Today I put my 69 E100 with 302 in a position where it's difficult to get under the front. I took the back wheels off to get them powder coated and get new tires put on. I was thinking of going through the valve adjustment while it's tied up. Even though its hard to get underneath to turn the crank the way that it is, if I'm right I can still do it. But I could be wrong. Here's my theory: Since I've gotten it on #1 tdc and the distributor is clocked correctly, isn't it so that if I bump the starter and get the rotor pointing to (for example) spark plug wire for cylinder 5, that the valves for cylinder 5 are both closed? And, therefore I can adjust both and bump the starter again to point to another one? In other words, what I'm asking is, is it true that any cylinder is now at tdc if the rotor is pointing to the right spark plug wire? It's so hard to keep bumping the starter and have it be accurate but any wire that I happen to land on (if it's really pointing at it) makes it possible to adjust both intake and exhaust on that cylinder? So I don't really have to worry about the sequence?
It feels like a dumb question so I was hesitant to ask, but I kind of think it makes sense.
Scott

 

No such thing as a dumb question but a 69 302Ford has hydraulic lifters and no actual valve "adjustment" (unless a Boss 302) motor with a solid lifter camshaft
The 3/4 turn down from zero lash adjustment is all there is (if your cam is worn, you might have a few rocker arms that are loose)
You can do that zero lash adjustment with the engine running
If yours runs like puke or is making valve train noise, you might want to pull the valve covers and take a look
Possibly a broken valve spring or collapsed lifter may be affecting the performance
I'd watch all those valves actuate while cranking it over slowly
Using shop air, I'd also air up each cylinder at TDC on the firing stroke and see how the rings and valves are sealing
Does it run at all? Check for bouncing points or a worn breaker plate
Set your points dwell first, then set the ignition timing, use a dwell meter and set the points to read 29 degrees on the dwell meter
You can use a feeler gauge and then double check the dwell, you can do that just cranking it over

 

I'm still trying to figure out why it's popplng through the carb so bad.
So far I've:
- checked firing order 752 times. Possibly more - I've lost count.
- I don't have a resistor wire on it, just running the hot wire straight from Ign switch to coil. I don't think that could be the problem but on Sunday I'm going to run that wire through the resistor.
- Switched carburetors, I have to switch to rebuild the old one and switch again because the one I put on will idle but then begins to race, adding to the confusion. It has no power I have to press the pedal gently to get RPMs up just to move the van.
- Checked compression on all cylinders. They vary a little but I think maybe I didn't have all the hose connections tight on those that read lower readings. Still, lowest is 120 and most were 135 or more. I think compression is good. I've only been moving it across the street to avoid parking tickets so probably less than 20 miles on it since rebuild.
- Sprayed carb cleaner around intake to look for vacuum leaks. No discernible change in engine RPMs so I don't think its a vacuum leak up top. My friend thinks the intake could be leaking underneath and I have a good aluminum four barrel intake but I'd have to use an adaptor to use my 2 barrel. I'm leaning towards doing that just to prove him wrong.
- He also keeps saying I should upgrade the distributor. Again, I might go ahead and spend the money, because maybe he's right. But I've seen quite a few Septembers and I don't see anything wrong with the points, I put in a new condenser just because why not, there's no wobble in the shaft, the distributor cap and rotor are relatively new and show no signs of burn anywhere.
- I've adjusted the valves a couple of times using different methods but I know now there was a problem. Yesterday they were loose on a couple of cylinders. I went through the passenger side and I think I've got them right. A problem I noticed is that some of the studs don't give you that last 1/2 to 3/4 room to adjust before running out of threads. I had previouly added some grade 8 washers to compensate for that, but I noticed yesterday that the Grade 8 washers I used were 5/16 and weren't getting passed the shoulder on the stud. I bought some washers with a 3/8 hole and that felt like the adjustment that it should be. I still need to do the driver's side (cylinders 5 through 8) and when I do that on Sunday, maybe that will show to have been the reason it's running so bad, but I'm thinking it was only a problem but not the problem. In any case it needed to be done. I'm doing a half turn past the point when there's contact between the rocker and the push rod and just using the rotor and bumping the starter to get cylinders to tdc and then adjusting both valves on that cylinder. Pain in the neck to do it this way but I'm parked with the nose right against a garage so I can't get underneath to turn the crank a quarter turn each time, and the back end is up on jack stands with no wheels on the back for a few days.
Anyway, that's the saga. I think after knowing the valves are adjusted right, my list continues with rebuilding the old carb and putting it back on - when I did the compression test the plugs did look sooty like it's running too rich. If the swap back to the old carb doesn't do it, change to the aluminum manifold (which is brand new btw.) After that, buy an upgrade distributor. I'm totally in the dark about what to buy. The prices range wildly. I have no idea what to buy to just make it run decent. I don't need more horsepower. I just want it to be drivable.
Thanks for responding. I hope that me blabbing on helps someone else on here who is trying to figure out a simiilar issue.
Scott