1926 Standard ignition timing

[Gino Roth]

A few months ago my engine began to misfire very badly and I traced the cause to a worn out bushing for the distributor shaft that I knew was bad when I got the car.  The run out on the shaft was terrible and I was able to wiggle it back and forth enough so that the points could open and close with the action.  I was planning to convert the distributor over to a Pertronix electronic ignition anyway to get rid of the points.  After doing this the car ran much better but it still misfired on occasion.  At this point, I also noticed that the distributor body had developed a crack down one side but stoped before it was anywhere near the bushing hole.  Still, I took this as a sign that the distributor needed more than just a bushing so I had a shop make up a new housing with an Oilite bushing ( Pic of the new Distributor is below - its beautiful).  The problem is now I can't get the engine to fire at all.  I am following the ignition timing procedure given in the 1926 Standard shop manual.  I have pulled all the spark plugs out and cleaned/gaped them, turned the flywheel so that the "ADV 17"  lined up with the registration marks on the bell housing and then set the distributor on full advance with the rotor right under #1.  After putting the plugs back in and retarding the distributor, it just cranks but won't fire.  I know it was on the compression stroke while setting the flywheel because I used a whistle in the #1 plug hole and I have verified that I had good spark and fuel.  I have also reset everything several times and tried to retard and advance the distributor thinking that I might be close to correct timing but nothing works.  Here are some pictures showing my flywheel position and position of the cam lobe on the Pertronix pickup module.  I know that this is a modified distributor but it ran before so it should run now for sure.  Is my flywheel position correct and does anyone have any other suggestions for me?

[EmTee]

That new distributor housing is a work of art!    That said, you might wish now that you had ugly distributor that works...

 

If it were my car, I would remove the Pertronix and get the engine running with the OE breaker points first.  Once the engine is running and tuned with the conventional ignition, I'd then introduce the Pertronix change.  Break the problem into smaller pieces and focus on the basics first (crawl, walk, run).

[Bloo]

What's the blue stuff? Is the Pertronix grounded?

 

 

[EmTee]

It sounds like there is spark - but when does it occur relative to crankshaft position...?

[Gino Roth]

I moved this topic over to Pre War cars where it should have been.  I will leave this post here and continue to monitor.  Thanks for your responses so far, doubt that I will go back to points since the Pertronix worked before.  Blue stuff on the breaker plate is Dykem layout fluid.  It was there the first time the Pertronix was put in and worked fine and I also have spark now so looks like the Pertronix is grounded.