Adjusting the Timing Curve Further

I've been attempting to duplicate the problem which causes the engine to die randomly. I've started the Mustang and let it run at least twice a night for the entire week. The issue has not reoccured.

I decided to work on the timing curve tonight. I thought running the engine and working with the distributor parts might cause the problem to happen again. Unforatunely, I was not so lucky but I feel better about the timing curve.

When I started, my timing curve was as follows:

850 - 14 Degrees BTDC
1000 - 14 Degrees BTDC
1500 - 20 Degrees BTDC
2000 - 31 Degrees BTDC
2500 - 39 Degrees BTDC


I originally had a hard time getting the timing to increase early. Total timing would come in earlier with the new springs I purchased but not as early as had been recommended.

I worked on bending the mount tabs for the springs and actually switched to use one slightly stiffer spring. I basically use a light spring to control early movement. The stiffer spring is looser and keeps all the timing from coming in too early. This resulted in the following:

800 - 14 Degrees
1000 - 18 Degrees
1200 - 22 Degrees
1500 - 24 Degrees
1800 - 26 Degrees
2400 - 34 Degrees
2600 - 37 Degrees


The comparison of the two timing curves looks as follows:


The new timing curve works a little better than the previous curve. With a base timing of 14 and the reluctor arm set to 10L, I should not have more than 34 total degrees of advance. However, I set the timing light to 34 and reved the engine and it passes 34 to about 37 or 38.


When it reaches the 37 or 38 number, the timing seems to bounce around more. I'm not sure if this is because of the quality of the original distributor or something else. It could be cross fires across cylinders since the distributor cap is small.