Packard Forum Index » Post-War (1946-54)

Thankk you guys for your info in my last post. You were right!! Carb linkage was the problem. The 359 now idles as it should. It seems though it is laboring quite a bit. I advanced the timing and it helps. My problem now is that it is advanced alot. Now i'm going to tell on myself. When I went to clean the oil pump, I did what the manual said. Bring it up on #1 at 6 degrees btd, then mark my distributer. When reinstalling I must have been off a tooth on the cam. Any suggestions. To me I just don't have a lot of adjust ment left to fine tune. One other thing. I want to take out the distributer to clean. Any thing I shound know before taking out. Like governer parts and so on. Thanks, Brian.

As you said, one tooth off doesn't leave a lot of adjust room because the steel vacuum advance tubing doesn't have a lot of give. It might be good to go ahead and remove the oil pump and get the drive gear correct so the dist can be operating in the normal range. As long as you have some adjust though it might not be a high priority as long as you remember the issue.

As far as removing the dist, if you mark or note a few things and don't turn the engine at all while dist is out then it is not a major undertaking for a remove and replace. Take note of where the octane adjust is set (if you have one) and then mark where the rotor is positioned. If you are removing the wires also be sure where #1 plug wire is positioned in the cap. As long as nothing moves or is reinstalled differently you should be able to get it back in exactly the same spot and timing should be almost the same.

It might be a good idea to verify the vacuum advance is working well -- nothing sticking in the dist advance plate and the diaphragm is intact and not leaking. One other caution on working in the dist. If yours is the type with a fabric covered wire between the points and the outside terminal be careful of that wire. The old cloth insulation may be rotten and fall off if disturbed. If that happens there is a good chance of the wire shorting in a hidden spot and the car will not start. Then you sit there scratching your head as to what could have gone wrong.

I don't want to sound too "preachy" but If you do have a bad wire then it needs to be replaced with the special flexible wire. Once disturbed it doesn't get better as several on the forum have experienced first hand. Don't rely long term on tape or heat shrink etc or replace with ordinary wire. Too stiff a wire will break or cause other issues. Some have had luck with something like nail polish on the old fabric but it is not an ideal lasting solution. At any rate, if you don't address the problem or replace the wire then it is a likely short and inconvenient breakdown waiting to happen.

Napa has some different length wires but they may be special order. The wire is cheap but freight is outrageous. They frequently show up on ebay and are generally reasonably priced but you may not find the exact wire with the same terminals. Usually you can find something that works though. Not sure if vendors have any stocked but maybe worth checking with them.

Correct ignition timing can be achieved regardless of the gear engagement position of the oil pump but you might find it easier to just pull the pump and install it in the correct position.

If you wish to proceed with the pump not in it's original position, it's really a simple matter. No. 1 piston must be at TDC on the compression stroke; if it's at TDC on the exhaust stroke, correct that first. Then note the position of the distributor rotor and position plug wire #1 over the rotor, then walk the rest of the wires around in the direction of the rotor rotation and in the correct firing order (1-6-2-5-8-3-7-4). Then hook up your timing light and set (6 deg. BTDC IIRC). If there is insufficient movement of the distributor to set correctly, just adjust the position of the mounting plate to the distributor hub.

Howard, If I'm correct, I can remove the distributor then turn oil pump. That way when reinstalling distributor, I'll have to turn the ditributor counter clockwise. That way there is room for advancing. Brian.

No way to turn the oil pump without turning the engine, it's geared to the cam. So you have to drop the pump to reposition it. I went through this, while theoretically possible to make up for an incorrect oil pump position as shown by O-D it wouldn't work for me, I always ended up between distiributor posts on #1 TDC so I couldn't get it just right. I had to drop the pump and get it moved a tooth, then I was perfect and the stars, not to mention the timing, aligned.

Its nicer for you and for anyone else who works on the car if you can put the dizzy back to its factory position:

Go ahead and pull the distributor and do whatever service is necessary. Set the points.

With the dizzy out, turn the engine over with a wrench or bump it with the starter till a penny placed over the #1 sparkplug hole begins to float. You are now on the compression stroke. Bring the engine around to 0 degrees for a 359 engine.

Stick the dizzy in. In standard condition the rotor should point to 7 o'clock. If not remove the diz and the oil pump and fiddle with the pump so that when it is fully seated to the block, the dizzy rotor is at 7. During this procedure it doesn't make any difference where the rest of the dizzy is pointed.

Loosen the sideways clamp bolt on the diz retainer so it will spin in the clamp. Install the whole thing and bolt it down with the retainer roughly in the middle of its travel. Turn the diz so that the vac advance is pointing toward the front of the car and somewhat down. Pull up on the vac advance and turn the diz CW until you see the points only just starting to open. Vac advance should be nearly pointing straight ahead. Lock it down as your timing is now near perfect. The rotor is still at 7 o'clock, and that is number one. The wires go into the cap 16258374 CCW around the cap.