Carba1984 Posted August 29 Author Report Share Posted August 29 I just looked with the camera, when pistons 1 and 4 are in TDC the mark is almost perfectly aligned with 0 degrees When pistons 2 and 3 are in TDC the mark is not seen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 29 Report Share Posted August 29 Thats correct so no explanation of how you had timing advance of 48 degrees! Im not sure how you could even measure that much advance😲 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted August 29 Author Report Share Posted August 29 It could be the broken strobe gun. i don’t understand 😓😓😓 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 38-40 deegres with electronic ignition Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 Carba thats the dwell angle - the number of degrees of distributor rotation that the points (or electronic ignition) are closed for to charge the coil and is not the ignition timing👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 🤦🏻♂️sorry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 hey dont worry easy to confuse! However it doesnt explain why your timing was set to 48º BTDC😲 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 both my dial up strobes will if the HT pick up is not the right way round can give some really daft readings the pickup has an arrow on the underside .. not really useful one is a smart chrome Snap On the other is same but black unbranded Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 I'm open to people who carry electronic ignition in their spitfire 1500 to tell me how many degrees they have it, that could guide me a little, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dannyb Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 Mines set at 17 deg btdc. Which was set up on a rolling road. Danny 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 Carba try the manual method as suggested: with the distributor loose and timing set at 10 BTDC start the engine and advance the distributor until you hear the engine revs increase to a maximum then back off the timing a little. This should give the best setting for the fuel youre using but check the setting with your strobe and let us know the reading.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted August 30 Author Report Share Posted August 30 12 minutes ago, johny said: Carba try the manual method as suggested: with the distributor loose and timing set at 10 BTDC start the engine and advance the distributor until you hear the engine revs increase to a maximum then back off the timing a little. This should give the best setting for the fuel youre using but check the setting with your strobe and let us know the reading.... Currently I wear it like this, it is totally out of scale, 40 degrees more or less. Taking it like this, I have the idle screws loose and the car is at more than 1000 rpm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted August 30 Report Share Posted August 30 oh no theres still this problem! It must be air getting in because if you close the carburettor mouths with your hands then the rpm drop, right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Lewis Posted August 31 Report Share Posted August 31 doesnt matter if its mechanical points or electronic the settings are /should be around the same Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul H Posted September 1 Report Share Posted September 1 I found this Utube video very helpful in explaining how timing works so if you don’t know the difference between static and dynamic timing it’s worth checking out Paul 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted September 2 Author Report Share Posted September 2 Is it possible that you have to adjust the mixture when you have varying degrees in the advance? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 Have you got the idle under control yet Carba? You should be able to undo the throttle stop screws and the engine stops - this is the first and most important job.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain T Posted September 2 Report Share Posted September 2 38 minutes ago, Carba1984 said: Is it possible that you have to adjust the mixture when you have varying degrees in the advance No you don't have to change the mixture after adjusting the ignition timing. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted September 2 Author Report Share Posted September 2 I'm starting to think that my mechanic has installed the distribution wrong, there must be some problem, I've put it at 14 degrees and the car accelerates well but when you reach 4000 rpm it's like when it's poor in gasoline, in Spain we call it pulls 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted September 3 Author Report Share Posted September 3 I've been doing tests tonight and I see that the car is not going well below 24 degrees, which is how I'm driving it right now. I'm going to start by rebuilding the carburetors and removing the air intakes from the butterfly axles, I see myself able to rebuild them except for the axle encasquilling Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 There was a car on here sometime ago Carba that had its valve timing incorrect and this seemed to affect its ignition timing so it needed more advanced than normal. It maybe worth checking yours which can be done by checking the valve positions with the rocker cover removed.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carba1984 Posted September 3 Author Report Share Posted September 3 6 hours ago, johny said: There was a car on here sometime ago Carba that had its valve timing incorrect and this seemed to affect its ignition timing so it needed more advanced than normal. It maybe worth checking yours which can be done by checking the valve positions with the rocker cover removed.... Could you guide me so I can check it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanMi Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 (edited) set rockers 11 and 12(6 cylinder) 7&8 if 4 cylinder to a large gap it doesn't matter what but they must be equal. Now turn the crank until no1 piston is top dead centre on compression stroke, now measure the gaps on 11 and 12 valves. They should have exactly the same gap (again the gap doesn't matter but should be equal) exhaust will be closing and inlet opening but if valve timing is correct the will be at the same lift (assuming a factory camshaft) Edited September 3 by DanMi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johny Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 Wait a minute Dan this is a 4 cylinder and this is what the manual says: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DanMi Posted September 3 Report Share Posted September 3 (edited) 7 minutes ago, johny said: Wait a minute Dan this is a 4 cylinder and this is what the manual says: yes I edited it to cover both as I originally had a 6 cylinder in mind but the principal is the same, I actually use 2 dial gauges Edited September 3 by DanMi Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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