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So I inherited a 1970 MAch 1 from my father in law. He restored in about 15 -18 years ago and I am in the process of changing plugs, wires etc and I wanted to check the timing. It has a 351W that is mildly done, Edelbrock 1411 (750cfm), Edelbrock Performer RPM heads and intake; however I don't know if it is overbored or if its a stock crank. Apparently it was dynoed at about 350Hp if that says anything. Back to the timing - at idle the timing shows exactly at 0deg TDC and when revved up to 3000 RPM it rolls to 30deg (Vacuum line disconnected and blocked off). Based on what I have read thus far shouldn't the timing be set somewhere around 10 deg BTDC, and not 0? When set at 10 BTDC and revved again the balancer slides to 20 deg, so I am assuming that the mechanical advance on the dizzy is 30deg. Does that sound correct? Should I be rolling it back to 10 deg BTDC and try it out? I don't have a vacuum gauge yet (tomorrow), I know there is a way to set timing with vacuum pressure as a guide - any advice here? Sorry, I am a bit of a newbie when it comes to timing etc. but am learning fast. Thanks in advance,

I'm at wit's end troubleshooting an issue. It started as stalling at idle speeds, only after the engine was hot. In the troubleshooting process, I'm noticing that the timing changes based on engine speed. (Yes, I've pulled the vaccum advance, and plugged the vacuum line) First, refresh my memory please: This isn't normal, is it? I have a pertronix ignition module under the cap. Also, does anyone have any initial choke settings? I have no idea at this point, where to set the choke. I'd like to leave it out of the equation, if possible, but it has a huge effect on engine idle speed. the last time I checked (last year) I had good vaccuum, very consistent. (can't recall the exact value) ANY help appreciated. -Tom

Title basically says it all. I have a stock 302 C-4 combo. When I first start the car up everything is smooth and runs great but after it gets up to running temperature it sounds like one cylinder begins to miss. I checked the spark plugs yesterday and they look good. I checked the points gap and that looked ok too. The rotor cap looked like it was only hitting the front edge, which would indicate timing? I played with that a bit adjusting it a few degrees up and down (missing my timing indicator) and that didn't help. I'm thinking at this point it may be bad points? Does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks! -Thomas

Just rebuilt my 69 351 Windsor - it is all stock and mated to an FMX tranny. Completed the break in but I am having trouble getting the timing set. With my initial at 6d, vacuum line disconnected and plugged, I have full advance at 31d at 2,800 rpm. With initial at 6d and vacuum line connected I get + 45d advance at 2,800. Idle is ok but terrible as rpm increases. I have tried initial at 11d with the vacuum line plugged and get 36d full advance. Idle is good but sluggish throughout. I am planning on trying to connect to manifold but would like to hear from someone else about this before I try it. I haven't looked inside the distributor yet to see what the limiter is set to. Thank you guys in advance for any insight provided... Oh, I also apologize...I do not own a Mustang...I have a Fairlane 500 convertible. I hope that doesn't affect the responses. P

I apologize if this is a basic question...but I have been searching the forums for quite some time, and it's now time to ask for some help. I have a '69 Automatic, with a 302, no AC. I've always been able to hear an occasional cylinder miss when idling, and the exhaust has always had a strong smell (I assume that means I've been running a bit rich). Now, this is the year to finally do that full tuneup... Bought a Pertronix ignitor, and installed. Went well, no apparent issues. Didn't seem to help with the miss, but car ran fine initially. Bought cap, rotor, plugs, wires, fuel filter. All basic stuff, right? After changing all of the above (gapped plugs to .040), car starts fine, but dies in reverse or drive (low idle, under load) OK, so out comes the timing light and tach. Checked timing - WOW, way off - not even on the scale. Found TC, and made sure my balancer hadn't moved, or timing chain jumped, etc. (I had replaced timing chain about 5000 miles ago, so I doubt it was the crappy factory gears). Set timing to 10BTC. HUGE steady misfire at high RPM only. still idles fairly smooth. Checked compression. All cylinders at about 130, but 5 and 6 were at 120. All seemed to hold compression, no slow leak. Checked carb vacuum - 17-18", very steady. Noticed carb is leaking a small amount of oil on the passenger side. tightened carb a bit. Again, manifold vacuum was good, so not sure if that is a major issue right now. (assume oil is from pcv...) So, here I am. Car fires up fine, idles good. After it warms up, I set idle to 950, set timing to 8BTC, and then put it in drive...it LOOKS like it would be idling at about 600 in drive before it starts to sputter and die. One thing - I noticed that with the timing light on, and rev'ing to 3-4000RPM, the timing seems to increase, but only to about 12BTC. Shouldn't it jump to about 30-34? Could I be looking at a vacuum advance issue? It's not manifold vaccum, so mechanical? Am I adjusting things in the wrong order? I always assumed you set high idle, adjusted timing, then worried about low idle... Please...any thoughts or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks in advance. :oops:

Merry Christmas from Texas! I have a 1969 Mach1 with a 351C stroker & 4 Speed Toploader. For ignition I have an older Mallory Unilite dizzy - mechanical advance with Mallory cylindrical coil and ballast resistor. First off the car starts and runs good. When I first start the car and let it warm up the timing is consistently at 17-19 BTDC (900 RPM). If I rev the car up to 2000 RMP it will eventually settle back to 900 RPM but the timing will now be around 23-24 BTDC, which doesn't seem correct to me. At 3000 RPM the total advance is 37. I decided to have a look under the cap. I checked the Unlite module and Coil out (Multi-meter) using the instructions provided by Mallory and both tested OK. I also had a look at the advance springs and noticed that one spring has no tension to it (although it is still attached to its posts). Also, the rotor does not 'snap back' when i twist it (clockwise or counter clockwise). There is a small amount of play (either dirction) in the rotor. I'm not sure if I have any issues here or not. I would greatly appreciate your comments and suggestions. Thanks, Scott