Good to go

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Tue Jun 19, 2007 8:33 pm

Finally got the jeep registered so I could take it on the Hiway. so I did that this evening for a few miles. 45mph and has a little pedal left, but not much. Gotta figure out if the way it is running is normal. what I mean is, even though I had to advance the timing it still seems to be sluggest to get it up to speed after going to 3rd gear. Maybe it just the characteristics of the flat head and the low geared drive train. Been along time since I drove an old car. Maybe I'm expecting too much.

maeserik · Post by **maeserik** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:03 am

I timed the ignition with a vacuum gauge on max stable reading.
To reach the max speed, i had to retard ( less advance ) the ignition.
The jeep runs faster. 50-55 mph is the max as i have a smaller intakemanifold on the engine. Lateron i can change this item with an original one, but 50-55 mph is fast enough !

Just retard the ignition a bit and do hiway test. I dit it this way.
When the jeep runs faster and fast enough leave the timing this way.

The ignitionmarks on the front pulley on my engine seemes to be in a wrong position, or the pulley is not original.

Erik

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:31 am

Check the speedo accuracy before you try changing anything. Find a one mile section of road that's already marked off like a set of mile markers. Put the pedal to medal and hold it through the one mile stretch and time the distance.

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:46 am

When I say I advanced the timing. I had a timing light on the pully and rotated the distributor clockwise, and pully marks moved counter clockwise and engine RPM's increased. So I figured that it was advanced since the pully marks moved below the timing indicator. The mark is down about an inch from the indicator pointer.
I adjusted the carburetor with a vacuum gauge.

May be easier to get my wife to tow me to check the speedometer. I don't know of any mileage markers around here. But then I guess I could make some using the odometer on my pickup.
Ken

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 9:51 am

Ken,
Just follow her and ask her on the cell phone what her speed id.

Advancing from 5 Deg BTDC to 8 or 10 will improve performance and make starting a little harder.

OKCM38CDN · Post by **OKCM38CDN** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 1:23 pm

Ken,

Does your town have one of the little trailers with radar in it for traffic control... Drive past it it will give you an accurate reading... or ask a cop to radar you...

I set my timing on the mark with a light at idle and she runs fine... 45-50 max speed... you got to remember these were not hot rods...

I cruise the local streets here without any problems andstay away from the interstates...

Hope this helps...

Bob_C · Post by **Bob_C** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 3:05 pm

I can hit 50-55 in my A1.

Another idea is if you have a handheld GPS. I'd suspect the speedo as well, like Wes said. My original speedometer was reading 10MPH faster than what I was going.

If you don't have mile markers, I think you can also just use the odometer on the speedometer. The Odometer works differently than the actual speedo itself and runs off of a completely different set of parts all together I believe.

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:48 pm

I did some more adjustment with distributor. This time with a vacuum gauge. Can't get any more since it is hitting block. Got a steady 17.5 in Hg. Don't know if that means anything.
Took it for a ride to see if it performed better and it did. The speedometer got up to 55.
So I get my wife to follow me on the hiway. She's going 50 and jeep speedometer registers 45. Then I had her tow me up to 50mph. Got same results. So then if I had it a 55 before then actually it was doing 60 earlier. It was definitely wound up.
I had bought the speedometer as a used item. Who knows what it came off of.
But anyway it doesn't feel like I am pulling a loaded trailer.
What doesn't add up though is I had set the No. 1 piston at TDC and the timing mark on the pully lined up with the indicator mounted on the cover when I first got it going.

I wonder if since the engine was bored to .080, that maybe the reason for having to adjust the distributor as much as I did.

And I realize the jeep wasn't intended to race down the hiway much less be driven on hiways. But I think it should perform better than it did.
And now it does.

Oh, and it fires right off when starter engages.

Ken

Post by **wesk** » Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:02 pm

Usually if you run out of room to swing the distributor for timing then the initial positioning of the oil pump and distributor are not correct.

maeserik · Post by **maeserik** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 1:17 am

Ken, when you have reached max performance <> timing leave it that way. Your engine is overhauled and need some time to ' loosen'.
The more you drive the better everything works. Our jeep seemed to have not much power directly after the restoration, now one and a half year later and 4000 miles she drives much better and smoother.

Erik

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Thu Jun 21, 2007 9:58 pm

Yeah Wes I diddled with the oil pump at one time so I could get the distributor power lead in a position to screw on an off. So it wasn't hugging the generator cable. Now I realize I need to to go back the other way with it some. At the time I did that I didn't think I would be changing the timing that much to get it to perform better.
If I were to lossen the the oil pump bolts so the pump gear would be disengaged from the cam gear then rotate the crankshaft using a socket and ratchet a little bit so as to get the distributor back to a position where I would have lee way for adjustment, which way do you think I should turn the crankshaft. I could try one way and bolt it back up and see where the distributor ends up. Trail and error.

And what about engine being bored to .080, would that have anything to do with having to change the timing from 5 deg before TDC to another setting?

Post by **wesk** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:53 am

The bore won't effect timing.

It's easier to put #1 TDC on compression then move it slightly to the 5 deg BTDC mark. Now loosen the oil pump and lift the distributor slightly and locate the distributor housing where you want it with the rotor still pointing at #1 wire. Now match the pump to the distributor.

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Fri Jun 22, 2007 9:58 am

Ok, thanks I will give it a whirl soon.

Ken

Cacti_Ken · Post by **Cacti_Ken** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 7:23 am

Alright, it took me good while but got it all set now where I have more adjusting room. Runs like a spotted xss leopard. Or is that an Ape?
The way I had to do it was I got a piece of 1/4" steel tubing and flattened one end of it to fit in the oil pump slot so I could turn the pump shaft, that was after I had the pump disengaged from the cam gear. A long screw driver will work but I didn't have one.
To do this, Leave one of the long bolts in and remove the other. Then get a longer bolt and place in the one removed but only screw it in a few threads then remove the other bolt. The pump will slide down away from the cam and won't fall out. Then the pump shaft can be turned from the distributor side with the tube or a long screw driver.
It took a half dozen or more tries to get it where I needed it. because each time the shaft is move you have to run one of the bolts up, that would be the shorter one back in to snug the pump up. then crawl out and go fit with the distributor to see if it is in the right position. A little turning of the shaft goes a long way. So it does not take much. I had to figure that out by trial and error.

Post by **wesk** » Sat Jun 23, 2007 5:36 pm

Great news Ken. Now you can enjoy the labor of love.