Took my nice running car and now.....

Well I have never thought my current engine has been running to it's potential,and now it really is a turd!

I started about 2 weeks ago installing a new SFI balancer with all the timing marks clearly marked etc...thought I would do the tune up with a vacum gauge as you guys have been talking about.Got my gauge out and dusted it off.Well by the time I got through the car runs like crap! Any way felt like maybe I had some issues with may be an intake gasket or ? So I pulled the engine down to do a paint touch up clean up etc....I did not find anything.I did find one of my valve cover gaskets was out of place.cleaned it all up. My fuel pump started leaking,ordered a new one got it today,had to pull the power steering pump and fan and shroud to get to it,this is the third time in two weeks, not happy.

Fired it up,car did not want to idle,threw the timing light on it,intial is about 16,my total shot way over 50,ouch! Well I went back to my old way odf setting my car,by ear,got it to idle.Then I actually ran out of gas in the drive way! Well I am out of 110 and had to put some regular in it to get it fired back up. Dang!I got it to idle again, dosn;t sound crisp at all.

My question. I am running a Mallory Unilit distributor with a vacum advance. When you look for your total,do you leave your vacum line disconnected or reconnect it after you set the initial timing? My inital before I started all of this was at 10, now 16, with it connected that is when the timing went off the chart.

I am so frustraighted I put it up for the night. Got to go get some fuel tommorrow so I can work with it some more. I just need to rest tonight! Ideas?

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Well I have never thought my current engine has been running to it's potential,and now it really is a turd!

I started about 2 weeks ago installing a new SFI balancer with all the timing marks clearly marked etc...thought I would do the tune up with a vacum gauge as you guys have been talking about.Got my gauge out and dusted it off.Well by the time I got through the car runs like crap! Any way felt like maybe I had some issues with may be an intake gasket or ? So I pulled the engine down to do a paint touch up clean up etc....I did not find anything.I did find one of my valve cover gaskets was out of place.cleaned it all up. My fuel pump started leaking,ordered a new one got it today,had to pull the power steering pump and fan and shroud to get to it,this is the third time in two weeks, not happy.

Fired it up,car did not want to idle,threw the timing light on it,intial is about 16,my total shot way over 50,ouch! Well I went back to my old way odf setting my car,by ear,got it to idle.Then I actually ran out of gas in the drive way! Well I am out of 110 and had to put some regular in it to get it fired back up. Dang!I got it to idle again, dosn;t sound crisp at all.

My question. I am running a Mallory Unilit distributor with a vacum advance. When you look for your total,do you leave your vacum line disconnected or reconnect it after you set the initial timing? My inital before I started all of this was at 10, now 16, with it connected that is when the timing went off the chart.

I am so frustraighted I put it up for the night. Got to go get some fuel tommorrow so I can work with it some more. I just need to rest tonight! Ideas?

Click to expand...

F.E. ,Here's what I found with the pantera I just fixed for my friend 351c unilite distributor no vac advance. besides the crappy wrong ignition wiring..Check your spark plug wires..YOU CAN NOT RUN ANYTHING BUT RESISTOR CORE WIRES WITH A UNILITE..If you have solid core or copper wound spiral core over time it will burn out the module. It's a slow process so the car will still run but keep getting worse. The unlite is also susceptible to voltage spikes & YOU MUST RUN THE MALLROY ACTIVE POWER FILTER. You also need to have a ballast resistor wired into the ignition circuit if your running a coil. Do not wire it in series. The hot from the ignition switch must go directly to the ballast then to the coil. I ended up installing the power filter..new module..new resistor core spark plug wires..new ballast..Plus rewired the ignition system..Check the video I posted of it running..Solved all the issues ..Just some stuff to check

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