quote:Originally posted by Belgiumbarry:
measure 26° at idle , 800 revs
going to 36° at 3300 revs
and with 5000 revs i measure 38°
i don't daire to go 6000 ??
wondering if it is going up to 40° ?
Experience is that the car runs strong up to 5500 revs and somewhat dys around there...
Ignition ? fuel starvation ? or can it simply be the cam design ?
according my documentation with the car i may expect the cam is a Crane Cams 133132, grind #278 H10.
http://www.cranecams.com/produ...oduct_detail&p=23841
Is that a misprint of 26 degrees at idle?
That cam is a little hotter than a stock 72-4 CJ cam but not by much.
5500 can be the top rpm for a few reasons but it really should go into the mid 6000's.
Reasons being: timing is wrong. point setting is wrong. valve springs are wrong. choke isn't opening all the way. air cleaner needs changing. engine needs rebuild.
This business of the the timing ring slipping on the balancer is pretty common. Your car is old enough for it to be an issue.
As I recall, my stock cj was running out of breath somewhere above 5500. Maybe 5700?
I never played with the jetting on that carb. It was much easier to swap it and the intake manifold out to an Edelbrock and a 3300 Holley.
Even at that, 6000 was all I expected out of the engine.
The total advance is going to be the initial plus what the distributor mechanical advance is limited to.
If the 10L can be seen through the window then the total is 20 degrees and if it's 13L then 26 total.
16 degrees (+/-) makes the engine more responsive off of idle than 10 degrees does.
Getting a Cleveland through the emissions test is a bear. I haven't had to do it in a long time but I think the timing had to be set to about 0 and the rpm as low as you could get it without the engine stalling.
With that setting the engine would sound like a diesel and you had to push the car in and out of the test bay.
The Pantera was extra tough for one reason. It does not have an air pump. It was considered an import and import had an exemption from needing to be equipped with the pump BUT they still had to pass.
On most US engines in my opinion it is impossible or almost impossible to pass without the pump which lowers the numbers just enough.
These cars were so difficult to get through that there were several shops in Connecticut that would charge you $3500 to get the car through.