273 SKIPS and MISSES.......

On my freshly rebuilt 273, there seems to be a problem..... Not the least of which was the fact that my rebuilder actually RE-INSTALLED my old crudded-up and crusty Champion plugs in that brand new motor, AND the old distributor AND rotor that weren't good enough to put on a 1950's Rat-Rod. (I STILL can't believe he actually did it...........!!!!!!!)

I changed out the plugs, cap and rotor.......Checked each wire for proper connections and continuity (Accel's, brand new).......When I started it, it definitely was a bit more healthy....more power at my foot was obvious....BUT, when I brought it back to the garage after a short and conservative "romp", I noticed a definite "skip" in the motor.......At idle, it sounds ridiculous......One cylinder just dropped out.

I.m goin' out to check the wires and inspect the plugs in a little while, and my question is this........

Barring no obvious problem like a dead plug or a bad wire, could my distributor be the cause here? I can even feel the misfiring at a cruise speed....the motor jerks a bit constantly like an ignition problem..... The Dist. is now about 7 years old, and is a standard Mopar performance street model electronic system.......It's pretty well oxidized on the outside, probably because the car was garaged in NY (hot, cold, damp, then dry....LOTS of climate changes inside the building for 7 years)........

I'm wondering if the electronic system should just be swapped out at this point for a new one...........? Could it be causing this symptom?

This is the first pre-70's I've had with an electronic upgrade......never had a problem quite like this constant misfiring....... Any ideas?

First put a timing light on it (maybe on each plug, one at a time) and see if each plug fires steady or not. If not see if it is all of them or one only.

Find out which cylinder it is. Remove the plug and look at it real close. I've seen the center electrode break and they will fall against the ground electrode at idle and cause a miss. They will fire just fine above idle. Seen that several times with new plugs, actually.

X2 on the other posts. You might check the gap between the reluctor and inductor. I don't remember the gap but make sure you use a brass feeler gauge. I would also check the dist shaft for play. They tend to wear on old high mileage distributers, although I doubt thats the problem.

think I'd pull the plugs and do a quick compression test 1st just to make sure
all is well...

reluctor gap is .008 for 72-76 .0060 / for 77 & up dual coils are Start .008 77-80 run coil .010 81-85 .012

going to need a little more info is it hydraulic cam or solid is there any lifter noise what kind of plug is in it wires are new using a distributor that has sate a long time are the weights in the distributor stuck or seized a big vacuum leak ie intake carb are you running good gas , what kind of distributor is it point or electronic .