The Part Of Ignition System Set-Up Everyone Neglects - Universal To All Distributor Style Ignitions 

A friend found a 74 dodge charger se recently. I had it up and running in a day and a half. Thanks too your videos. He was amazed, he asked me how i knew about old dodges. I told him uncle Tony taught me..thanks uncle Tony.

Where else are you going to get this info in an accurate and understandable way. Never stop Brother

You would not believe how GREAT the timing of me seeing this was. 1965 mustang with an after market ignition. You nailed my issue. Thank you.

"No valuable lesson is ever learned the easy way" so true. Thanks UTG for the great video content & advice.

As a manufacturing/process engineer I like to think of systems like this that have lots of mating pieces like an onion. Confirm each layer, every detail, then go to the next layer. Or in this case, the next mating surface/interface. Great video, I love learning about old cars from you 👍🏻

I saw this issue once when a friend broke his distributor cap on a GM small block. A buddy gave him a cap off an Accel distributor that had the locating tang in a different spot. Same issue you had. I've also seen the vacuum advance play a part in this scenario. I've checked rotor orientation by drilling holes in a spare cap between the coil wire and #1 plug wire and slotting them out so a timing light can be used to witness where the rotor is in relation to the cap posts. Having a cap like this with spare wires makes it a simple check.

UT you consistently bring content that I don't find anywhere else. Yet, the debt of your knowledgeable never ceases to amaze me... time after time.

One time, my timing belt tensioner loosened up and the belt came off. After looking on the net, I saw a 50/50 chance the 86 Volvo B230F 2.3 4 cylinder was interference/non interference. So I hand cranked it, fingers crossed, and there was no interference. When I set the timing and fired it up, I was jumping for joy and shouting "woooohoo"! It's crazy how hard it is to get reliable info from people online. Tony is a true diamond in the rough! And yeah, I had changed the timing belt myself years prior, it was all my fault. I learned a lot from that mistake that luckily only cost me a slight panic and a few hours getting more familiar with my car.

oh yes, the Garage door springs in smogger unit. Takes alot to get that moving. FBO plate and little springs is the way to go.

Albert Einstein, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemmingway, Mozart, all looked like rag bags most of the time. It’s part of the genius personality. You don’t look any more homeless than usual. Own it Uncle Tony, you’re eccentric!

The little tidbits of information that you add during these videos are invaluable!

Have a 71 Dodge D-100 318 2-barrel to play with now that I'm retired. Always wrenched my own vehicles and kept them running ok. Years since I've worked on points and carburated vehicles and I never new much about the workings of carbs and distributors. Thanks for all the knowledge you share. Maybe I'll be able to figure out why I can't get the old truck running.

Mopar AL, is that YOU!!???

Back in 1984 when I bought my 1970 340 Dart Swinger the previous owner gave me a BIG box of Prestolite caps, rotors, points, condensers and coils. All real new old stock Prestolite brand. I have been running a Direct Connection electronic system since I bought the car but have all that NOS stuff and the original 340 Prestolite dual point distributor set aside.

Tried your suggestion of fish tank valve as carb adjustment aid. Works good. So I took that idea and applied it to my vacuum advance on a 400 ford with a stuck distributor. Rattling like hell from too much advance. Even with premium fuel. You helped me fix a problem that I've been fighting since I owned it. For 50 cents.

forgot to put the attachment on my wahl trimmer a few times! gave myself a half a stache in about a quarter of a second ! thanks Tony & Kathy

Did the same thing with the lefthand side if my mostach with my aleepy head not noticing the guard was not on it. Haven't ever heard her laugh that hard!

The first thing I do when I buy a GM HEI - is pull the Hei module and replace it with a Genuine MSD item, even on the supposedly 'Good' genuine GM ones. Another advantage of the big cap is less voltage arc between the terminals or 'Corona' effect

God bless this man. Uncle Tony is my new favorite RU-vidr.

Uncle Tony I needed a new alternator for my 1992 F150. Went to the auto parts store and the guy behind the counter was older gentleman. I told him what I needed and he looked up the part and asked me you want the one with 1 year warranty or the one with the lifetime. I said the lifetime. He said it would be here that afternoon and yes I gave him the bad one for core exchange for the 10 dollars off the price. I called them up around 4 pm they said they just got there. Went to pick it up around 5pm. A young man brought out the part and opened the box. He said does this alternator look right. I said no. The pulley was for a V-belt and the wires where messed up. I got a refund but now I have no old alternator. If you want a Ford remanufactured alternator you need the old one to remove the pulley and fan which I no longer have for it went back with the delivery truck. The box was right but the party wasn't. I finally found one online from Rock Auto that was OEM and it has the fan and the 6 rib pulley for a serpentine belt and also the proper electrical ports for my factory wire harness. It's crazy what you have go through to get the right parts for an older vehicle these days.

47 years ago I took my then wife to the hospital to deliver our son. I went home to clean up and made an attempt to trim my beard and did such a bad job I ended up shaving. I walked in later to visit and she didn't recognize me. I'd always had the beard and still do. I just did a tune on mu 74 Catalina and the rotor rocked at least 10 degrees. POS.

Now this was great info. My clips are hard the clip, I will have to check my phasing. Doesn't run bad but sometimes it's hard to start and I don't feel like I can get the timing just right.

HEI was available on some GM cars as an option in 1974

Thank you Uncle Tony! Great info! sometimes it’s the smallest details that make the biggest difference. 👍

One sleepy morning I forgot I had pulled the guard off my beard trimmer to trim up some stragglers the day before. I start with the mustache and then rest. Well buzz and I feel the wiskers cascading down my bare chest and I'm looking at myself in the mirror with half a mustache. Well shit! In for a penny in for a pound, so I shaved off the whole works. My son was two and my daughter four at the time and they had never seen me clean shaven. Scared the hell out of them when a strange man walked into the living room. Son wouldn't come near me for a day.

To make a phasing cap, cut open top of old distributor cap to see rotor to cap terminal alignment. Magnetic feel should line up with cap terminal.

As the owner of a 1994 ob1 honda civic that still runs a distributor. Which i think was the peck of this old skool tech. Thanks uncle tony

UGT, HEI came out in 1972. The large diameter cap was a greater distance to prevent cross fire between the next adjacent cylinder. Nobody talks about spark plug wire spray. 1 cup House hold ammonia, 1/2 cup of salt, 4 tps. of vinegar or lemon juice, fill qt spray bottle balance with water. Spray on the plug wires & plugs to see voltage leakage due to bad insulation of carbon tracking. DK, ASE master since 1978.

Tony I challenge you to drill a 1/2" hole in your dist cap as described/grab your timing light & see what mechanical and or vac advance does or does not do to your rotor phasing as you rev the engine. Robert

I've been a Mopar guy for a lot of years and you impress me! Thank you Tony

I had this problem years ago, every time I put a load on the motor it did the same and 3 distributors later the problem was fix and to this day I could not tell you what the problem was and you explained it well. Thanks for this episode, I could have never explained this or put 2 in 2 together.

Uncle Tony with racing stripes! Nothing wrong with that look. I think it suits you wel.

My favorite channel ever. Volvo owner here. 2000 volvo s80 t6

Make a phasing cap from an old HEI distributor cap and adjust vacuum advance with reluctor wheel & pick up module, you'll feel magnetic attraction then adjust vacuum canister so that rotor lines up with cap terminal. Best to do with distributor out of engine. Easy as that. Might have to elongate mounting screws

The bushing in the block below the distributor drive bull gear can cause distributor issues also if it is worn.

I've seen lots of guys ignore setting up their ignition timing correctly. They set initial and let the distributor do whatever it wants to do. One guy had an engine that was a total dog. Come to find out the distributor mechanical advance was frozen, so initial timing was all he had. A new distributor with *LIGHT* advance springs and it felt like he had double the power!

The information Uncle Tony provides is like the Holy Grail. We benefit from his experience as he cuts through mysterious legacy ignition problems. Indexing the rotor to the cap is a technique I'd never heard of before. On Pommy cars I work on, we usually statically time the distributor with a light then dynamically time with a strobe. The caps are notched for security. Wear in the shaft is a problem so on 50+ age cars, a new dizzy is an investment. Just love old school cars.

I bought a doner dart to do a v8 swap to my valiant. The pickup coil retainer broke, and allowed the little coil go very close to the reluctor. It behaved like a chevy with a flat exhaust cam lobe. Backfiring under load. Had the valve covers off .. Made me scratch my 16 year old head for a while😮

I got a 360,had been driving, something seemed weak. Somebody had the short button in a large cap. That is why it was eating the ignition module they were paying stupid for. You're the shit, Unc. It's good to have someone to bounce problems off. A friend of mine Co=Op ed in Highschool. Auto, the man he worked for did all in house. Nothing swapped, or outsourced, he fixed what rolled in with what it rolled in with. These times are back, but their is a lot of Automatic trans. going to have to be altered from disposable, to rock crusher, somehow.

I love this channel. I thought I knew a lot about distributors but yet again Tony teaches me something I had not known (or even thought of). Also, love the term 'parts cannon'. haha

Thanks so much for this video. I don't think I've ever heard anyone discussed this before. I will certainly be checking my distributor later today

thanks for the lesson Uncle T ! really appreciate that you share your knowledge with that kind of clarity ! Peace !

Thank You Tony!

When I got out of the Army, in 1981. I bought a 1975 Fury unmarked cop car. From a friend who bought it at auction then blew the trans. Got a junkyard one. Out of a Fury station wagon. I never could get it to run right. Now in 2022 I watch RU-vid and have a flashback to swearing at the distributor cap snaps. FUCK!😃

Thanks again. I grew up working on older cars but stopped working on them over 20 years and forgot.

Reminds me of the magnum engines when the distributor drive bushing and drive gear would wear out. They ran good at idle but would misfire under load or higher RPM.

I got a cool story about a tune up, 2000 something 305 Chevy truck. I am riding to AutoZone with the guy for moral support I guess cause he was doing the tune up, I was just along for the ride, when we get there they get us distributor cap and rotor button, it's not the big "high top hat" one this is a little one like Chryslers or points/condenser Chevies had back on the day and a rotor button. I always compare parts to see the differences, cheap generic vs. factory, color, make sure it'll fit, it's just something always do. Someone had put there old one back in the box, might have returned it and got their money back? Who knows, it was on the shelf like a new part, but. I hand it back to the salesman, "I already have a used one, I need a new one!", Rotor button was used too! I couldn't believe it, they not supposed to take returned electric stuff as a rule. It was in worse shape then our. Old one. Who would have thought that me comparing parts would save us a trip to parts store. I ain't downing AutoZone, it could have happened any parts store. AutoZone has saved me lots of money with their low price parts, they were as amazed as we were ....

I just took the clippers to my whiskers today. But I used horse clippers. They have a lot more power. Good info. on distributors Tony.

the dist does not need to be in the eng to check phasing. On the bench line up a reluctor tooth with the magnet & at that point make a sharpie mark on the side of the dist where the rotor is then replace the cap and make another sharpie mark on the side of the dist where the closest plug wire terminal is on the cap. this is where it is now & it will remain there until the vac advance starts to kick in.

The odd fire Buick HEI cap has really unique terminals in the cap. The wires are evenly spaced but the terminals make up for it.

This episode is kinda crazy, I was going to Email you about this exact issue I fixed for a guy and his Nissan D21, They had the cap 180' out and it barely connected, Enough room a spark could start going through the plastic walling and burnt into the other point Contact. The only reason it would run and drive was because it was firing the exhaust plugs when it should have been igniting the intake plugs(8 plugs/wires on a D21 4 cyl). Got it fixed and timed properly and it runs like a top!!

My friend has been having this same issue with his roadrunner. I'll take this information to him. Thanks

I had always figured the GM HEI caps were so big just to make room for the coil to sit on top.

" If you're gonna go a little bit ,you might as well go all the way" so true UT

Vortec v6 and v8 have a bizarre rotor phasing issue. Examine the tip of the rotor. See if the burn marks are all the way across. If they are only on one corner. Check the cap. Are the cap terminals showing burn Mark's only on one side.the the 13 tooth drive gear is installed half a turn out. These are crank trigger ignition systems. The distributor housing can only be installed in one direction. Verify you have an issue. Bring the timing marks to Tdc. Look to see if the tip of the installed rotor is centered directly over the 6 or 8 mark in the top of the distributor housing. If it's like14 degrees off the gear is pinned to the shaft half a turn out.

Kick ass I just learned a lot makes sense about the gap in the post I've never thought of that

Uncle Tony thanks

I wrenched professionally for many years . Like your videos especially the performance stuff.

I really learn from your videos. Thank you🤙🏽

I had this exact problem ,didn't figure it out until I bought a clear hei cap noticed the fazing was off bad distributor, put a old stock hei in same cap perfect ,you have amazing videos uncle tony..

Again..you. awake. My. Memory... back. In. The. Old. Days. When. I. Was. Learning. Alot. And. needed. To...... a. Rule. Of. Thumb. Even. Though. There. May. Not. Be. One. For. This........... was. Plugs. Wires. Cap. Rotor..condenser. and points.... oh. My. Did. I. Say. Points.....yes. way. Back. In. The. 70.s. the. Rule. Of. Thumb... was. Those. Things. Would. Cure. Running. Rough.... or. A. Miss.... 99. Outta. 100. Times....... thanks. Man... have. A. Nice. Day......

Geez, Tony, You clean up real nice!

also I smooth the ID of the reluctor with some fine sandpaper so that it will slide easier on/off the shaft, some are very tight

Well, that may well explain a problem I had with my 60's Big Block chevy quarter mile runs in the middle 1980's. Thought I new how to pull and set the distributor quite well. I didn't, but now I do. Thanks for the insight.

That was a good catch! The short lived ignition components caused by being partially out of phase is a good point, too. Big gap drives up the voltage that everything in the high voltage circuit experiences before current flow begins and drops the voltage. Thanks.

Tony, I'm your age and I've also been working on cars since I was 15. I had no idea that the amount of additional mechanical advance needed by the smog era tune was why GM and Ford went to the larger cap. It's not often that you teach me something about GM stuff, but there ya go - you did it today.

Great video! Thanks!

That story reminds me of a advanced auto grey replacement points distributor cap for a 1974 Chevy 250 L6 it was a standard ignition products brand and tightened down but not so tight you crack the cap it would move almost a 1/4 of a turn, obviously the truck ran like crap. I tested it by using the factory corroded cap the was cracked on the top between the points coil wire and the number 6 plug and it ran somewhat better,so I was at a local junkyard in highschool and I was getting a extra 250 points distributor and got it home and realized it had a brand new ac Delco points cap and coil, swapped out the cap problem solved,I kept the standard ignition points distributor cap for several years and showed a few people that they needed to watch out for them, honestly they don't even seem to make those anymore it was around 96-97,, and even the factory cracked and corroded terminals cap misfired but with the standard ignition products grey replacement cap it was undrivable it would not stay running it cut out so bad motor was given to me by my uncle and had 64, miles. Anyways I was thinking when I started watching your video and you talked about indexing the distributor cap and that can allow the timing to be just enough off that not one but two spark plug wires on the cap seems like it is the wrong firing order even if you check the firing order and it is right,where the rotor is in relation to the terminal inside the cap is not.

Great video! Thanks for the info

Excellent.

I sub to like 200 channels but this one is my favorite.

I miss your videos Uncle Tony. I bet you are busy. Less videos per week than before. No problem. Just noticeable. Keep on please. All good. Chuck in Florida.

I've applied your distributor tips to my Toronado before. The old HEI convert system that came with the car croaked. It was similar to how the one in the video is.l setup. So I got a cheap HEI. HEI Modules died 2 times. Got a MSD 6AL box (wanted for other reasons.) Then the HEI started running like hell then died. The entire distributor had gotten so much play in it over not even a year. I got a new MSD distributor for it. I can't wait until my starter is here. Your videos have helped me out so much. I always just can't wait to apply it to my cars / my buddies.

I just watched the vid and mechanical adv will NOT shift rotor phasing. get a dist cap & drill a 1/2" hole in the top flat of the cap 2/3 of the way from the center post to the #1 cap terminal. start the engine & shine your timing light down in the hole & with the vac adv unplugged/capped, rev the engine & the rotor will not move as the mech timing advances. now set the eng at idle & plug and unplug the vac adv can into manifold vacuum & you will see that vac adv changes rotor phasing but mechanical adv does not. so instead of twisting the rotor to get the sweep of phasing change as shown in the video which is not correct, with a vac pump, pump up the can & you will notice the sweep of phasing change & you want the cap terminal close to "centered" inbetween that distance (as noted in the vid) and on a high perf app I want the rotor to be a bit closer to the dist terminal at no vac as required voltage is the greatest at WOT & I want this distance to be minimal. check this out for yourself. Robert Crispell Lincoln Nebraska.

Money video...for someone more familiar with diesels. This is why Tony's my Uncle. I'm gonna replay this a few times, and index the timing on Sparky the Yota.

Very cool thanks

Good one! I never thought of that.

Great video as usual , thanks alot

Super valuable content

Dude I just caught me 3 squirrels in my back 40 trying to lighten of a small block double barrel Plymouth carb. I told em put the carb down and your mits in the aur suckus! They complied, and were escorted outside the compound. End of story. Gottsawatchem all the time. Peace to all my homies.

Hello from New Zealand. The issues you were having with the car in that story closely resembles the issues im having with the 302 cleveland in my falcon. Will definitely be checking the dizzy out next weekend i think

I enjoy your videos. Thanks for sharing. Owned a 57 ford pickup with a completely rebuilt 223 bored out .040 converted from single barrel to 4 barrel holley. For all of the 20 years I owned it and tuned, re-tuned it between myself and different mechanics from racing shops to major car repair centers there was always this irregular miss at idle and anytime and at any speed. I was told I needed to have a dyno performed. Sold it to a mechanic and when he passed by one time I didn't even hear the truck because it ran smoothly. Called him to ask what he did and he said he performed a standard tuneup with plugs, wires, points, condenser, cap, rotor replacement. All of these parts were replaced many times over the years along with several electric fuel pumps and filters. Go figure.

I recently had this problem on a Hudson Hornet. The replacement vacuum advance had a different length arm and moved the points plate so that it fired between towers. I had to cut and drill the vacuum advance arm to get the points plate in the right spot. It's not easy to find problems like that

It is a common misconception that mech adv changes rotor phasing ( it cant because the reluctor teeth and the the rotor position are permanently clocked together, think about it). To confirm that only vac adv changes rotor phasing drill a half inch hole in the dist cap top 2/3 of the way between the center cap terminal and the #1 cap terminal. start the engine & shine your timing light in the hole on the rotor blade. with the vac adv unhooked/capped rev the engine & you will see that the rotor (phasing) does not move as the engine mechanically advances, now plug in the vac can & rev the eng & you will see that the rotor phasing moves. To correct phasing I redrill another roll pin hole in the reluctor to reclock it. There is alot of clocking space there so you can drill several times around the hole as needed till you get it dead on. With pumping the vac can clock the rotor tip so that the trailing edge of the rotor blade is even with the the trailing edge of the cap terminal as vac adv with shift it back the other way CCW (on a SB) & CW on a big block. If you are not running vac adv, on your bench with the can installed pump up the can with a vac pump till the phasing is inline dead on (rotor vertically inline with the cap terminal) with the reluctor tooth just barely starting to move away from aligned with the magnet & holding that amount of vac in the can, drill a small hole vertical through the 2 plates then disassemble the dist & clean out the shavings then reassemble with a small bolt/nut locking the 2 plates together in that position & put a spacer on the bolt inbetween the 2 plates so they will remain parallel when you tighten the bolt. you can keep the can installed in that position so to seal the opening in the side of the dist. Tony I apologize for complaining way back about you slamming parts on the bench. I was having a bad day that day! Sincerely yours: Rapid Robert

Little things can make a lot of a difference.

Hey your the man for the job . Add nitromethane to a water/alcohol injection add on .

i have really enjoyed your videos they are a wealth of knowledge to me i thank you

I know you have your reasons, but I still miss your live shows.

this is a great video- i have heard of doing this but never knew how to do it or why. Now im going to check mine today! Thank you for a great video and be careful with that razor.

Uncle T taught miss Mona Lisa Vito everything she knows. ....

Wow, good stuff. Even I learned something.

Drilled a hole in the top of the cap so you can see the spark off the rotor when running. Fool proof to see if you are out of phase and you can see your mechanical advance sweep. Center the sweep with an adjustable rotor. Install a new cap and lend the holy cap to your friends to do the same.

Parts cannon stories are always the best especially if it wasn't your money.

Tony, I had an odd experience years ago. I bought an '85 F-150 300 six 3 speed truck, driving it home it was ok in town. On the highway about 3 mi home it wouldn't go over 40. Got home and first thing I did was go to look at the carb, when I went to take off the air cleaner the whole carb tilted! Tightened the card down, took it back out and she ran great!

Closest to a parts cannon ive had is my 74 ('65) 413 swapped power wagon The reason it isn't a parts cannon is everything ive replaced has been oos or broken Crazy part is it has never not ran, just continued to run better till i popped the trans, got a new transmission built this time.

Something I've seen is that the contact on the rotor is not long enough creating a gap between the rotor contact and the posts in the cap. Some I have measured to be 0.095", that is 3 times the spark plug gap. Unfortunately it is difficult to measure as the cap and rotor need to be in place. I cut a piece out of a old cap to see inside while it is assembled.

echlin has a rotor (MO3000) with a longer blade (.060" iirc) that will reduce the gap & help with phasing issues

Great stuff! The simple stuff that gets overlooked too often but is absolutely critical for max performance and efficiency, not to mention wear and tear on the ignition system.

We've all been there with the electric razor buddy..... Kinda makes you look like Kyle Petty.

HOWdy U-T-G, Thanks COOP ...