Okay guys, might be a silly question, but when doing the timing y'all talk about plugging the vaccuum advance port, what is the proper way of doing this and from which side do you do? From the distributor or carburetor!? Thanks!
Timing Adjustment Actually , since the timing is set at idle , there should be NO vacuum in the hose , just unplug it at the carby end , set the timing and then re-connect it . this way , you cannot change the timing accidentally when re - connecting the hose . If , the engine changes in speed or smoothness , _any_ differance atall when you're - connecting the advance hose , it's either connected to the wrong port or , the carby is mis adjusted . Always have the engine idling @ 700 RPM's or less before touching the timing . I assume you know to check & adjust the dwell or point gap , before setting the timing . I hope this helps , remember to hot adjust the valves before doing anything else .
Thanks for the info Nate! Im planning on trying out your timing method for extra horsepower I found in another thread. Do you know what the standard RPM rate is for my '55 235?
Idle RPM Each one is different . I like a slow idle like back when the truck was new , 600RPM's , 400 if it'll idle smoothly . certainly never over 1,000 no matter what . Before you touch the idle and dwell/timing etc. , it is critical to adjust the valves then inspect the spark plugs ~ if the center electrodes are round shouldered , they're junk , replace with NON RESISTOR AC # 45 or , better yet , NGK Copper Cored ones , hand check and adjust the gaps to .035" as this has everything to do with smooth idle . NEVER trust " pre gapped " sales hype , it's just window dressing . Once it's properly tuned , even a smoking , leaky old engine with 45 ~ 67 PSI per cylinder will be a nicve driver , just wait & see .
