427 Ring Gear, OUT!

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Excaliber;986199I

called Don this morning, had a knee slapping good old boy talk about whats going on around town and how things have changed over the years. Great fun, oh, and I finally got around to ordering those MSD bushings too. I look forward to meeting Don and checking out the garage in the near future. I might just drive my car up there and let HIM "dial in" the MSD curve and carbs! He had some good ideas on the subject, nice guy.

That's cool. He suggested some voodoo timing and tuning on my FE and challenged me to do it, so I am waiting on cooler weather and some free time to play with some things he recommended. He sent me his bushings and emailed me the book a couple months ago. He's seems like a smart, experienced engine guy and is really fun to talk to. I'd be driving up there if I lived close.

[Bobcat]

Correct ... he has some different ideas on timing , but seems to be able to back them up with solid reasons . What was interesting to me was how he set timing by the ground strap on the plug ... i.e , correct timing when the "mark " was in the middle of the curve . I played around some and found that if I advanced or retarded the timing , that " mark " moved in the direction he said it would . His booklet is worth every penny ... very good source .
He is also one of the few people that actually has a distributor machine ... and when I get around to it , the distributor , coil and wires off my 427 Galaxie will go to him so he can set it up .
I may be in Oregon next summer and plan to stop in if I`m close .

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

What was interesting to me was how he set timing by the ground strap on the plug ... i.e , correct timing when the "mark " was in the middle of the curve .

Yep, that's exactly what I meant by making time to work with it. I plan on getting a new set of plugs and setting it up fresh with his base and total timing values using his bushings and working from that timing mark on the strap. And I may try a vacuum advance dizzy. He claims 20-22 base +14 advance along with a vacuum advance will make a tremendous difference in how my 427 performs (and how long it lasts.)

[Bobcat]

About why engine builders don`t like vacuum advance .... I was told long ago that the "problem" was that when you went to WOT suddenly , the vacuum drop lagged behind enough to cause a momentary over advance condition ... while some others have said that was BS . I have no idea who`s right , however , I have a mechanical only advance on my MSD and would be interested in your results if you try a vacuum advance with Don`s bushings .
As a side note ... he told me you can "fine tune " the bushings by putting them in a vise and SLIGHTLY elongating them . This would allow more initial , but keep the max in the 36 degree range . Just make sure they slide freely in the slot . I was lucky ( I think ) as I hit what I was looking for without doing that .

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Bobcat

This would allow more initial , but keep the max in the 36 degree range . Just make sure they slide freely in the slot . I was lucky ( I think ) as I hit what I was looking for without doing that .

So which springs are you running with that timing setup?

[patrickt]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

So which springs are you running with that timing setup?

... and your timing curve starts off with 20 degrees with roughly 16 more coming in before 2000rpm, correct?