COMET CENTRAL

Threw it up on jack stands and pulled the wheels and brake drums last night.
When I took it out of storage the brakes were not right and the planned trip over some mountain passes with the boler in June,,
thought I'd take a look.
Good that I did, rear shoes are wore out and cracking, one wheel cylinder is leaking. On the front, although the shoes appear in good shape the grease seals have been leaking and the backing plates are moist so the shoes are probably contaminated.
Since I don't have the G note to go to disc brakes guess I'll be redoing this stuff.
Fred

I had to buy a new harness this past week and I got it installed this evening. Per the rules, I have to have my safety belts recertified every 2 years or buy new ones.

Thanks Loman.
I was really wanting to like the Ivy Gold, as it is unique. I just couldn't resist the black and green. Maybe as I age, I will redo the interior back to Ivy Gold someday.

i received my Crites shock tower kit today.

loman wrote:i received my Crites shock tower kit today.

Is that for the Comet that's getting the FE?? Curious to see what you think of the kit.

Rocket,

you are correct. i'm yanking the 351W for the FE. I'll try to update as I go along. I hope to flog the 351 a couple more times before I yank it, just because I can.

loman wrote:Rocket,

you are correct. i'm yanking the 351W for the FE. I'll try to update as I go along. I hope to flog the 351 a couple more times before I yank it, just because I can.

COOL..... flog the crap put of it

Changed the oil and pulled the last of that rat's nest out of the driver-side vent in preparation for my family's big Route 66 road trip to California this weekend. Tomorrow's going to involve a lot of running around doing last-minute errands, packing, and Comet-cleaning.

Maxine and Me wrote:Changed the oil and pulled the last of that rat's nest out of the driver-side vent in preparation for my family's big Route 66 road trip to California this weekend. Tomorrow's going to involve a lot of running around doing last-minute errands, packing, and Comet-cleaning.

GOOD LUCK and take your time,,take it slow and steady...and you'll make good time !! .....pop

Installed a new Jegs SSR Pro Series Billet Distributor on the 302 in my Comet today, along with a new set of wires. I could tell a definite improvement. I installed it right out of the box, and set the idle timing to +10*. The all-in timing is +46* at about 3,000 rpm. It runs good and doesn't ping, but +46* seems a little high. Any comments/recommendations on the all-in timing?
Jim

Is that with the vacuum advance disconnected? Yah, 46 is getting up there. I don’t know the specs on your 302 but most iron head SBF’s do well with 36-38 total all in by 2500-3000RPM.

I’m not familiar with those distributors but they probably use advance limit bushings and differing weight springs to determine the when & how much!

I'm running iron heads, but I don't know what, if anything, might have been done by the POs relative to cam, etc. The +10* idle timing was set with the vacuum disconnected. The +46* all-in was measured with the vacuum connected. The distributor came with three sets of springs and three sets of limiters. According to the instructions I can mix and match them to create 78 different advance curves. I think I can hit a combination that will give me a 36* - 38* all-in at 3,000 rpm. I just needed to know what I should be shooting for. I'll do some experimenting and see what I can come up with. Thanks, Rocket!
Jim

You should check total mechanical advance with vacuum disconnected also!! Vacuum advance only adds timing at/off idle & cruise. At WOT no to very little vacuum = no additional advance.

Check again with it disconnected; you might be right on!

Also, if your vacuum advance can is adjustable, you can dial that in as well. I’ll see if I can find that optimal timing based on head type chart thingee!

Jim mine seems to be happier / more perky with more idle timing or initial timing. about 15-16°. but in order to run that much initial timing I had to make it get less mechanical advance or my total timing would be too much & I'd get detonation @ WOT. I finally settled on a 16° initial & 36° total all in by 2500-3000. that 46 seems a bit high, have you stomped it yet?

Thanks, Rocket. Thinking about it, I can't remember for sure whether I had the vacuum connected on the full advance test or not.
The vacuum advance is not adjustable, though. I'll check it again without the vacuum connected and see if it's the same. Let me know if you find that "chart thingee".

Johno...yes, I put my foot in it several times and didn't notice any detonation. I'm running ethanol-free 93 octane, so that may help, but I still think 46* is too much. I was going to set the initial timing at 12*, but a friend said he had set his a 10* and it ran great.

Let me be sure I understand this. With the vacuum disconnected and plugged, the total advance will be the sum of the idle advance plus the mechanical advance, right? So if I set my idle at 10*, and the springs that came installed at the factory are on the chart at a max of 24* at 3500 rpm, then my total advance should be 34* at 3500, right? That's what I've got installed, but I'm getting 46*. The three sets of springs all max out at 24* of mechanical advance. They just determine where on the rpm curve the mechanical advance starts to kick in, and at what rpm it maxes out. Then I have three sets of advance limiters I can install that will limit the mechanical advance to a max of 20*, 16* or 12*. So, regardless of the springs I install, which only determine the shape of the advance curve, my max mechanical advance can be adjusted from 24* with no limiters to 12* with the biggest limiters. Therefore, with an idle timing of 10*, I should be able to set my total timing from 22* to 34* depending on which, if any limiters I use. I stated that like I knew what I was talking about, but I'm asking. Since I'm getting a total of 46* with an initial of 10* and no limiters, it sounds like I first need to double check and reconfirm my readings. If I get the same results, I guess I need to throw theory out the window and start experimenting.
Jim