In a back issue of TSO there's a chart showing the curves for several
distributors used on the XPAG engines. I believe it's April, 1990, since
that is one issue that I seem to have lost.
Bob
> Also, the shop manual has no mention of dynamic (strobe) timing.
> I've learned
> the hard way that you can't trust static timing on an old worn
> distributor.
> (Who cares what the timing is at zero rpm anyway.) To me static
> timing is
> just what you do to get the engine started before you do the
> dynamic. Does
> anyone have a set of timing values at different rpm's? Or better yet
> a curve?
> (Sounds like Andy's satisfied with 5 deg @ 800 rpm, but I'd rather
> set it at
> 1500 rpm.)
>
> In a message dated 5/31/00 4:47:59 PM !!!First Boot!!!,
> amoyce@pol.net writes:
>
> > Just thought I would share my experience in installing the
> Pertronix
> > in my TD. First problem started in selecting the correct unit.
> I
> > looked at the illustrations in the service manual and compared
> those
> > to my distributor cam but could not distinguish between
> asymmetric,
> > high lift and whatever the other one was. I drove the car out to
> Skip
> > Kelsey's, and we looked at it together and made an educated
> guess.
> > Finally we decided on the asymmetric. When I got home and tried
> to
> > slide the magnet over the distributor cam it wouldn't seat. It
> would
> > slide over the cam but not far enough to allow the rotor to seat
> > properly. I assumed I had the wrong unit. I exchanged it for
> the
> > other unit (there are only two for the TD) and found that fit was
>
> > worse.
> >
> > I talked to other members in the club who had installed these
> things.
> > No one seemed to have experienced a tight fit over the cam.
> Finally
> > with Skip's pen knife we whittled away at the plastic ridge
> inside the
> > magnet and got it to slide down over the cam. The car started
> right
> > up. I had about a three mile drive home before I could set the
> > timing.
> >
> > I remember discussions long-ago about rattling in the gear shift
> lever
> > being attributed to retarded timing, and I can attest that this
> was
> > significant. Traveling uphill the gear shift lever sounded like
> > marbles in a coffee can. I first tried to set the timing by the
> > static method, but couldn't start the engine after three
> different
> > tries. I finally resorted to a timing light, aligning the
> distributor
> > to its original position, and then rotating it while the engine
> was
> > running. I was surprised at how far off the timing was . . .
> actually
> > advanced by about 80 degrees (360 degrees in a circle). With the
>
> > timing light I set it to about five degrees advanced (rpm at
> 800)...
> > rotating the distributor 30 or 40 degrees counter clockwise to do
> so.
> > Now it runs like a dream. I used to think the engine was pretty
> > smooth, but now it buzzes like a contented bee at all speeds. We
> just
> > completed a 600 mile trip to Yosemite and back and it performed
> > beautifully.
> >
> > So, installation was not smooth and easy, and I have a suspicion
> that
> > I have the magnet misalignedd a bit on the cam, but the results
> are
> > wonderful.
> >
> > Andy Moyce
> > 52 TD
>
>
> Bob Donahue (Still stuck in the '50s)
> EMAIL - BOBMGT@AOL.COM
> 52 MGTD - under DIY restoration NEMGTR #11470
> 71 MGB - AMGBA #96-12029, NAMGBR #7-3336
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