Thanks Reed...
If I were at home it would be a different story...

Anyway, I went and tapped my way back to MY LAST timing mark - pulled the distributor and lined the rotor up with one and it fires.

My mark is about 3/8's of an inch in the advanced area - and I have the vacuum advance plugged - if I adjust the distributor body, the only way I can move it makes it further advanced..

What next? After I go grab a cold one that is...
I am so frickin stressed by all this it is not funny.
Can't think straight and one minute after I do something I am looking at it and wondering which way I moved something!!!

lol
thanks again for the help Reed - I feel like such a maroon at times - and this qualifies as one of those times!!!

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

Leave it be and take it for a test drive after you have relaxed and your back has eased up (and the beverage has worn off, of course).

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

this is what the idle stop looks like on the carb right now...
there is none and if I adjust it up, it just shuts the gas off even more...


???

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

Good morning WhaleMstr,
I hope this is not too late,

I use a paper plug in the spark plug hole of cylinder #1.

Plug it up good and tight.

Disconnect the coil cable.

Crank the engine very, very little starts at a time. (cranks need to be millimeter of a second long).

As soon as you hear the paper plug POP out, STOP CRANKING.

Take a long screw driver and insert it into the spark plug hole. It should not go in very far.

With your hands, turn the fan belt back and forth and set the piston as high as you can. (use the screw drive as an indicator)

Now, go to the distributor, and make the rotor match up to spark plug cable #1. (Reposition the distributor as needed).

(After that, all you would need to do is dial in the timing for fine tuning)

I am in San Diego.
It still is not very close, but I might be the closest to you.
I will try to help as much as I can.
I am not a mechanic, but I am a slant6 gear head.. And very proud.

_________________
Slant power!!!
At least I try...

Thanks Enrique!
I have set it a couple of times and marked the damper - when I get totally out, I tap the starter until I get to the mark, pull the distributor and reset it.

This is what it sounds like this morning...
https://youtu.be/gUNbQ0MAqAc - YouTube

I am getting ready to pull the valve cover and check the valve lash this morning... just trying to convince my body that it's okay - you can do this...

lol

If I could drive down there at 55mph instead of 75 or 80 like all the loonies do down here, I would take a drive back down to your area and hit you up for a check on this thing for sure!

Too bad you weren't on the going back home side of the highway!!!
Mainly the north bound side!!! LOL

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

Outside of a little valve chatter, it sounds good to me. Even the exhaust. How do you feel about it?
Also looks like you didn't have it up to full temp from what you've been talking about runnin a little hot. Is your Temp Sender wire on fully and not pinched or anything? That could be giving a false reading? I'm just throwin stones here.

I should have mentioned that it had already cooled down a lot because of where I am. As a matter of fact, I only ran it a little bit to move it back into the garage after taking it a few miles out and back to a local store. I am still not running it because of the neighbors - I do not want to offend or bother any! It is almost time that I feel comfortable enough to let it sit and idle for awhile - while I adjust stuff. I usually turn the fan on when I am sitting still, once the gauge reaches the T - I am used to seeing it in the middle of the T and E with it leaning towards the E when it's warm. The other day when I went out and about, it was at the M and I kept the fan on all the time...

Anyway, it doesn't sound quite right to me?
I wish I remembered or wrote down somewhere that I could remember what cam I have in here! LOL

I do remember .018 as the valve lash #'s for some reason? Intake and exhaust all the same - made it easy to remember I guess?

Just started it again...
and so the fun begins again...

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

what it sound like now...
getting ready to go out on the open road again and see what it does...

https://youtu.be/RmW2rHHkn7M

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

I do not know if this has been suggested yet, so..

Have you checked your coolant level?

There is a metal flap in the exhaust manifold that sometimes gets stuck, have you check that it is working?

I too believe it is something very simple.

_________________
Slant power!!!
At least I try...

It's running and as far as I'm concerned, it's running nice!
I just took it up a hill - at 50 - and it warms up - but with the fan on it stays in the range I feel comfortable with. Traveling along at 45 or 40 it does not heat up at all - and I only turn the fan on when coming to a stop light.
I have the idle a little low, but I can live with that for now.

I loosened the adjustment on my tranny and it shifts a bit lighter - which is again okay with me. I also noticed that if I get on it, once it gets past the initial hesitation - which I am not gonna mess with right now either, - it has enough giddeeeeuoand go for my tastes - it is a loaded camper van now and still has a little oomph!

Anyway, thanks for all the help guys.

Now I have to put the camper part all back together and plan a trip back north!

If there is anyone along 99 towards Modesto let me know!
My daughter is in Modesto - so I have to stop there otherwise I would probably try 5 going north this time...

What a relief after such a long and stressful episode in life on the road with an old van!!! LOL

I may have to go 99 all the way up north just so I can stop in Oroville and say howdy?

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

Hooray! Glad it is finally back together and working. Good job!

_________________
Casually looking for a Clifford hyperpak intake for cheap.

Sounds good to me, Dan.

Brian

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https://tinyurl.com/yynpj4v2

Still haven't taken it out on the freeway though!!!

That is gonna happen next - and probably in a few minutes!
I almost have all the cabinets and stuff back in it now...

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

Just got back a few minutes ago from taking a run up the freeway and back - no problem at all!

Even stopped and got a hot dog and bought a cigar!

2 hours up the road I will be cussing a swearing and asking a sheriff to shoot the damn thing, but, right now, I are happy and relieved...

_________________
"I may be slow, but at least I'm not very fast!"
'69 A108 - 225, 727, 3.55, MSD6AL, a.k.a.-the brick

That's good to hear. I was thinkin, your little heat problem could be just because you did some work to it and until it finds it's happy spot after some run time, it might cool down some. Did you use the fan or see how it'd do with out it?