VIDEOS! I've been in the automotive field as a senior master automotive and diesel Technician for over 20 years, and I appreciate the direction taken here to educate! I'm a driveability technician. Ignition timing is a close friend of mine. In 23 years I've witnessed two sides form...."The Advanced" and "The Lockouts". I'm a firm believer in timing curves. Please have VERY VERY good reasons if this video is about locking the damn distributor at 36° on a daily driven 10.5:1 over-cammed sbc . MSD distributors do have adjustability of advance curve and max timing. Sorry for the rant. I'll watch the video now.
I'm a driveability guy too, worked at a Ford dealership for almost 30 years, I started when points and condenser was ending , worked all the way through eec5 systems that had monitors, but locking the distributor out is for a racecar not a street car, i usually watch the video before I comment. I show people what I've down , not what I've read and I'm sure you'll have some people that will do the extreme to a street engine. Most of my videos are for drag racing or circle track. Hope this helps and I was a master tech through ford motor company and ase. I always loved driveability.
You have given me more REAL WORLD INFO on distributors in 15 minutes than I could find anywhere! Thank you! Now, and chance you could do some Mallory dizzy stuff, since there’s almost zero good info out there on them?!?!? I have been searching all over for advance curve knowledge on the Mallory’s, but since you can’t get the Mallory advance kits anymore- only Summit sells a kit that will fit for their distributors, but the springs are all different from the original Mallory colors so no one knows how to set these up anymore! Your 40 years of knowledge is more valuable than you can begin to imagine!!!!! I beg of you to please kick out a few vids on the older Mallory dizzy’s. Both the unilight and magnetic pickups!! You are a guru, and so helpful! SUBSCRIBED!!!!!!
Ive got a lockout plate I purchased from FBO igniton for my vacuum advance distributor. I am gonna pair this with MSD 6al 2 programmable. Basically you set up max advance with the timing light, then program MSD to pull timing out along a curve up to whatever you set, returning back to full mechanical advance eventually. This comes with benefits of being able to control the timing curve, 2step, burnout control rpm limiter,start retard, and higher voltage. Im curious to play with settings some at the track and see what helps.
I have never tried a limiting lock out plate for a vacuum advance distributor , I believe that would be nice 10 to 18 degrees of mechanical adjustment , sounds like you know what your doing, I had the old msd 7al-2 ,It would let me pull some timing out on the big end. Good luck, thanks for watching.
Holley Carbs: How To's & Advice ,40 yrs of exp. Im a rookie with carbs and distributors, don’t be fooled haha. I came from EFI and gave it up for an old 6 pack mopar challenger. You have any experience setting up 6 pack carbs?
One thing I've never heard anyone talk about, is the transition between vacuum and mechanical advance. I realize there's variables, but I'm curious of how much advance would be lost as the throttle opens and vacuum begins to drop, before my engine has reached enough RPM for the centrifugal weights to take over. Of course, I'm speaking of a daily driver, spending most of it's time at part throttle, with the occasional WOT blast down the blvd.
I have always set my initial timing then set my mechanical and my vacuum advance but I prefer to run ported vacuum from my carb to control my vacuum advance it's not the same as running it off manifold vavuum.
Thanks for the video and I have a street/strip 3100lb ish 89 foxbody 10:7:1 363 sbf victor jr afr 195s, comp 282 cam 565 576 lift, 780 holley, 5 speed 373 gear and looking for a starting point on springs n bushings w/ mech advance msd pro bullet and was thinking 14 intial and 34 total, thinkin blue bushing w/light silver and light blue spring to come in at 2400k and advance be 21, whats your thoughts on this? Thanks for any help.
George excellent parts combo , very well thought out. With the ignition timing in that fast ,which is a performance advantage , watch for ignition timing moving around down low , sometimes its hard to use light springs and keep control of the timing, if you don't have any problems , afr has excellent designed combustion chambers so 32 to 34 degrees should be fine. You may won't to play with the timing at the track to see if your at the best timing. If you every get to where your timing is causeing hard starting ad a spark retard box , always remember the more initial and less mechanical is better for racing , if you we're just racing, ( no street driving) I would tell you to lock out your ignition timing. Hope this helps.
Thanks that was very helpful for a new guy Maybe you can help with a problem I’m having I’m getting arcing from my billet 85503 shaft to the block Runs like garbage when it reaches operating temperature I ran all new grounds Coil to chassis mounted on the block Head to head Head to block Block to chassis in a loop
Absolutely , a coil can drive you crazy. I,m not sure about the arcing , can you explain when and where this is happening , also sometimes can catch ignition problems arcing at night .
I believe it's a 9mm nut but I might have seen a 10 mmr on some. Remember this, locking the distributor advance out is an all out racing modification .Running this on the street is not a good idea .Hope this helps.
Hi and thanks for the great tips. Question sir, I have just recurved my Msd billet with lighter springs and the big black bushing (black bushing supposed to limit total 18 deg Btdc.) SO, which timing do I set? Idle/Initial or Total first? I want 36 deg total. I have TDC on #1, and will use my advance timing light. IF my total is 18 deg total, does that mean my Initial/Idle will be 18 deg for a total of 36 deg? Or set total at 36 deg at 25-28,000 rpm and will that make my Idle around 18 deg? My timing is set to be all in around 25-28k rpm. according to the springs per Msd Pdf chart. I appreciate any feedback sir. Thank you!!!!
If its strictly a race car yes you could run 18 initial or lock the timing out , I like to run the rpms up to a minimum 3000 to 3500 rpms , and check total advance, now if your driving it on the street your probaly going to need a ignition box that has a start retard 18 degrees you can sometimes squeeze by without the box.
Igniter vs Points distributor vs HEI I have a 1990 Lincoln Town with the Windsor V8. Looking for tune-up advice, how to get the best fuel efficiency. upgrading does sound like less maintenance but questioning ROI Return On Investment? btw the car has sat for 8 years and running well on warm days. but if I don't let it warm up 20* F or colder and try to drive off after 10 min it seems rough until it gets to operating temp. also after 45 to 1hr idle to op temp. it will kill the motor most of the time when I change gears R or D. I haven't noticed during warmer days dying during gear change but I have only had it for three weeks.
I need more information , have you took off the fuel injection , what kind of carburetor , windsor 5.0L or 5.8 what type trans. I need as much information as you can give me.P.S. I favor the pertronix ignitor. A good quality HEI is also good but to me they look peculiar up front on the ford.
good video i have a 454 with 15 initial timin and a total of 36. now i want to make it go as fast as possible ofc. any tips what spring i should use ? its a msd pro billet. when do i want the total timing to go all in ? i have a camshaft with a sweet spot of 1500-5500 rpm and a intake of 1500-6500 rpm
A lot of people for hipo street applications say before 2500 2000-2500 if that dosn work then yeah try 3000. you want it in quick. but if its stock probably not so fast or it its geared low heavy etc
If your dampner is not marked, I believe you can still buy a timing tape which is a degreed tape that you just peel off the back and clean your damper and stick it on, match 0 tdc on dampner with 0 on your timing tape, always get the right size timing tape for the dampner. If you have an 8 inch dampner be sure your tape is for a 8 inch dampner. I used to build my racing engines, when I degreed my cam in I would use the degree wheel to mark my dampner from 0 to 40 degrees, back then we used a lot of modifed stock parts. Hope this helps.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 it’s a after market balancer with timing marks! So I just run it up on RPM and turn the distributor until I reach 32 degrees?
Is it better to have more timing come in with the mechanical rather than have a lot of initial and a small amount of mechanical? This is for my street/strip car.
If you have a start retard box , then run about half initial and half mechanical of the total advance ,for instance if your running 36 degrees total run 18 and 18.If not run maybe 10 initial bring the rest of the mechanical in asap.
You have to set the distributor up around your initial timing and how much total timing your going to use, and what kind of msd distributor your using ( all mechanical or vacuum advance and mechanical ) or if strictly drag racing you can lock the distributor out. I need more information to help you.
OK so I'm running a 302 with bolt ons n gt40 iron heads with a ford f cam,what should I set my initial n total timing with msd mechanical advance distributor, what bushings n springs I never messed with a mechanical distributor thank you
Robert there is so many variables , I need a lot more information on your engine , compression , cam , carb or inj , octane of gas you run , is it a street car or strip and street car, let me know and I will help you.
I have a 65 GTO with 406 smallblock Chevy with the following: Dart SHP 180cc aluminum heads, Howard cam .530/.545, 233/241, 110 lsa, RPM Airgap intake and Summit 750 vac sec carb, Progression distributor which is computerized and runs a MAP sensor for vacuum advance. Compression is 10:1 and I run 91 octane. Rear end is 9 inch Ford with 3.50 gears and Tremec 5 speed. Timing during cranking is fixed at 10 degrees. After that I can create any timing map I want on my iphone and upload it via bluetooth to distributor. I'm interested in what you were saying about locking out the distributor and how much faster the car accelerates on the bottom end. Since mine is completely programmable I would think I could simulate the lockout during initial takeoff but increasing advance immediately and then adjust it after that. What do you think of this plan? Do you have a suggestion on what the ideal timing curve would be again keeping in mind that it is 100% programmable? Car is street driven on weekends. Thanks a lot.
If your running it on the street that much initial lead is hard on the engine but if you can use start retard cranking and then dial your timing to 20 to25 degrees at idle and then ad your total timing at a certain rpm usually around 3000 , keep your idle as high as you can when your running that much timing maybe 1300 to 1500 rpms, when you bring your initial timing in early . You will notice the power level come up, I run my msd dist.locked out at the track when I want to star gaze lot of bottom end response. Good luck Sounds like your sharp, keep thinking out of the box.I would continually change it and see what it wants on top . Faster the burn rate of the combustion chamber the less total timing you need , but can vary from 32 to 38 degrees total , have to find that sweet spot.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 I have spent probably 10 hours over the past few days tweaking the timing table and it keeps getting better. . One thing I did today was hook up a vacuum gauge so I could compare the kpa that the software functions in to mm Hg which I'm more familiar with.I wish there was a way I could post a photo of my timing map so you could tell me what you think
Which carb would be best with the msd pro billet mechanical advance distributor? Do you still use carb with vacuum secondary, or is there mechanical secondary carbs?
Typically. they come with 21 degrees of mechanical advance , this is your blue bushing, usually its best to run as high initial timing as possible with out making your starter drag,, so for example blue 21 degree bushing and 15 degrees initial = 36 degrees total , remember there are all sorts of diffrent combinations ,what makes one engine happy may damage another engine, also play with your springs to control how fast your tlmling advance comes in , msd has a lot of information about this on their website. Hope that helps.
Your distributor is a factory replacement , you probably won't a pro billet msd dist., If you won't to customize your timing curve. Sorry wish I could help.
Could you give a little more explanation on those little advance pills, the thicker and the thinner? I run about 16-18 initial timing, and about 36 total if I want that to advance much quicker would I go with the smaller or larger pill?
The bushings limit the amount of advance, the bigger the bushing the less advance the smaller more advance, the springs control how quick the advance curve happens, light springs quick advance curve. Hope this helps.
I have a 69 el camino at 3300 lbs a 396 with edlebrock RPM Performer heads and intake to match , a comp 282 roller cam and rockers , Eagle forged crank and rods , It is a dog and I am thinking of running the red busing and the silver springs to get the advance up there to 38 do you think that is too much advance? should I bring it down to 34 total instead ? I am running stock springs and blue stop washer
Normally 38 degrees timing is ok on a typical big block chevy, but first you need to run a compression test to get an idea how much timing to run , your motor should not be a dog fact it should be the opposite. Run your compression test and if you can check the engine vacuum at idle and get back to me.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 it's 9 lbs at idle, I just checked the timing and something is drastically wrong , it is comfortable with 40° at idle and jump's to 60 ° when give it throttle... Could the timing chain be out a tooth 🦷 I didn't build the engine so they might of screwed up..
Check your harmonic balancer for slippage next check your timing gears for proper alignment, sometimes I've seen people use the key way on the crankshaft to align the timing gears, you have to use the timing mark on the the crank gear , not the key way. Mark on the cam gear at 6 o'clock and mark on the crank gear at 12 o'clock. Now not trying to confuse you ,if you have multiple keyways on your crank gear check and make sure your using the right keyway. Hope this helps. If this is your problem you want believe how much power your going to pick up. Hope this helps.
I'm not a marine tech, but best I can tell is its simular to the pro billet racing distributor but has upgrades to the distributor cap, has brass vents at distributor base and has a built in ignition module, and has adjustable timing advance with bushing stops and springs to curve the distributor advance, make sure you check the specs from the boat and engine manufactures for the correct ignition timing advance curve, how much initial timing and total timing the engine needs this is important. I'm not a marine mechanic but I hope this helps. Msd distributor pn 83606 for chevy.
It comes down to what your doing with your engine also things like compression, type of fuel, combustion chambers shapes and sizes, cylinder head material, lot of factors.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 on my motor there’s a mark right at 35 i believe that’s totally time but how do i know how much the distributor has in timing the color of the bushings?
I don't know if you have a msd distributor but msd has a tech line they can tell you the degrees of timing of each bushing and then add in however much initial timing you need to get your total timing usually a stock engine likes around 10 degrees initial but this can vary. I'm discussing a full mechanical advance distributor. Vacuum advance you have to add vacuum timing and mechanical timing and your initial timing to get total timing. Hope this helps.
Could I just turn the idle up until the engine stops advancing say to like 36 degrees lock down distributor and let the initial advance just fall wherever it's at.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 I guess I will try it your way because my engine is running really rich at idle and under slight load carburetor seems to be dialed In so I'm looking at ignition next
The knowledge you share is so appreciated i can't thank you enough, your a very generous man,GOD bless you and your family
Thank you.
This by far one of the best videos on timing set up that I have seen! Thank you!
Your welcome.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 So basically the adjustable vacuum advances are the same as installing one of them store bought curve kits...just easier?
I love you video's...you have got to be the most informative guy for me to understand! I appreciate ya!
Thank you very much
Before I watch this video, I'd like to state my belief's and understanding of the mechanical distributor on carbureted engines. ALSO THANK YOU FOR GREAT INSTRUCTION VIDEOS! I've been in the automotive field as a senior master automotive and diesel Technician for over 20 years, and I appreciate the direction taken here to educate!
I'm a driveability technician. Ignition timing is a close friend of mine. In 23 years I've witnessed two sides form...."The Advanced" and "The Lockouts".
I'm a firm believer in timing curves. Please have VERY VERY good reasons if this video is about locking the damn distributor at 36° on a daily driven 10.5:1 over-cammed sbc .
MSD distributors do have adjustability of advance curve and max timing.
Sorry for the rant. I'll watch the video now.
I'm a driveability guy too, worked at a Ford dealership for almost 30 years, I started when points and condenser was ending , worked all the way through eec5 systems that had monitors, but locking the distributor out is for a racecar not a street car, i usually watch the video before I comment. I show people what I've down , not what I've read and I'm sure you'll have some people that will do the extreme to a street engine. Most of my videos are for drag racing or circle track. Hope this helps and I was a master tech through ford motor company and ase. I always loved driveability.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 no shit! A brother from the blue oval! I miss the shop life and the ability to further my education a little.
Thank You Sir for your excellent teaching !!!!!
Awesome Information.
Thank you for watching.
You have given me more REAL WORLD INFO on distributors in 15 minutes than I could find anywhere! Thank you! Now, and chance you could do some Mallory dizzy stuff, since there’s almost zero good info out there on them?!?!? I have been searching all over for advance curve knowledge on the Mallory’s, but since you can’t get the Mallory advance kits anymore- only Summit sells a kit that will fit for their distributors, but the springs are all different from the original Mallory colors so no one knows how to set these up anymore! Your 40 years of knowledge is more valuable than you can begin to imagine!!!!! I beg of you to please kick out a few vids on the older Mallory dizzy’s. Both the unilight and magnetic pickups!!
You are a guru, and so helpful! SUBSCRIBED!!!!!!
Dave I'll have to look through my distributors I had a pro comp 9000 , don't know if its still around ,I'll get back to you.
In a 496 stroker forged bbc, what kind of advance curve should I be looking for as a start? 10.5:1 dual carb, tunnel ram intake, over tran
Transom headers- engine blueprint says @ 650 hp and Dart 308 race series aluminum heads
i just suscribed....i gained alot of information from you thank you for shareing....alot of people wont share all...or just wont tell you anything
Thanks for watching.
Thanks mate for your support
Most welcome.
Well done😀
I'll have to watch it a few more times to grasp all you said but thanks
Thanks for watching Skipper.
Thanks for the video, needed a refresh!
Thank you
Once again "You tha MAN" THANKS
Thanks
Thank you this was great
Thanks
This was a great bit of info
Thank you.
Very helpful, really appreciate you.
Thanks bud anytime i can help.
This was super helpful
Thanks
THANK FOR THE INFO
Thank you for watching.
Thanks buddy
Most welcome.
Hey buddy thanks
You are very welcome.
Ive got a lockout plate I purchased from FBO igniton for my vacuum advance distributor. I am gonna pair this with MSD 6al 2 programmable. Basically you set up max advance with the timing light, then program MSD to pull timing out along a curve up to whatever you set, returning back to full mechanical advance eventually. This comes with benefits of being able to control the timing curve, 2step, burnout control rpm limiter,start retard, and higher voltage.
Im curious to play with settings some at the track and see what helps.
I have never tried a limiting lock out plate for a vacuum advance distributor , I believe that would be nice 10 to 18 degrees of mechanical adjustment , sounds like you know what your doing, I had the old msd 7al-2 ,It would let me pull some timing out on the big end. Good luck, thanks for watching.
Holley Carbs: How To's & Advice ,40 yrs of exp. Im a rookie with carbs and distributors, don’t be fooled haha. I came from EFI and gave it up for an old 6 pack mopar challenger. You have any experience setting up 6 pack carbs?
One thing I've never heard anyone talk about, is the transition between vacuum and mechanical advance. I realize there's variables, but I'm curious of how much advance would be lost as the throttle opens and vacuum begins to drop, before my engine has reached enough RPM for the centrifugal weights to take over. Of course, I'm speaking of a daily driver, spending most of it's time at part throttle, with the occasional WOT blast down the blvd.
I have always set my initial timing then set my mechanical and my vacuum advance but I prefer to run ported vacuum from my carb to control my vacuum advance it's not the same as running it off manifold vavuum.
Thanks for the video and I have a street/strip 3100lb ish 89 foxbody 10:7:1 363 sbf victor jr afr 195s, comp 282 cam 565 576 lift, 780 holley, 5 speed 373 gear and looking for a starting point on springs n bushings w/ mech advance msd pro bullet and was thinking 14 intial and 34 total, thinkin blue bushing w/light silver and light blue spring to come in at 2400k and advance be 21, whats your thoughts on this? Thanks for any help.
George excellent parts combo , very well thought out. With the ignition timing in that fast ,which is a performance advantage , watch for ignition timing moving around down low , sometimes its hard to use light springs and keep control of the timing, if you don't have any problems , afr has excellent designed combustion chambers so 32 to 34 degrees should be fine. You may won't to play with the timing at the track to see if your at the best timing. If you every get to where your timing is causeing hard starting ad a spark retard box , always remember the more initial and less mechanical is better for racing , if you we're just racing, ( no street driving) I would tell you to lock out your ignition timing. Hope this helps.
Thanks that was very helpful for a new guy
Maybe you can help with a problem I’m having
I’m getting arcing from my billet 85503 shaft to the block
Runs like garbage when it reaches operating temperature
I ran all new grounds
Coil to chassis mounted on the block
Head to head
Head to block
Block to chassis in a loop
Coil when hot can run bad...
Absolutely , a coil can drive you crazy. I,m not sure about the arcing , can you explain when and where this is happening , also sometimes can catch ignition problems arcing at night .
Hey brother I love all your videos ,could you please tell me what size the nut is for the bushing?
I believe it's a 9mm nut but I might have seen a 10 mmr on some. Remember this, locking the distributor advance out is an all out racing modification .Running this on the street is not a good idea .Hope this helps.
Hi and thanks for the great tips. Question sir, I have just recurved my Msd billet with lighter springs and the big black bushing (black bushing supposed to limit total 18 deg Btdc.) SO, which timing do I set? Idle/Initial or Total first? I want 36 deg total. I have TDC on #1, and will use my advance timing light. IF my total is 18 deg total, does that mean my Initial/Idle will be 18 deg for a total of 36 deg? Or set total at 36 deg at 25-28,000 rpm and will that make my Idle around 18 deg? My timing is set to be all in around 25-28k rpm. according to the springs per Msd Pdf chart. I appreciate any feedback sir. Thank you!!!!
If its strictly a race car yes you could run 18 initial or lock the timing out , I like to run the rpms up to a minimum 3000 to 3500 rpms , and check total advance, now if your driving it on the street your probaly going to need a ignition box that has a start retard 18 degrees you can sometimes squeeze by without the box.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 Hi and thanks for your comment! I use the MSD 6AL box.
Igniter vs Points distributor vs HEI
I have a 1990 Lincoln Town with the Windsor V8. Looking for tune-up advice, how to get the best fuel efficiency. upgrading does sound like less maintenance but questioning ROI Return On Investment? btw the car has sat for 8 years and running well on warm days. but if I don't let it warm up 20* F or colder and try to drive off after 10 min it seems rough until it gets to operating temp. also after 45 to 1hr idle to op temp. it will kill the motor most of the time when I change gears R or D. I haven't noticed during warmer days dying during gear change but I have only had it for three weeks.
I need more information , have you took off the fuel injection , what kind of carburetor , windsor 5.0L or 5.8 what type trans. I need as much information as you can give me.P.S. I favor the pertronix ignitor. A good quality HEI is also good but to me they look peculiar up front on the ford.
Your doing a excellent job ive been doing this 55 years never hurts to review how bout shimming the shaft
Thank you Roger ,we both been at it a long time.
good video i have a 454 with 15 initial timin and a total of 36. now i want to make it go as fast as possible ofc. any tips what spring i should use ? its a msd pro billet. when do i want the total timing to go all in ? i have a camshaft with a sweet spot of 1500-5500 rpm and a intake of 1500-6500 rpm
I like all my timing in by 3000.
A lot of people for hipo street applications say before 2500 2000-2500 if that dosn work then yeah try 3000. you want it in quick. but if its stock probably not so fast or it its geared low heavy etc
Awesome video. Got a question how do I set timing on a locked msd distributor on sbc ?Would be using just a timing light with no fancy dials.
If your dampner is not marked, I believe you can still buy a timing tape which is a degreed tape that you just peel off the back and clean your damper and stick it on, match 0 tdc on dampner with 0 on your timing tape, always get the right size timing tape for the dampner. If you have an 8 inch dampner be sure your tape is for a 8 inch dampner. I used to build my racing engines, when I degreed my cam in I would use the degree wheel to mark my dampner from 0 to 40 degrees, back then we used a lot of modifed stock parts. Hope this helps.
Amazon sells timing tapes.thanks for watching.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 it’s a after market balancer with timing marks! So I just run it up on RPM and turn the distributor until I reach 32 degrees?
Is it better to have more timing come in with the mechanical rather than have a lot of initial and a small amount of mechanical? This is for my street/strip car.
If you have a start retard box , then run about half initial and half mechanical of the total advance ,for instance if your running 36 degrees total run 18 and 18.If not run maybe 10 initial bring the rest of the mechanical in asap.
Hello I have a ready to run and I want my timing to come in full at 3000 rpm what springs and bushings should I use thanks
You have to set the distributor up around your initial timing and how much total timing your going to use, and what kind of msd distributor your using ( all mechanical or vacuum advance and mechanical ) or if strictly drag racing you can lock the distributor out. I need more information to help you.
OK so I'm running a 302 with bolt ons n gt40 iron heads with a ford f cam,what should I set my initial n total timing with msd mechanical advance distributor, what bushings n springs I never messed with a mechanical distributor thank you
Robert there is so many variables , I need a lot more information on your engine , compression , cam , carb or inj , octane of gas you run , is it a street car or strip and street car, let me know and I will help you.
I lake about 0.010 end play in the distributor. Do you prefer another spec?
It's hard to put just one number to distributor end play , that's a good number for a cast distributor housing , billet will need more.
I have a 65 GTO with 406 smallblock Chevy with the following: Dart SHP 180cc aluminum heads, Howard cam .530/.545, 233/241, 110 lsa, RPM Airgap intake and Summit 750 vac sec carb, Progression distributor which is computerized and runs a MAP sensor for vacuum advance. Compression is 10:1 and I run 91 octane. Rear end is 9 inch Ford with 3.50 gears and Tremec 5 speed. Timing during cranking is fixed at 10 degrees. After that I can create any timing map I want on my iphone and upload it via bluetooth to distributor. I'm interested in what you were saying about locking out the distributor and how much faster the car accelerates on the bottom end. Since mine is completely programmable I would think I could simulate the lockout during initial takeoff but increasing advance immediately and then adjust it after that. What do you think of this plan? Do you have a suggestion on what the ideal timing curve would be again keeping in mind that it is 100% programmable? Car is street driven on weekends. Thanks a lot.
If your running it on the street that much initial lead is hard on the engine but if you can use start retard cranking and then dial your timing to 20 to25 degrees at idle and then ad your total timing at a certain rpm usually around 3000 , keep your idle as high as you can when your running that much timing maybe 1300 to 1500 rpms, when you bring your initial timing in early . You will notice the power level come up, I run my msd dist.locked out at the track when I want to star gaze lot of bottom end response. Good luck Sounds like your sharp, keep thinking out of the box.I would continually change it and see what it wants on top . Faster the burn rate of the combustion chamber the less total timing you need , but can vary from 32 to 38 degrees total , have to find that sweet spot.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 I have spent probably 10 hours over the past few days tweaking the timing table and it keeps getting better. . One thing I did today was hook up a vacuum gauge so I could compare the kpa that the software functions in to mm Hg which I'm more familiar with.I wish there was a way I could post a photo of my timing map so you could tell me what you think
Which carb would be best with the msd pro billet mechanical advance distributor? Do you still use carb with vacuum secondary, or is there mechanical secondary carbs?
I do have the whole msd electronic ignition kit with digital 6al box, that has rev limit adjustment
Scott describe your engine and are you running manual trans. Or automatic. Do you sreet cruise or more competitive?
I enjoyed your vedeo. I drag race a 468 Chevy with a lot of compression roller cam and set timing by ear have you got a comment for me thanks
When I was drag racing I locked my distributor out, but only if it's strictly a drag car .
What do the msd distributors come with timing wise stock typically?
Typically. they come with 21 degrees of mechanical advance , this is your blue bushing, usually its best to run as high initial timing as possible with out making your starter drag,, so for example blue 21 degree bushing and 15 degrees initial = 36 degrees total , remember there are all sorts of diffrent combinations ,what makes one engine happy may damage another engine, also play with your springs to control how fast your tlmling advance comes in , msd has a lot of information about this on their website. Hope that helps.
Ok i have Msd-8362 from summit and i wanna make my total timing come in at 2500-3000 and i cant seem to find the right springs and bushings
Your distributor is a factory replacement , you probably won't a pro billet msd dist., If you won't to customize your timing curve. Sorry wish I could help.
Could you give a little more explanation on those little advance pills, the thicker and the thinner? I run about 16-18 initial timing, and about 36 total if I want that to advance much quicker would I go with the smaller or larger pill?
The bushings limit the amount of advance, the bigger the bushing the less advance the smaller more advance, the springs control how quick the advance curve happens, light springs quick advance curve. Hope this helps.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 absolutely does thank you
I have a 69 el camino at 3300 lbs a 396 with edlebrock RPM Performer heads and intake to match , a comp 282 roller cam and rockers , Eagle forged crank and rods , It is a dog and I am thinking of running the red busing and the silver springs to get the advance up there to 38 do you think that is too much advance? should I bring it down to 34 total instead ? I am running stock springs and blue stop washer
Normally 38 degrees timing is ok on a typical big block chevy, but first you need to run a compression test to get an idea how much timing to run , your motor should not be a dog fact it should be the opposite. Run your compression test and if you can check the engine vacuum at idle and get back to me.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 it's 9 lbs at idle, I just checked the timing and something is drastically wrong , it is comfortable with 40° at idle and jump's to 60 ° when give it throttle... Could the timing chain be out a tooth 🦷 I didn't build the engine so they might of screwed up..
Check your harmonic balancer for slippage next check your timing gears for proper alignment, sometimes I've seen people use the key way on the crankshaft to align the timing gears, you have to use the timing mark on the the crank gear , not the key way. Mark on the cam gear at 6 o'clock and mark on the crank gear at 12 o'clock. Now not trying to confuse you ,if you have multiple keyways on your crank gear check and make sure your using the right keyway. Hope this helps. If this is your problem you want believe how much power your going to pick up. Hope this helps.
Can you do a tutorial on the marine msd ready to run distributor?
I'm not a marine tech, but best I can tell is its simular to the pro billet racing distributor but has upgrades to the distributor cap, has brass vents at distributor base and has a built in ignition module, and has adjustable timing advance with bushing stops and springs to curve the distributor advance, make sure you check the specs from the boat and engine manufactures for the correct ignition timing advance curve, how much initial timing and total timing the engine needs this is important. I'm not a marine mechanic but I hope this helps. Msd distributor pn 83606 for chevy.
@Holley Carbs: How To's & Advice ,40 yrs of exp. I'm swapping my engine for a small block Chevy, so I'm building everything from scratch
@Holley Carbs: How To's & Advice ,40 yrs of exp. I already got an efi kit from holley and a marine ready to run msd distributor.
Good deal man.
Where are you located? Maybe I just bring my car to you for a good tune!
All I can do is bench work , I have a serious lower back condition, sorry.
how to know what ur initial timing should be at?
It comes down to what your doing with your engine also things like compression, type of fuel, combustion chambers shapes and sizes, cylinder head material, lot of factors.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 on my motor there’s a mark right at 35 i believe that’s totally time but how do i know how much the distributor has in timing the color of the bushings?
I don't know if you have a msd distributor but msd has a tech line they can tell you the degrees of timing of each bushing and then add in however much initial timing you need to get your total timing usually a stock engine likes around 10 degrees initial but this can vary. I'm discussing a full mechanical advance distributor. Vacuum advance you have to add vacuum timing and mechanical timing and your initial timing to get total timing. Hope this helps.
Could I just turn the idle up until the engine stops advancing say to like 36 degrees lock down distributor and let the initial advance just fall wherever it's at.
I don't do it that way but you could try that, I'm trying to get the advance in as early as possible. Hope this helps.
@@holleycarbshowtosadvice40y90 I guess I will try it your way because my engine is running really rich at idle and under slight load carburetor seems to be dialed In so I'm looking at ignition next