How do I set the dwell on a '68 289 2bbl?

I am reading the Haynes guide and it basically says "set the dwell at between 24 and 29 degrees" but doesn't explain how. I bought a dwell meter and a timing light at Pep Boys and the guys there couldn't explain it either.

I will gladly RTFM, but I can't find TFM that explains how to do this!

Thomas

Reply to
Thomas Cameron
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Ah, the good of days of point-style ignition. I bet a few posters here will tell you to buy a Pertronix type of conversion kit, but I'm not going to do that. Occasionally, it's nice to keep 'em stock. GM had the best setup here and you could adjust them "on-the-fly", but with a little patience, the Ford setup was okay, it just took a little more patience.

Take the distributor cap off and you can see your old set of points. Remove it with the two screws and replace them with the new set of points. Now make sure your car is in park (or neutral if you got a stick shift) block the wheels and put on your emergency brake. Replace the condenser while you are there also. It keeps your new points from pitting and burning up. Now the tricky part. You will need to slightly turn the engine until the rubbing block of your points is on a top of the distributor camshaft lobe. You can 'tap' on the starter to turn the motor or you can turn the motor with a socket on the crankshaft. Turn the motor until (by using a feeler gauge) you have about .020 gap on your points. Tighten the screws on your points. Put a little dab of grease (available from you auto parts store or with your points if you got a good set) on the high side of the distributor cam lobe so the rubbing block on your points don't wear. Hopefully now your car will run after all parts are reassembled. The 24-29 degrees can only be measured by a dwell meter. It's the degrees that the points are closed (out of 360 degrees in a circle) If you don't have a good dwell meter needed to measure it, don't worry about it. The cheap ones were inaccurate anyway. After setting points, check and adjust your timing. Don't buy a low quality set of ignition points. However, there are actually very few good quality ignition points made anymore.

Reply to
Kruse

Kruse wrote: . Turn the motor

TYPO: That should read "After the rubbing block is on the tip of the distributor cam lobe, adjust your set of points so you have about .020 gap. This could take several tries to get the 24-29 degrees of dwell. Retighten the holddown screws on the ignition point set.

BTW, electronic ignition is SOOOO much better than points, when it comes to performance or durability. However, usually a set of ignition points won't leave you stranded out in the middle of Timbukto.

Reply to
Kruse

Thanks Kruse, I appreciate it.

I will be going to Petronix Ignitor II and Flamethrower II coils, just not right now. I've already gone waaaay over budget on this project and the bride gets those little wrinkles between her eyebrows whenever I say anything about the Mustang. I need to let things cool off for a while. :-)

Thanks! Thomas

Reply to
Thomas Cameron

dwell is duty cycle simpley time on vs time off measured in degrees instead of % h u r c

Reply to
ispuspweallp

I've already gone waaaay over budget on this project and the

Well, THERE'S your problem. You need to let the better half drive it every now and then!! (I'm speaking from experience. I've got a '71 Cougar, 351C w/C6 that's near mint and every now and then, when she drives it, she's in the best mood ever!!) For the next five minutes all I hear is "Wow, that thing's got power!!)

Reply to
Kruse

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