Generally if condensor faulty as well as the sparking at the points , when engine off examine the contacts, if "blue and pitted" condensor scrap, if a light grey contact area on points that is good.
Technical Zelmot distributor advance
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Technical Zelmot distributor advance
smart51
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The points were grey not blue. What I can't get my head around is why the engine runs terribly when timed to the correct mark but runs merely badly when timed to the "wrong" mark. I admit all my previous timings were done on the wrong timing mark, and it ran very sweetly at low and high revs with that.
With a good "ear it should be possibly to advance the timing till the engine sounds sweetest on idle and then retard very slightly from that point, afterwards roadtest when warm pulling up a hill in a high gear to ensure no pinking/detonation from over advanced timing. Remember the timing marks on the car are a good starting point but were in the day when petrol was higher octane than the rubbish we get now.
As points are grey sounds like condensor OK, a faulty condensor soon messes up the points.
As points are grey sounds like condensor OK, a faulty condensor soon messes up the points.
These might be good visuals to clarify the different markings.
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smart51
Established member
That's interesting. When turning the distributor, advancing the timing makes the car idle faster and retarding makes it slower. By turning it the wrong way first, I've briefly advanced the timing more than it should be and less than it should be. Perhaps I should relax a bit rather than worrying so much. It would be easier if I could solve the big resonating problem.With a good "ear it should be possibly to advance the timing till the engine sounds sweetest on idle and then retard very slightly from that point, afterwards roadtest when warm pulling up a hill in a high gear to ensure no pinking/detonation from over advanced timing. Remember the timing marks on the car are a good starting point but were in the day when petrol was higher octane than the rubbish we get now.
As points are grey sounds like condensor OK, a faulty condensor soon messes up the points.
The nearest petrol station to me is ESSO and I run it on their 99 RON E5. It's getting the good stuff.
As long as you only do a small adjustment and roadtest to check it should be OK , over advanced timing will make it kick back when starting and possibly pop back in the carb so be careful , I have seen flames coming out of the carb doing that. In extreme cases over advanced timing can hole pistons
