Almost 1 volt on the pos. cable and 1/2 volt on the neg. side I would replace all battery cables as they are all just as old and will not be getting any better.
Dave ----

 

Thanks so much! Im going to do the cables tomorrow but it's sounding great! Fires right up so far. Took it around the block. It did great! I hope it starts tomorrow to go to the parts store 🎉 🎉

 

Im going to post a picture tomorrow of the new harmonic balancer. I tried to get the timing right but close. The timing marks are way off. Engine running great but I can only adjust through the distributer.

 

Couldn't feel a vacuum through the carb anywhere. The vacuum advance is not hooked up.

 

This is the harmonic balancer I have. I read the rubber insert will slip overtime. I'm reading 0 degree on the balancer but it's not right. I'm in ohio, it was a Colorado high altitude truck. I should be at 10 degrees advance. I can only time it by ear, sounds great but once it warms up it won't start again

 

 

 

Ok if you can only time it by ear how do you know the timing is off?
Unless you are 70 years old and been working on cars / trucks every day your whole life I would not trust setting timing or carb by ear you need a light and vacuum gauge.

When you say "can only adjust timing by the distributor" how else would you do it? You turn the distributor to adjust timing is how you do it.

When you were looking for ported vacuum on the carb you need to check each port, motor up to temp, at idle and then raise the RPM to say 2500 RPM and check for vacuum again on that port.
The port will not have vacuum at idle but should have vacuum at 2500 RPM.
Dave ----

 

The answer is not clear cut.

Do you have a money tree in your backyard, successfully yielding a crop of fresh bills on a regular basis? If so, definitely replace the positive cables.

Or are you like me, with a Scotsman’s wallet? That’s the type with a velcro closure which screams when opened. If so, continue your troubleshooting to pinpoint the fault before replacing everything in sight.

You mentioned a voltage drop of 0.7V on the positive leg. Yep, that’s too high. However, the fault could be anywhere between the battery (+) post and the starter. You’ve got a new starter relay and for all we know it is defective and can’t carry the full current. With the voltage drop test, you can place your test leads on the two big terminals, engage the starter, and read the voltage drop across the starter relay.

Not trying to pick on you, but resist the temptation to simply replace everything “just because”. You run the very real risk of introducing new faults. For example, some new cables are inadequate to carry the massive current flow required. Might be fine for a little KIA, but not a big chunk of American iron. Meanwhile, you fall into the trap of thinking a component must be good because it’s new.

Back to your test results. Still no mention of battery voltage UNDER LOAD. This value is an important part of the test. So far you’ve only identified one fault, excessive voltage drop between two distant points. Let’s say you fix that with a new starter relay, or wherever you pinpoint the fault. That now increases the current carrying ability of the cable runs. Previously, the restriction was reducing the load on the battery. With this restriction removed, the load on the battery will go back up to normal levels. If the battery was marginal for any reason, the output will now decrease under the increased (actually normal) demand.

So do not be surprised if more than one fault is present. Sometimes, the second fault is not apparent until the first one is fixed.

 

+1. Furthermore, the timing marks are indication only. Let's say you've got an engine properly timed and it runs great. Meanwhile, the rubber sleeve in the pulley starts to fail, and the timing marks shift relative to the crankshaft. The engine will continue to run just fine, as the relationship between the distributor and crankshaft has not changed. The inaccurate timing marks will only be an issue the next time you tried to adjust the timing. But until then, the timing is just fine and only the indication is off.

 

@bcg187

Any update? Seems you were hot on the trail…