|
#1
|
|||
|
|||
I finally got around to ordering the Edelbrock 'strip kit' for my Performer 1407 carb.
Knowing that the jetting was too fat for my 383 the first step was the next smaller size jet. FANTASTIC! The car really smoothed out and has much chrisper throttle response! NOW, the next order of business is a standing stop launch. It's late. About 10:30 and no one in sight and the light was red , and now it's green. Nailing the gas the Coronet ignites the tires in first and continues to spin in second. That's pretty cool, when the car hits third all hell breaks loose! The engine starts pinging like crazy and I take my foot out of it. I have to limp the car home without accelerating because it pings like it is about to fly apart! Something has gone wrong, and I can't deal with too much hassle this late at night. I pull into the garage and kill the engine. I try to restart it but the starter drags badly. AH HA!, something iginition timing related. Did I neglect to bolt the distributor down securely?? Nope, it's tight. Something has given up in the distributor itself. This morning I cranked the car up after several tries and check the timing. Its 48* advanced at idle! I take the cap off the distributor to eyeball thing. The inside of the distributor is full of metal filings!! The damn thing has come apart! The screw that holds the pickup is missing and the reluctor is all chewed up! The pickup gap adjustment screw fell you. I never touched it. I checked the gap when I first installed the distributor and it was right on. I bought the conversion kit last year but it might not be a year old yet. What is the warranty on these things? I bought it at Summit Racing. Luckly I have a backup distributor that works but it is 30 years old and ugly. I will call Summit and see what they say. If they say I am SOL I will be pretty pissed. |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
OUT of warranty!!
I looked at my invoice and it was bought in May 2000.
I called Summit and they told me it had a 90 day warranty and I was SOL. They gave me the number for MP tech support but they are closed today. Not dead yet; I disassembled distributor and found the missing screw at the bottom. I replaced the reluctor and the pickup from my old distributor. Put it back on the car and I am back in business. |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Glad to hear you fixed the distributor with parts on hand. Sharing experiences is what this is all about.
I bought my MP electronic distributor kit in Feb 2000, so I read your post with interest. Mine has worked flawlessly, but I had completely disassembled before I used it. (I set the total mechanical advance to 20 degrees). |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
Quality must be a dirty word at the Mopar Performance headquarters. I have so many stories involving crap purchased from Mopar Performance that I could write a small book. I love the MP spark plug wires which are too short! The shortest one on the big block kit is about 8 inches long. What the heck is that supposed to fit? Or the dana 60 snubber which I just bought that doesn't even bolt on. The holes are in the wrong location. Aluminum heads which leak or have bad valve guides, crate motors which won't turn over due to assembly errors. The list is a long one! Someday they'll fire the idiots who run MP and replace them with real engineers. Just hope it happens in my lifetime.
|
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Thanks for the warning. I'll have to pop the cap on mine and make sure that it is tight.
|
#6
|
|||
|
|||
A new pickup and reluctor should be under $25. I would get the old one back together, never know when you might need that 30 year old POS again.
|
#7
|
|||
|
|||
No Prob
There is MoPar show and swap meet coming up in June that I always attend. Used distributors (and most would look better than my old one) are a dime a dozen. I will probably pick up another spare for the 400 on the stand right now. I am going to apply some of the engine 'science' I have learned along the way and see how efficently I can make this 400 run. With hot enough compression (not too hot) and free flowing heads you don't need a HUGE cam to make power. The right combo and attention to details should prove to be powerful and get pretty good mileage.
I hope to find a pretty good Dodge 4x4 pickup that needs a big block engine. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Thread Starter | Forum | Replies | Last Post |
Unique electronic distributor | krazykuda | Vintage MOPAR chat | 4 | 02-01-2007 04:38 PM |
Electronic Distributor Conversion Kit | nick s | Rear Wheel Drive - Parts for Sale | 1 | 09-13-2003 11:22 AM |
Electronic BB distributor | moparmal | Performance Talk | 0 | 01-13-2002 03:20 AM |
Mp Electronic Distributor Air Gap Setting | del kerney | Performance Talk | 5 | 08-25-2001 05:36 PM |
Is a Lean-Burn distributor the same as a normal electronic distributor? | goose | Performance Talk | 6 | 03-27-2001 01:32 AM |