The plan for my 61 Uni is coming together but I seem to have hit a snag. I would like to use a .270 duration cam along with the Clifford header, intake and .390 Holley 4bbl. Problem seems to be that the stock ignition curve is not at all compatible with that cam. I would love to find a self-contained electronic ignition/distributor like the Mallory uni-lite but they don't make one for the 223. Does anyone know of a source for such a product or maybe know someone who is very good and recurving a stock distributor? Thanks!

Kris in Georgia

 

Wow, you're into some pretty deep stuff. I'll ask a dumb question, cause I don't know any better (and I'd like to learn something!) here it is, "retarding or advancing the ignition won't" put the spark where you need it at the right time"?

Or would that just help one or two cylinders?

 

No I don't think that would do it. I'm certainly no expert in this area but I think it has something to do with the fact that I would have a cam with a fairly high duration (.270). That means (obviously) the valves stay open longer so the stock timing curve is thrown off. I'm big on visuals and I think it's sort of like this: if you were to take two pieces of 2X4 board and drill ten holes in each exactly two inches apart, you could line up the two boards so that the holes matched and you could see all the way through. When the timing curve and cam are in synch with each other, it's sort of like the holes in the boards being lined up. But what I'm doing with a hotter cam is like taking a third 2X4 and drilling holes 2 1/2 inches apart. If I try to line up the holes in this board with one of the first two, it'll never happen, they're drilled at different intervals. Just like my ignition curve - the cam would prepare the valve position for cylinder firing at a precise interval - but this interval would be different from the interval at which my stock distributor would be ready to deliver the spark.

If anyone reads this and thinks I'm smoking something PLEASE let me know... this is uncharted territory for me - I'm just a hillbilly trying to understand this stuff - Thanks!

Incidentally, so far I've had no luck at all with finding a replacement distributor that will work with the hotter cam and I can't find anyone willing to recurve the stock distributor. So I'll probably just go with a .264 duration cam which, according to Clifford, is the hottest cam I can run and still use my stock distributor.

Kris in Georgia

 

I think you would just want to put heavier springs in the distributor. Check out this site: www.performancedistributors.com
I have their DUI for the 300-6, and they may have one for your engine. Send me an e-mail for info on another site.

Jared