You can set the dwell on a ford by removing the cap & rotor slightly loosen the point screw, attach your dwell meter turn the key on and use a remote starter and adjust the dwell while it's turning over. Tighten the set screw put the cap & rotor back on and double check that the dwell is correct. I've started doing this on my first car a 1960 ford fairlane with a 292 in the early 70's
Retired Catapiller Heavy Equipment Mechanic: I recommend when dwell is off on points. I use a points file. Make a flat surface again on both sides. Then set points again. Longer life, then just gap and go. God bless
I believe that 1 degree dwell is 1 degree of timing. So you lost 6 degrees of timing which is probably why it started running a little rough. Less dwell = wider gap = advanced timing
You can set the dwell with the engine cranking with the starter. Set to 30 degrees cranking. Replace the cap and adjust ignition timing because dwell effects timing.
Ok. Snug the pivoting screw.Atach the dwell meter to the primary lead wire.Snug the front point screw. Reach over with your left hand and cross over the solinoid,or put a starter button on it.prepare to put a flat blade screw driver. In the slot . Turn your ignition on ,crank the engine .now while looking at your dwell meter turn your points to about 27 degrees. Stop. Tighten your points. .it may take you a time or to but it's easy. But again any body using points in the 21st century .JUST ISNT THINKING THINGS THROUGH.
Jeff, I got the same Sears Tach/ Dwell/ Voltmeter back when I was in Automotive Class in High School! SOOOoo... I know how freaking old you are :) Still works :) Scott G nailed it! Love the Distributor at the front of the motors... So us Old Guys can still work on them; As a life long Ford Guy you learn what works on any given year of Ford! Love my 71' 72's...
@@AutoRestoMod Sweet Christmas gift! I'll be 60 in January :) My Pops gave me a 55' Country Squire for my 12th Birthday! Yeah... Took me and my older brother 4 days to get it back on the road. 292 w/ 3 on the tree :) I grew up just south of Savannah, Ga. The Gamecocks deserved the win at Athens.... The Dawgs stunk up the place... Kirby ain't so Smart :)
Distributer rotation is easy look at the points, the cam will contact the wear block from the back side of the points ( the side away from the contact points). ).
I remember my first car with points a 68 cougar 289, I'm like what is that? My old man showed me how to gap them with a match book. My new toy is a 65 Falcon 289(first classic car in 20 years.). It has points also but I think I'm going to go Pertronix when it's time to tune it up. I would like to see a video on replacing flat tappet lifters or what to do if one is clacking (mine comes and goes at idle). Thanks for the videos, learning a lot of classic mechanics. I worked on Nissans for 22 years and recently retired. Finally finding a use for all those fractional tools. LOL
We have a 65 Ranchero and a 64 Falcon hardtop. So there will be a bunch of videos on these cars. We are looking at doing a video on doing a roller cam conversion so all the teardown will apply.
For some unknown reason Ford liked and still does like to mess with people when working on anything they manufacturer, at least they were kind enough to put the distributor on the front of the engine. Except the Y. That being said the distributors are all very different as every V8 Ford made. If you are simply swapping out old to new just make sure you have the exact part before you cram it into the hole. Rebuilt stuff can easily be mislabeled or boxed. Just because is looks close doesn’t mean its right. If you are upgrading to an aftermarket electronic ignition double check visually and measure the unit to verify it is in fact the correct part. The small block Ford distributor changed year to year throughout its productions and they don’t all convert year to year especially into the 70’s and 80’s. FE is all the same and the 335 and 385 series distributor will all cross over, remarkably enough. When buying aftermarket distributors its a crap shoot. I’ve had pretty good luck with Mallory and Accel fitting and working well and Ive had mixed results with petronix. MSD has junk electronics but well machined parts. Stay away from the cheap Chinese units. The price may be tempting but you will end up changing out the guts in short order, ending up costing more than buying a quality American unit. I don’t touch Chryslers but the 70’s junk was a bag full of money nuts, this much I know. Chevrolet one size fits all SBC and BBC v8’s. Other GM junk is convertible to Chevy but not all and not always. Make sure you have the correct gear on the distributor based on the cam type. I hope this adds to Jeff’s excellent tutorial on the subject.
Takes certain folks with patience to be to be a loyal Ford lover. you got good Fords and bad Fords. Always changing not for better. Hell, look at the Detroit Lions....
Or if you have a helper you could leave the cap and rotor off, have your helper turn on the key and turn over the engine while you adjust the dwell with your screwdriver. Tighten the set screw, replace the rotor and cap and be on your way.
Gap gets it ballpark/running ok. Dwell meter gets it right. I always had to tweak my points a little when replacing - I would be out 2 to 4 degrees on dwell most times.
Thanks for the video, I am working on a friend's GTO and haven't messed with a points distributor in years. How many years? Well I have the exact same Craftsmen meter that I also bought when I was in high school!
Also on the firing order if someone switched out the cam you could either have a 351 Windsor cam and a 302 or vice versa which do you would have to use whatever the firing order is that's for that cam
Yep my 302 has the 289/302 firing order but when I finish my 306 build for my truck it will now have the 302HO/351w firing order and I picked up a nice little decal off ebay that has the 302HO/351W firing order with a diagram of the engine. Going to put it on the core support to help anyone in the future that might mess with the truck. I had one at work didn't know what it was and neither 302 nor 302HO firing order would get the engine to run right.
You van check dwell off the starter. So you don't have to keep taking the cap on and off. Pull the coil wire. Remove the cap. Hook up thr meter and have someone turn thr motor over. Ir use a remote starter button.
Great video. Something I was reminded of/re-learned the hard way is that changing the point gap changes timing. If I remember correctly, moving to higher dwell numbers will result in retarded timing, so if you change anything, you might need to check and possibly reset your base timing.
Yep! It's one of those things I've forgotten more than once and managed to turn a quick project into something that takes twice as long, invariably having to check and re-set timing, change the idle speed, readjust the mixture screws, etc. And before I know it, I've gotten distracted and started another full restoration by accident.
If timing and the points were originally setup correctly, restoring the worn points to the correct gap/dwell will restore the timing to it's original set point. If the timing is off after restoring the points to spec and originally everything was set to spec and you didn't move the distributor (which would change timing) then you have worn components somewhere between the crank and the lobe on the distributor.
I don't remember how I would hook up my Dwell meter of my Timing lite since last using them back in the late 1960s. I hoped you would show that. I have the allen head flexible screwdriver to adjust the dwell, and you're right GM and the slide door on the side of the distributer. I even have the tall hand wrench for adjusting the timing, a nice tool to have.
Please help me with this points gap. Is it safe to assume that if my dwell is right on at 30 then my points are set correctly? In other words, my GM Dist has the window for setting my points gap so I am assuming if I get the points close to the proper gap and I set the dwell to the factory setting of 30 then I’m done! Right? Or, do I have to gap the points perfect and then set the dwell? Please help this less than shadetree mechanic.
lol Consider yourself lucky my 292 Y8 on my '56 ford has the dist on the back of the engine a complete pain to get to. but the bright side is its easy to rotate the engine by hand to get right on the lobe.
well explained & demonstrated, but what if you change/swap a camshaft, then you cant just refer to the manual for what the correct dwell angle should be, so how do u work it out ? and what about dwell angle on a gm hei ? can dwell be checked on a hei, yes it can, can it be adjusted ?
I have that cuestión too... Can be adjusted with a Hall effect? If I change to a bigger beefier coil, can the dwell be increased for a hotter spark?? 🤔
So in an ideal world, in new vehicle, setting the points per spec will give a dwell per spec, But as everything ages points set to spec do not result in a dwell set to spec, therefore adjust the points to give you a correct dwell? Dwell is more important that actual point gap??
Why I love running the Ford Racing plug wires they are numbered. Only one I have problem with is my 292 Y8, that old ford I need a new dist as my load-o-matic is a bit sticky I think but I don't know if I want to stick with points or if I could possibly wire it up to look like points with a petronix.
@@AutoRestoMod , I agree. I'm still trying to figure it out I installed my points in the middle of the speced range with Dwell at 29* which was 1* more dwell than speced. My oem ford shop manual didnt really cover how dwell is set so now that I am at 31* dwell after I installed the points two years ago I will have to see if I can get the dwell with in spec to hopefully smooth the old engine out. I know I cant get her to idle at the 450 rpm spec in gear. Next hurdle I have is figuring out how to adjust the OEM regulator as my gen light comes on in gear if I am around 650 rpm and I just cant find the regulator temperature tool mentioned in the oem shop manual to follow their adjustments. Same with my Ford O Matic I would like to try adjusting the bands to see if that is my falling out of gear problem but manual specs a tool and says to tighten band till tool over runs what ever that means.
My ford 292 has the dist at the rear of the engine. Not too hard to get to it's just a pain when it comes time to try and add oil to the dist oil cup as it's up against the firewall.
I don't know if it's possible but would it be possible just to drill a hole into the side of the distributor where needed on a Ford and just put a rubber stop in the hole that was drilled when not using it to adjust?
I have all types for the show. I have Pertonix in the majority of the cars and points in one or two just to keep up on them and help out those that still have points.
Ford put the distributor in the front thinking it'll be easier for the mechanics. Then the head of service said No No No you have to make it difficult so we will now bury that distributor in amongst hoses wires and brackets and we will force you to remove the cap for every setting change. And will will not standardize anything. We will not be like the kind GM engineers and make all engines in a brand use the same bellhousing pattern. We will not use the same tailight wiring colors for 50+ years on every car. We will not make small block to big blocks simple like GM..... Oh and we can't forget 18436572
Robert Adams. Simple like GM? Do you mean with the distributor in the back of the motor behind the air filter and up against the far wall? Where you have to climb over our engine to get to it and burn yourself? One thing he doesn’t mention in the video is that the reason why they have an easier points adjustment on the GM Distributors is because it’s such a pain in the butt to get to the distributor in the first place
Reason for front dist is.... drum roll please.... that's where the oil pump is located. Cam drives dist and dist drives pump. In my opinion the rear pump is better as there is less oil windage control necessary. With introduction of Fox chassis Ford went to rear sump by using a two foot long oil pickup to reach sump.
Good info. I kind I wish you guys would cut some of the banter and jokes and just dive right into the tech. This video was actually better than most of yours in that regard. No offense. Just the $0.02 of someone with a very short attention span who usually watches car vids to learn something / find helpful information as opposed to watching for entertainment value.
Far, Far, Far worse then CW or CCW is the perspective of what the mfg is basing that on. Either looking at it as if you were on the engine block or looking at as if you are looking into the engine bay. They never ever Freak'in state this and it the cause of alot of mess ups...........just say'in....
You can set the dwell on a ford by removing the cap & rotor slightly loosen the point screw, attach your dwell meter turn the key on and use a remote starter and adjust the dwell while it's turning over. Tighten the set screw put the cap & rotor back on and double check that the dwell is correct. I've started doing this on my first car a 1960 ford fairlane with a 292 in the early 70's
Good point! See what I did there, POINT...OK, I'll stop...
Thanks Jeff. This is great info. Appreciate your time
We appreciate you watching.
Still have my dwell meter which I purchased from K-Mart in 1970s to set points on my 1972 Chevelle. Good old days...
Retired Catapiller Heavy Equipment Mechanic: I recommend when dwell is off on points. I use a points file. Make a flat surface again on both sides. Then set points again. Longer life, then just gap and go. God bless
Thanks for the tips!
I believe that 1 degree dwell is 1 degree of timing. So you lost 6 degrees of timing which is probably why it started running a little rough. Less dwell = wider gap = advanced timing
You can set the dwell with the engine cranking with the starter. Set to 30 degrees cranking. Replace the cap and adjust ignition timing because dwell effects timing.
Ok. Snug the pivoting screw.Atach the dwell meter to the primary lead wire.Snug the front point screw.
Reach over with your left hand and cross over the solinoid,or put a starter button on it.prepare to put a flat blade screw driver. In the slot .
Turn your ignition on ,crank the engine .now while looking at your dwell meter turn your points to about 27 degrees. Stop. Tighten your points.
.it may take you a time or to but it's easy.
But again any body using points in the 21st century .JUST ISNT THINKING THINGS THROUGH.
Jeff, I got the same Sears Tach/ Dwell/ Voltmeter back when I was in Automotive Class in High School! SOOOoo... I know how freaking old you are :) Still works :) Scott G nailed it! Love the Distributor at the front of the motors... So us Old Guys can still work on them; As a life long Ford Guy you learn what works on any given year of Ford! Love my 71' 72's...
Yep, 56 years on the planet! That tach dwell meter has seen a lot of battles. Think dad gave me that as a Christmas gift one year.
@@AutoRestoMod Sweet Christmas gift! I'll be 60 in January :) My Pops gave me a 55' Country Squire for my 12th Birthday! Yeah... Took me and my older brother 4 days to get it back on the road. 292 w/ 3 on the tree :) I grew up just south of Savannah, Ga. The Gamecocks deserved the win at Athens.... The Dawgs stunk up the place... Kirby ain't so Smart :)
Distributer rotation is easy look at the points, the cam will contact the wear block from the back side of the points ( the side away from the contact points).
).
I remember my first car with points a 68 cougar 289, I'm like what is that? My old man showed me how to gap them with a match book. My new toy is a 65 Falcon 289(first classic car in 20 years.). It has points also but I think I'm going to go Pertronix when it's time to tune it up. I would like to see a video on replacing flat tappet lifters or what to do if one is clacking (mine comes and goes at idle). Thanks for the videos, learning a lot of classic mechanics. I worked on Nissans for 22 years and recently retired. Finally finding a use for all those fractional tools. LOL
We have a 65 Ranchero and a 64 Falcon hardtop. So there will be a bunch of videos on these cars. We are looking at doing a video on doing a roller cam conversion so all the teardown will apply.
@@AutoRestoMod I'll be waiting in great anticipation!
Thank you fir the great video
For some unknown reason Ford liked and still does like to mess with people when working on anything they manufacturer, at least they were kind enough to put the distributor on the front of the engine. Except the Y. That being said the distributors are all very different as every V8 Ford made. If you are simply swapping out old to new just make sure you have the exact part before you cram it into the hole. Rebuilt stuff can easily be mislabeled or boxed. Just because is looks close doesn’t mean its right. If you are upgrading to an aftermarket electronic ignition double check visually and measure the unit to verify it is in fact the correct part. The small block Ford distributor changed year to year throughout its productions and they don’t all convert year to year especially into the 70’s and 80’s. FE is all the same and the 335 and 385 series distributor will all cross over, remarkably enough. When buying aftermarket distributors its a crap shoot. I’ve had pretty good luck with Mallory and Accel fitting and working well and Ive had mixed results with petronix. MSD has junk electronics but well machined parts. Stay away from the cheap Chinese units. The price may be tempting but you will end up changing out the guts in short order, ending up costing more than buying a quality American unit. I don’t touch Chryslers but the 70’s junk was a bag full of money nuts, this much I know. Chevrolet one size fits all SBC and BBC v8’s. Other GM junk is convertible to Chevy but not all and not always. Make sure you have the correct gear on the distributor based on the cam type. I hope this adds to Jeff’s excellent tutorial on the subject.
Takes certain folks with patience to be to be a loyal Ford lover. you got good Fords and bad Fords. Always changing not for better. Hell, look at the Detroit Lions....
Lol, didn't even show how to hook the dwell meter. You got me.onto another video!
Sorry, I forget that some folks need the full tutorial.
Or if you have a helper you could leave the cap and rotor off, have your helper turn on the key and turn over the engine while you adjust the dwell with your screwdriver. Tighten the set screw, replace the rotor and cap and be on your way.
Gap gets it ballpark/running ok. Dwell meter gets it right. I always had to tweak my points a little when replacing - I would be out 2 to 4 degrees on dwell most times.
Thanks for the video, I am working on a friend's GTO and haven't messed with a points distributor in years. How many years? Well I have the exact same Craftsmen meter that I also bought when I was in high school!
Also on the firing order if someone switched out the cam you could either have a 351 Windsor cam and a 302 or vice versa which do you would have to use whatever the firing order is that's for that cam
Yep my 302 has the 289/302 firing order but when I finish my 306 build for my truck it will now have the 302HO/351w firing order and I picked up a nice little decal off ebay that has the 302HO/351W firing order with a diagram of the engine. Going to put it on the core support to help anyone in the future that might mess with the truck. I had one at work didn't know what it was and neither 302 nor 302HO firing order would get the engine to run right.
Question: where exactly are you attaching/ contacting the leads of the multimeter (dwellmeter)?
You van check dwell off the starter. So you don't have to keep taking the cap on and off. Pull the coil wire. Remove the cap. Hook up thr meter and have someone turn thr motor over. Ir use a remote starter button.
Great video. Something I was reminded of/re-learned the hard way is that changing the point gap changes timing. If I remember correctly, moving to higher dwell numbers will result in retarded timing, so if you change anything, you might need to check and possibly reset your base timing.
Yeah I mentioned it but forgot to drive that point home.
Yep! It's one of those things I've forgotten more than once and managed to turn a quick project into something that takes twice as long, invariably having to check and re-set timing, change the idle speed, readjust the mixture screws, etc. And before I know it, I've gotten distracted and started another full restoration by accident.
If you change point gap /dwell the timing will need reset.
Yes. I probably didn't tap that hard enough in my talk.
If timing and the points were originally setup correctly, restoring the worn points to the correct gap/dwell will restore the timing to it's original set point. If the timing is off after restoring the points to spec and originally everything was set to spec and you didn't move the distributor (which would change timing) then you have worn components somewhere between the crank and the lobe on the distributor.
I don't remember how I would hook up my Dwell meter of my Timing lite since last using them back in the late 1960s. I hoped you would show that. I have the allen head flexible screwdriver to adjust the dwell, and you're right GM and the slide door on the side of the distributer. I even have the tall hand wrench for adjusting the timing, a nice tool to have.
We did have a camera on that section of it shouldn't of it. But the focus was so fuzzy you couldn't see it lol
Please help me with this points gap. Is it safe to assume that if my dwell is right on at 30 then my points are set correctly? In other words, my GM Dist has the window for setting my points gap so I am assuming if I get the points close to the proper gap and I set the dwell to the factory setting of 30 then I’m done! Right? Or, do I have to gap the points perfect and then set the dwell? Please help this less than shadetree mechanic.
Been trying to figure out dwell vs point gap for many years, now I know
Glad to help!!!
After changes are made to point gap or dwell, the timing changes so that also needs reset.
You are right.
lol Consider yourself lucky my 292 Y8 on my '56 ford has the dist on the back of the engine a complete pain to get to. but the bright side is its easy to rotate the engine by hand to get right on the lobe.
well explained & demonstrated, but what if you change/swap a camshaft, then you cant just refer to the manual for what the correct dwell angle should be, so how do u work it out ? and what about dwell angle on a gm hei ? can dwell be checked on a hei, yes it can, can it be adjusted ?
I have that cuestión too...
Can be adjusted with a Hall effect?
If I change to a bigger beefier coil, can the dwell be increased for a hotter spark?? 🤔
So in an ideal world, in new vehicle, setting the points per spec will give a dwell per spec, But as everything ages points set to spec do not result in a dwell set to spec, therefore adjust the points to give you a correct dwell? Dwell is more important that actual point gap??
Gap is a starting point for points.
Cheap HEI for Ford available on eBay. Maybe a good video idea? Thanks for your videos. I appreciate them.
Why I love running the Ford Racing plug wires they are numbered. Only one I have problem with is my 292 Y8, that old ford I need a new dist as my load-o-matic is a bit sticky I think but I don't know if I want to stick with points or if I could possibly wire it up to look like points with a petronix.
I actually like futzing with points. BUT there is something to be said for a fire and forget solution like the Pertonix.
@@AutoRestoMod , I agree. I'm still trying to figure it out I installed my points in the middle of the speced range with Dwell at 29* which was 1* more dwell than speced. My oem ford shop manual didnt really cover how dwell is set so now that I am at 31* dwell after I installed the points two years ago I will have to see if I can get the dwell with in spec to hopefully smooth the old engine out.
I know I cant get her to idle at the 450 rpm spec in gear.
Next hurdle I have is figuring out how to adjust the OEM regulator as my gen light comes on in gear if I am around 650 rpm and I just cant find the regulator temperature tool mentioned in the oem shop manual to follow their adjustments.
Same with my Ford O Matic I would like to try adjusting the bands to see if that is my falling out of gear problem but manual specs a tool and says to tighten band till tool over runs what ever that means.
Once you understand Ford's there easy to work on.
At least Ford did one good thing is that they have the distributor at the front of the engine. I hate mine cause it's at the rear.
My ford 292 has the dist at the rear of the engine. Not too hard to get to it's just a pain when it comes time to try and add oil to the dist oil cup as it's up against the firewall.
I don't know if it's possible but would it be possible just to drill a hole into the side of the distributor where needed on a Ford and just put a rubber stop in the hole that was drilled when not using it to adjust?
Nope. It would have to be in the top. And Ford used a flat blade screw driver to adjust, not an Allen head like GM.
Need help with 84 chevy k10 have engine crossmember cracked should I weld or get new one
Depends on availability.
Ever make any videos installing and setting up Edelbrock carbs ? Thanks
Honestly, I have never mucked about with the Edelbrock carbs. So I don't feel comfortable with explaining them to folks.
@@AutoRestoMod Gotcha. Love your stuff man !!
Can you show us how to run a full 12 volt wiring on the old mustangs
Not sure what you mean. You don't want a full 12 volts on a points system. It will kill the points faster.
what wire did you put where on the dwell meter
Green clamp on the positive ground wire on a good ground.
Ofcourse I grew up in a Ford dealer ship.
Was it me or did I See Spark jumping on that last part of the video the last cylinder all the way back against the firewall?
Dang! I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the heads up.
And I had to look at again. Was that also spark jumping at the bridge on the top of the valve cover. maybe new wires are in order?
5:09 chevys with a distributor at least.
You talk about what ford and GM do, but what about Chrysler?
Good point. I've never really dealt with Chrysler. Would love to...but I stick with what I kinda know.
Spark plug wire shorting to ground...right rear plug can't be the only one that noticed that..you missed tons of steps🙄
Nope. Wrong.
Points......LOL.??? AMATUERS.
I have all types for the show. I have Pertonix in the majority of the cars and points in one or two just to keep up on them and help out those that still have points.
Can not like this video enough.......
Ford put the distributor in the front thinking it'll be easier for the mechanics. Then the head of service said No No No you have to make it difficult so we will now bury that distributor in amongst hoses wires and brackets and we will force you to remove the cap for every setting change. And will will not standardize anything. We will not be like the kind GM engineers and make all engines in a brand use the same bellhousing pattern. We will not use the same tailight wiring colors for 50+ years on every car. We will not make small block to big blocks simple like GM..... Oh and we can't forget 18436572
Robert Adams. Simple like GM? Do you mean with the distributor in the back of the motor behind the air filter and up against the far wall? Where you have to climb over our engine to get to it and burn yourself? One thing he doesn’t mention in the video is that the reason why they have an easier points adjustment on the GM Distributors is because it’s such a pain in the butt to get to the distributor in the first place
HAHAHAHAHAHAHA, TRUE!
Reason for front dist is.... drum roll please.... that's where the oil pump is located. Cam drives dist and dist drives pump. In my opinion the rear pump is better as there is less oil windage control necessary. With introduction of Fox chassis Ford went to rear sump by using a two foot long oil pickup to reach sump.
Good info. I kind I wish you guys would cut some of the banter and jokes and just dive right into the tech. This video was actually better than most of yours in that regard. No offense. Just the $0.02 of someone with a very short attention span who usually watches car vids to learn something / find helpful information as opposed to watching for entertainment value.
We is what we is. We make a show, I HATE dry tech. I had to watch one today. Had to take a Five Hour Energy just to get through it.
1st three minutes....useless
That's what she said.
Far, Far, Far worse then CW or CCW is the perspective of what the mfg is basing that on. Either looking at it as if you were on the engine block or looking at as if you are looking into the engine bay. They never ever Freak'in state this and it the cause of alot of mess ups...........just say'in....
I see what you are saying.
1 min video stretched out to 16 mins. Chock full of sales pitches and filler.
Jesus get to the damn point!
Sorry Rock, Jesus was only in my heart, not working on the truck...