distributor checks

[rowingone]

My corvette has a distributor with points and I was wondering what I can fault find with a dwell meter. My problem might be a worn breaker plate as I am getting an intermittant massive miss that then goes back to perfectly running - someone mentioned using a dwell meter to confirm this - should the dwell increase as the engine speed increases and how much? It does seem to increase slightly when I rev the engine. Is there a way to check my distributor without replacing it? Is a rebuilt the way to go or what? Thanks!!

[allcoupedup]

The dwell should remain constant throughout the entire RPM range. If yours is changing you probably have worn bushings or mainshaft (or both!). There are other things that can cause issues too like cam block wear or sticking weights.

Checking the dwell throughout the RPM range is a good check but don't forget about the advance curve - try to catch the car in the act.


THE BEST way to check your distributor is to pull it out of the car and drop it into a sun distributor machine - it will check the accuracy of every cylinder. There will be 8 arrows that will represent each lobe on the cam (distributor). If they float or blink you know you have an issue.


Good luck
brian