Over the winter I rebuilt the distributor (the part that distributes electricity to the spark plugs) with a non-smog spec recurve kit. Basically this means I changed the timing of the spark plugs sparking with new springs and weights inside the dizzy to make the car run smoother/better. Dizzy is classic car lingo for distributor and also how I felt looking at everything taken apart on the kitchen counter and then trying to wire everything up correctly back on the car. During this time I also added a pertonix electronic ignition, new spark plugs, a new coil, and deleted a girlfriend. Upgrades all around.
After some troubleshooting and making sure I didn't put things back together 180 degrees off, the car starts right up like a champion on the first turn. Great! Seriously...it's great. This was all new stuff to me and I figured it out (after some trial and error). Now there's none of the old car "wub wub wub wub wub " and feeling it struggle to start. It's just turn key and the engine is on. Pretty dang cool and credit to the Pertronix kit.
I backed down the driveway (mental note: e-brake needs adjustment) and started down the neighborhood street. First gear is good, really smooth. Big smile. Clutch in, put it in second, clutch out, press the gas and OH MY GOD WHAT IS THAT NOISE?!
I immediately put the clutch back in and go back to first. Everything is somehow back to fine and I can rev happily to 4k rpm. Well that was weird. Lets skip second and try 3rd gear...NOPE no forward movement and it sounds like a gun battle inside my motor. Back to the garage in 1st gear, which is again very smooth and pleasant.
It feels and sounds like a misfire of epic proportions. I popped the hood and everything was damn hot after a very short drive. The pertronix wires showed some rubbing inside the dizzy (not much clearance in there) so I tried to sort that real quick. The ground wire in the dizzy is pretty crappy so I replaced that too. Haven't driven it since as it was getting late but I don't know why a little rubbing in the dizzy would only happen in 2nd and 3rd gear? Why would a misfire be gear dependent? I'm working on it. I should double check the timing to be safe, but I did reset it after doing all of this work.
In other news, I took a closer look at the weatherstripping and have a good idea of what I need to do to square that away.
Also, I got my custom revalved Koni adjustable shocks from some Dutch guy. Heck yeah!
Not sure when I'll get a chance to put them on, but I love me some quality shocks.
Until next time...drive safe, have fun, and don't be a jerk.
