I think Paul has hit the proverbial nail on the head. Assuming
that all the parts are correct for this application (which is a bit
of a reach. Auto parts stores tend to lump all variants of older
designs into one generic set of "parts" -- independent of whether
they are correct, or not. Not a bad thing to check.) If the lobes
of the distributor cam were worn down, the dwell would increase,
until adjusted; Then it would be hard to get a stable dwell as the
ramp would be longer -- with the fairly safe assumption that the
lobes would wear faster than the flats.
You might adjust the points to where they just open at the
very tip of the cam (for a test) then spin the engine on the starter
while watching the dwell (you don't need to start the motor). It
should be huge, if hard to read. If not, something primal is wrong.
BTW, Chevy (I think it was) had a set-up where a little door on
the distributor <cap> could be opened allowing the points to be
tweaked with the motor running. I always liked that. It was also a
good idea to put the Allen wrench on the adjuster BEFORE starting
the motor.
best,
rick / tulsa
> The higher the dwell the smaller the gap and the longer the points are
> closed. Maybe you are closing it up altogether. Set the points by gap
and
> then check the dwell. Once that is done you can simply recheck the dwell
to
> see when they need to be reset, but IMHO it makes no sense to try and set
> the points on the car using dwell - all that cap off, adjust, cap on, run
> engine, test dwell, switch off, cap off etc etc. If the gap is right and
> the dwell is wrong it indicates either mechanical wear in the distributor
or
> possibly ignion LT problems.
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