ignition timing questions

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355-Camaro - 21 Feb 2005 01:09 GMT

i have an 1981 camaro with a new 355.i have the stock old distributor in
it. it has a little surge to the idle (it will idle at a good RPM, then it
will idle to a lower RPM). i have tryed adjusting with the timing, i was
gettin inconsistent spark to some cylinders and weak spark to some. i was
wondering if maybe i am a few teeth off on the cam?. i have new coil.
wires. cap. and rotor. and it still does this. it's hard to get it to rev
up when u just stick it hard. but it u ease it down not as hard it will
rev really good. i adjusted it to the same spot on the intake. but i think
i am a tooth or two off on the cam shaft. any real clues to indicate this
to me? or should i just go and buy a whole new distributor?
thanks for your help,
Matt Jarrett

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RSCamaro - 21 Feb 2005 13:24 GMT

>i have an 1981 camaro with a new 355.i have the stock old distributor in
>it. it has a little surge to the idle (it will idle at a good RPM, then it
[quoted text clipped - 8 lines]
> thanks for your help,
> Matt Jarrett

I'd go for rebuilding a distributor before buying new unless you want
to really update the distributor. Have you checked the vacuum
advance? As for being off by a couple of teeth on the camshaft...
If you are referring to the teeth on the distributor into the camshaft
then it's really no problem unless you can't turn the dist. to the
correct advance.

...Ron
--
68' Camaro RS
88' Firebird Formula
00' Mustang GT Vert

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Cyrus Welch - 21 Feb 2005 20:08 GMT

>>i have an 1981 camaro with a new 355.i have the stock old distributor in
>>it. it has a little surge to the idle (it will idle at a good RPM, then it
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> then it's really no problem unless you can't turn the dist. to the
> correct advance.

And remember to use a timing light to set the timing. It sounds like
maybe your trying to time it by eye which will fail almost all the time.
Use the timing light and set it to the specs under the hood.

Signature

Cy Welch
89 RS 5.0 TBI slowly restoring.

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