Setting timing for /6 with new electronic distributor

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70aarcuda

70aarcuda

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Never worked on a slant 6....my daughter has a 63 Valiant with a 225 in it.

The engine is suppose to be a 71 year model, and still has a one barrel carb....it still has the point distributor also.

We are installing a new MP style electroinc ignition kit. New distributor..new ballast resistor and new ECU...got a MSD Blaster 2 coil. Also got a MP voltage regulator for the older style alternator.

So what should the timing be set at??????

Below is what we got..

for MOPAR Slant Six HiRev Electronic Ignition Kit OEM Plymouth Dodge 225 170 198 | eBay
 
The decal under the hood on slants can recommend anywhere between 2*BTDC - 12*BTDC. I personally would just put it where it ran the best.
 
there is no decal under the hood...lol....

I think I will check to see what it has with a timing light before I take the distributor out....I guess that would be a starting point.
 
As high as it will go before it runs rough. I have mine a tic under 15 initial and it runs great.
 
Ive been messing with slants for a long time.Start at 8* before and like Rusty stated. Work your way up from there.Maybe 12* might be max to run on regular 87.It may take more.We in Nevada have some poor quality pump gas.I have found that at 2500+ altitude they also don't like more than 23-29 Degrees total timing.
These are my findings, yours may differ. 63 Valiant's are cool.
 
I've got a stock '87 pick-up that I run at 17*. Runs the best here with the most power and starts like it has fuel injection, but I have to use premium fuel so it won't ping. 400k and still runs like the day I bought it in '87.
 
The advance curve is different from the original distributor I can guarantee. So what was good for the engine with the original one won't be with the replacement. Especially if the old advance weights were sticking or the vacuum can was blown
And all vac advance cans aren't the same either. There is a number on the arm that connects to the advance plate, that tells the amount that that particular advance can will provide.
 
You can buy advance cans with different amounts of advance built in.
 
volaredon said:
You can buy advance cans with different amounts of advance built in.
Click to expand...
Or you can mod a good-working stocker by grinding on the stops. The most I could get from mine was 22*. I think member @TrailBeast got 24 out of his. Ours are both SBMs.

Timing for a manual trans will be different than for an automatic. This is because a manual will spend a lot of time at rpms lower than the stall rpm.
Altitude will also play a role, because as the engine goes ever higher, the power will decline, and the throttle will have to be continuously opened further, to maintain rate of climb or road-speed......... because the EFFECTIVE compression ratio is continuously dropping lower.
The power is declining on three fronts; lack of air, surplus of fuel, and declining timing with declining rpm. There is no cure for the destruction of the A/F ratio besides a computerized fuel injection system, and no cure for the loss of power besides supercharging, or a bigger engine.
 
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Well...all went well.....I had a MSD Blaster 2 coil...and did the wiring...fired right up....and to adjust the timing.....we set it at 14 degrees initial...Looks like it has 30 degrees total...

Engine fires right up....sound alot better....

We had to fix the wire that provides power to the car...and now her gauges all work too...
 
also any deviations from stock (head shave, different carb, different gear, headers, etc) will make finding the right setting an experimental excercise.
 
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