I bught a new vaccuum advance for my slick, and it came with a paper with a listing of different settings based on the distributor that I have. My distributor doesn't have a tag on it, so I had to guess at the setting by eyeballing the travel on the old one and setting the new one as close as I could eyeball it. Does anyone think this will work? How critical is that setting??

 

It is not super critical. BUT I have been fighting an "over advanced" condition at crising speed caused by my vacuum advance (nonadjustable) providing way too much advance. Just reinstalled dist. with new advance canister. Set the initial timing and should be ready to go. BTW, 64 292 calls for 6 1/2 degrees vacuum max. but someplace between 6 and 10 should do it depending on your initial setting. I am going to start with 10 initial (spec calls for 6). Hope this helps

 

How critical it is would depend on whether you are using ported vacuum or manifold vacuum. Example: Initial=6 degrees, centrifugal=26 degrees for a total mechanical of 32 degrees. Now vacuum advance of 10 degrees. At crusing speeds there would be little vacuum from the timed port while the fuel mixture would be on the lean side. So you would be running 32 degrees at 60 mph. However, for best mileage and combustion engines can run as high as 52 degrees at cruising speed. If you ran manifold vacuum, like I do, then you can set the vacuum advance can at 10 degrees and get a conservative 42 on the highway. This does not cause any pinging as all my cars run this or more.

Now the original instructions are to run ported vacuum which is at it's highest during WOT or at least moderate load. So the manual says run the car up a slight grade, while accellerating, and listen for any pinging. If none turn the advance up and if yes then turn it down. Once you got it right then you are done. That is the only way to set vacuum advance when using ported vacuum. Switching to manifold vacuum means that under those conditions there is very little vacuum advance as manifold vacuum drops in these conditions.

Setting vacuum advance, using manifold vacuum, is easy. Set the initial at say 8 degrees as in my 410. Hook up the vacuum line and watch the timing mark advance. That will tell you where you are initially with the canister. Now I adjust my unit so I get 18 degrees advance at idle. The 410 likes this as any FE would. An initial of 6 degrees is too low for an FE or really any Ford engine. That 6 was for smog purposes more than anything else. My 410 has 26 degrees centrifugal. So when doing 65 I have 8 degrees + 26 degrees + 10 degrees = 44 degrees with not a sound. Slowly step on the throttle and no pinging. Stomp the throttle and the 10 degrees vacuum advance drops to 0 and still no pinging in a 10.5:1 compression engine.

Each vehicle has it's timing specifically adjusted for each engine application. From a high compression modified engine to a high compression stock engine to a moderate compression stock engine and then the low compression stock engine in the truck. I can say that the 360 isn't a dog if you play around with the distributor curve.

As for the vacuum unit I assume this is the big can unit which I hear is adjustable. I run the small can correct units where I have added a special piece that turns it into an adjustable unit otherwise you would have to use washers on top of the internal spring to adjust the total vacuum.

 

Wow! That is some good info there. Sounds like I get another thing to tinker with on this 292.

Thanks for the info!