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Stopped in Nashville with a friend for the weekend and had a bit of fun, then got back on the road this afternoon in hopes of finishing up the drive today. Over the weekend I met a guy with an old impala he’s restored and an old nova, both of which were absolutely beautiful.
Unfortunately, an hour before I got to my folks’ house something down near the camshaft broke and left me stranded. The rotor won’t turn in the distributor anymore, so it looks like there’s some engine work in front of me, which is great since I’m not home and have to be back in Colorado before too long.
Currently writing this from the parking lot, trying to decide if I call my dad or the tow truck first. It’s 3:30am.
(I’m on the left)
Your awesome, wow what an adventure you have been on, and a blessing as well for all of those great people you met along the way. I see the wonderful Virginia sign in your pic and your in my neck of the woods now, I wish you the best as you wrap up your journey and thank you for the great story along the way.......
That sucks you broke down.
How many miles on the timing chain set?
If it was one of them plastic gears with miles it could have lit go and the cam shaft / dist. would not turn.
Can you pull the dist.? If so the roll pin could have sheered and the dist. not turn.
With it out if you have a way to turn the motor and look down in to see if the cam is turning and if so we need to do more checking.
Is the roll pin sheered for the dist. gear? If so why?
Do you have enough tools to see if the oil pump turns?
Tape all the tool parts together so they don't drop into the motor or could have bigger issues.
Good luck
Dave ----
The best way to work some of these bugs out is to drive it. Sounds like a fun trip. Kind of like reading through an episode of Roadkill.
The whole trip was inspired by me and a buddy watching roadkill and thinking about how much fun it would be to do that ourselves. He wasn't able to come on the trip with me though, so it ended up being a solo drive.
Originally Posted by FuzzFace2
That sucks you broke down.
How many miles on the timing chain set?
If it was one of them plastic gears with miles it could have lit go and the cam shaft / dist. would not turn.
Can you pull the dist.? If so the roll pin could have sheered and the dist. not turn.
With it out if you have a way to turn the motor and look down in to see if the cam is turning and if so we need to do more checking.
Is the roll pin sheered for the dist. gear? If so why?
Do you have enough tools to see if the oil pump turns?
Tape all the tool parts together so they don't drop into the motor or could have bigger issues.
Good luck
Dave ----
I believe the 300 has timing gears. I pulled the distributor and it looks like that's the culprit. The gear looks fine, but the shaft has a hard time turning. My thought was a bearing or something, but dad suggested there was a bushing under there that could've gone. Regardless, it'll turn a bit, but then get stuck, and there's the issue. Haven't looked at it since we got it to the house to diagnose. Motor still turns freely with it out, but haven't looked in there to see if anything else is damage (that's the fear). I do need to check the oil pump, but unsure how to go about that. Should have the tools available though.
If the dist. is hard to turn then it may have sheered the roll pin not the gear.
If you turn the gear and when it get to the hard part or hold the rotor the gear may keep turning but not the shaft we hope!
I would think if the gear on the dist. is good the cam gear would also be good and fingers crossed the timing gears, forgot you got the 300.
If the roll pin is sheered you can try and pull the gear off, remove anything left of the roll pin in shaft & gear and see if you cant pull the shaft out of the dist. body.
I don't know if you have to undo the points plate but thinking you would to pull the shaft. I am thinking the lower bushing did not get lube and seized up.
If the motor checks out you could just get a parts store dist. and drop it in and be on your way.
That brings up a question. Do you get a points replacement or a newer DSII electronic and a box and wire it up and not deal with points again?
Easy is points and go but not have to deal with points again is nice also.
Dave ----
The roll pin is still in the dist. so I'm about to punch it out and see about the bushing underneath. Checked the cam gears and it looks like those are still just fine. Haven't checked the oil pump yet, but I imagine that'll be fine. Seems like all the damage was localized.
Good question about the distributor and points. I just picked up a new set of points and cap and figured out how they all work, so it feels like it'd be a shame to replace it all. At the same time, a pertronix or DSII ignition would be nice. With that do you have to replace the ignition coil as well? Or just run an extra wire to the ignition switch to bypass the resistors?
Here are a couple more pictures from the last couple days. First is as we were leaving the gas station with plans to come back later that day and pick her up with a trailer. You can see the sun on the horizon. That was taken somewhere around 5am. Folks kept asking my questions on the way back about my trip and I kept saying this morning, referring to things that happened yesterday.. staying up that late will do that to you.
Second picture is us coming back and getting her with the trailer. I kept thinking to myself she’d look good on a trailer. But I was more thinking a long gooseneck being hauled by a diesel and her sitting pretty on the trailer deck all ready for a show or a race. Wasn’t thinking about a dinky uhaul while she isn’t running. That being said, very grateful for the uhaul so we could get her home so I can sort out this problem in relative comfort.
Next leg of the road trip is down to Georgia. Plan was to leave tomorrow, so we’ll see if that happens or not. Might end up in my folk’s car with them riding down with me instead of in the truck by myself. We’ll see how things go.
Looking around at the stores nearby, doesn't look like anyone has a stock distributor in stock. I'd have to order one. Might be going for a DSII or Pertronix just for time's sake. If I can't get anything in the next day though, it might have to wait until I get back from Georgia. At that point, the truck is going under the knife. Just ordered a transmission rebuild kit, rear main seal, oil pan gasket, etc. I'll let y'all know what happens. What all do I need to do a DSII or pertronix swap?
The roll pin is still in the dist. so I'm about to punch it out and see about the bushing underneath. Checked the cam gears and it looks like those are still just fine. Haven't checked the oil pump yet, but I imagine that'll be fine. Seems like all the damage was localized.
Good question about the distributor and points. I just picked up a new set of points and cap and figured out how they all work, so it feels like it'd be a shame to replace it all. At the same time, a pertronix or DSII ignition would be nice. With that do you have to replace the ignition coil as well? Or just run an extra wire to the ignition switch to bypass the resistors?
The roll pin may look like it is good because when the pin sheers it will leave parts in the gear and part in the shaft.
I bet if you hold the rotor and turn the gear the gear will turn and not the shaft. At least I hope so because it the dist. was not turning then it has to be in the motor, timing gears or dist, drive gear part you are not seeing.
But you said the dist. is hard to turn so my thinking is the shaft seized and the cam kept turning the dist. gear and sheered the roll pin.
Also if you try and drive the pin out and it is not lined up with the hole thru the shaft you will never cet the pin parts out.
As for the coil good call as I think you may need to change it also to match the DSII setup.
I also believe bypassing the resister so a fill 12 volts to the box and a ground is all that may be needed.
I can try and find how it get wired up for you.
Dave ----
You're right, it has sheared. The shaft moves somewhat freely. I guess there's enough of a lip left on the roll pin to keep the gear moving while you're doing it by hand. Wasn't until I held one end with a wrench that I could tell it had sheared. Looks like I'll have to pry the gear off or something; I'm not sure what my chances are of lining the pin up just right.
I just gotta say you definitely have a "Can Do" attitude and a kind of stick with it-edness that is good character trait.
Either that, or yer crazy.
I like to think I've got a little bit of that crazy in me! I mean who else would buy a truck like this at 24 and try and figure the dadgum thing out. Most of my friends like sports or music or their jobs. Here I am trying to make this thing run while also driving it across the country.
found the hang up. The shaft holding on the other weight broke, leaving that and the weight to grind around and cause issues. Not sure that’s something I can replace other than to get a new unit.
the bird the ball and the hook 
