Re: Ignition 101

[Scott Fisher <sfisher71@domain.elided>]

--- Douglas Kunzman <doug.kunzman@domain.elided>
wrote:

[...]

> I am planning on replacing the distributor.
> 
> Can I safely assume that if the water pump pulley is
> at the <<F>> mark, and the
> cams on the number one piston are pointing outward (
> and the rotor arm is at
> the 4 o'clock position) that I can pull and replace
> the distributor by just putting it in. 

There are some potential gotchas, made worse if you
are replacing the distributor with a different brand
(i.e., putting in a Bosch where a Marelli came out),
because the Bosch and Marelli distributors have a
different alignment between the tang and the rotor.  

When I replaced my '74 Spider's distributor a couple
months ago, I did just what you describe and still
ended up out of alignment till we verified the
compression stroke of the #1 cylinder by feeling the
air poof out of the spark plug hole.  Once we aligned
the wires to that configuration, the car started
immediately and we were able to time it easily.

Note that the F mark (same place as the P in some
model years, different in others) is important for
static timing, just to get the car to start.  Once it
has started, do NOT neglect to time it to the M mark
at 5000 RPM (step 4 in the instructions below). 
There's a noticeable performance difference when you
get it right.

All this info is nicely presented, with graphics, at
the AROO Web site:

http://www.alfaclub.org/techstff/tuneign.htm

If you don't have the whizzy Alfa Special Tool (long
T-handle with a 10mm box wrench sticking off the end)
for distributor removal, you can manage with a 10mm
wrench, but a 10mm crowsfoot on a two-foot extension
would give you similar function to the special tool.

Best,

--Scott Fisher
  Tualatin, Oregon
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