Any local shops recurve distributors?
 

Need to recurve the 73E's dizzy for it's transformation into a 2.7RS. Just need to find a shop that can do this. Any advice?

JR:

Let me know if you can't find a local shop. There are a few we use.

Jase

I already checked and would like to know where you go? Used to have a Sun machine, wish I kept it.

Jase, feel free to send me some info. :D Thanks!

Bruce Anderson has some references for re-curving distributors, don't know if they are still viable.

You can do it at home. It is time consuming. All the distributor machines do is spin at designated rpm and display advance. With a timing light that has advance and tach functions (this makes it easy), you can make a chart of advance per rpm in about two minutes. If not note the advance at a certain rpm displayed on the dash.
The time consuming part is taking the distributor apart and dremeling the peg hole (with carbide bit) for advance plate. Bigger hole-more advance. Braze up hole-less advance. This will take care of end points.
Sometimes you can stretch the mounting tabs for the springs for more tension on springs. This will lower the curve a little. Similarly squeeze tabs together less tension on spring- curve rises. For more drastic changes go to a spring supplier (home depo, lowes, or that online supplier beginning with an "m"?).
For similar effect, but much more work, you can weld material on weights to steepen curve.

Thanks guys. :)

Matt, after reading your description of the process, I'm thinking that I'd better send it out! :shock: :D My winter is gonna be awfully busy with me putting the engine back together, upgrading the torsion bars and front brakes, and resealing the leaky 915 box. Thanks for posting the process!

I love this kind of stuff!
Matt, I'd like some more details on the setup.

Some day when I have nothing else to do, I'd at least like to try and plot the curve on my distributer so I know hat's going on.

I have a motor with infinate speed adjustments hooked up on my drill press.

Where is there more info on the advance curves?
My engine is supposed to be a ROW SC, but someone put in a USA ignition distributer. Still thinking I'm missing something.

Jim, I hope you find a local shop. Maybe we could learn something that you can't by mail order!

Now that Matt has shown us how to do it lets get some more data. I did this last summer but only to the point of bending the spring tabs. A blueprint of sorts since one spring was not fully in contact with the post.

Next question, what makes an ideal advance curve for: MFI?Carbs?CIS?EFI? what is the best total advance? ramp rate (defined by springs and/or weights?), etc? How many degrees of advance at idle? Lots of experimentation to do here.

In the MFI case, the factory has already spec'd the advance for a number of engine speeds, so this is already taken care of. For carb'd engines that weren't originally designed for carbs, I can see there's a need to nail this down.

As much as I'm a proponent of DiY, I think this is one of the items that would benefit from outsourcing (in my case). My time will be completey filled with all of the other work I need to do this "off-season," including the home projects that Lu is so patiently waiting for me to attack. As far as car projects go, I still need to buy / install those S calipers of yours, Jamie! Are you gonna cut loose 3.5" ear'ed struts, too? :D