IM looking for advice on where to start recurving my distributor for a stock 1 barrel 170 with electronic ignition and 2 inch exuast.The car is a 63 Dart 170 4dr with a 3spd manual and a 3.55 rear gear and will be used as a daily driver (mostly back roads and town with minimal hiway) with milage taking precedent over power but without making it a complete dog.
The reason for a recurve is that after adding the electronic ignition the car didnt run quite as well as it did with the points(the dist. is a stock unit from a 78 volare 225 with asuper six and in good working order).
Im assuming the 170 will like a different,maybe quicker curve than a 225.
I also noticed that the stock points dist. had 5.5 vacumm can and alot more mechanical advance than the later elec. unit.
I realize that some tuning will need to be done and not all applications are the same but I just need a ballpark figure to get me started.
My 170 H-P motor seemed alot easier to get dialed in than this stock one,,go figure.
Thanks in advance
HyperValiant

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1960 Hyper-Pac Valiant(rolling test-bed)
1963 Valiant V2OO(Son's summer project,- he just turned 15 )
1972 Valiant 4dr(Daughter Kelly's repair in progress)
1974 Valiant (v8) daughter Kelly's work in progress

34-36 drgrees total is about right for a 170.
It will take a lot of initial advance so you may not need a lot of mechanical advance to get to that total range.

If you are shooting for max MPG, put more vaccum advance into it. (11X)
DD

I never looked, to see if it was possible, but could you take the advance mechanism parts (mechanical and vac) off the points dist, and swap them into the electronic dist?

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Charrlie_S
65 Valiant 100 2dr post 170 turbo
66 Valiant Signet 170 nitrous
64 Valiant Signet
64 Valiant 4dr 170
64 Valiant 4dr 225

Yes, but in the process, you will be changing the piece with the governor slots. Springs would remain and vac pod will usually stay. What that means, is that if the points unit had had 18 deg of mechanical advance, but the electronic had 30, then the 30 will follow the electronic parts swap.

Of course, you would always weld up the slots on the electronic governor plate to match the points slots. Or you could grind off the crimps that hold the plates to the post and then swap them and punch new crimps. I've done both methods with good results.

Fabrication rocks!

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1980 Aspen 225 super six

In recurve 'heck', I've pulled apart a couple dozen distributors (slants, LA, B-block,points, EI)...

You can swap the guts on a points distributor with the EI to a certain degree...the weights are the same on the slant regardless, the springs are similar, but some changes over the years with timing and pollution controls. The points governor uses the 'bumper block' and will not work for an EI distributor (can't get the reluctor on)...you can remove the governor and restake them... I usually grab a couple of junkyard models and see if one has a better governor on the EI version...In you case the 9R reluctor out of a post 1976 car would be good to get that 12BTDC initial...I have a couple of EI reluctors left on my bench I've welded up for later projects, you'd have to grind the slots longer to get the 18 mech adv....(I think one is short enough to have 12 deg. of mech. adv.)

For the most part, the plug and play option for you will be the post-76 distributor (even the stock Super Six distributor has the proper advance slots, and 11X vacc. advance...you just have to change the springs so it's not all in by 4000 rpm, and adjust the vacc. adv so it comes in when you need it to.



-D.Idiot

Thanks Fellas,I plugged in a another dist. today on my lunch hour. I used the primary spring from the Volare dist. with a lighter secondary spring with a loop in the end and a new Borg-Warner vacumm can(pt.no.v-411,an 11x can that starts pullin at about 6.5 inchs of vacumm and tops out at 11-12 inchs of vacumm- $6.75 at the local O-Rielly's).
I set the initial at 13 btdc and have 34-35 at 2200-2300 rpm.The engine feels "snappier off idle up to 3000 rpm but still need to dial the vac.can.Also holds a steady 19 inchs of vacumm at idle now,was about 17 before. I think Im fighting a stale gas problem now (I havnt added any gas in about 8 months and there wasnt but a 1/4 tank in it any way) wants to miss after 3000 rpm so Ill add some fresh gas and test some more tomorrow and report back.Thanks again.
HyperValiant

_________________
1960 Hyper-Pac Valiant(rolling test-bed)
1963 Valiant V2OO(Son's summer project,- he just turned 15 )
1972 Valiant 4dr(Daughter Kelly's repair in progress)
1974 Valiant (v8) daughter Kelly's work in progress