VCCA Home Forums TECHNICAL - 1945 AND EARLIER 1912-1928 Introduction with a question on 23 distributor cap

Hello, id like to introduce myself, i go by chevycurator. i work on lots of Chevy stuff, but this is my first pre 49 car. i have a 1923 my uncle couldnt get to spark. i have got it to spark at the points, the distributor is a 366p model. i can not verfy spark to the plugs, i have rigged a spark tester but no luck. the cap doesnt fit over the cast edge properly and i noticed that the old cap was ground inside to fit. an expert told me to grind the new cap. but the rotor looks as if its about a 1/16" from the terminals. is this normal or do i have the wrong cap? thanks for any help.

I think you have the correct cap and grinding is an acceptable fix.

thanks for the reply, ill take a dremel to it, now as for the rotor nose tip being kinda far from the contacts when the rotoe center contacts the brush in the cap, is that normal too? does the spark make that large of a jump? thank you for all the help. here are a couple pics.


[img:center]http://tinypic.com/r/350752b/9[/img] [img]http://tinypic.com/r/2ih7zi0/9[/img]

The rotor must make contact with the top of the cap but there is no "contact" from the end of the rotor to the cap where the plug wires enter.

THANKS, IM GOING TO DREMEL IT AND GIVE IT A SHOT.

Things to look for if this is a pot metal body. If the ring at the bottom that centers the plate is too worn out can allow the points plate to drift till the points may no longer open and close properly, they may just stay open. Check the advance retard lever for function. If the rotor is not making contact with cap try bending the contact up a little. If you do any fitting to the cap, keep the edges concentric and close to being centered. Sometimes it can't be avoided but if you can keep each of the 4 gap the same.
The pot metal swells up, check the edge where the cap sits to see what condition it's in.

thanks for tips. i put just a small tiny dab of grease on the rotor contact and verified it is touching the brush, just barely. so i held the rotor in the position that it would be when on the distributor, and the cap contacts posts are a ways from the rotor tip. the points are not moving and there is spark when cranking the motor. i will grind some more and see how that goes. i am using a spark tester to verify spark. thanks, i need to fire this up so i can earn the money, glory, and get my garage space back.

Re points not opening, check to see if the shaft is turning when you crank it over. You may have sheared the pin holding the gear to the shaft. The pot metal swells up and put a pinch on the shaft, make sure it's turning freely. Also check the teeth on both gears.

i had two different people verify that the points were sparking, so i assumed it was spinning and the cam was opening and closing, but maybe im missing something. ill grind the cap until it fits perfectly over the casting line.

Chevycurator;Try taking the coil wire off the cap and hold it next to the engine block while someone cranks the engine over. You should have a good(blue)spark jumping to the engine block from the coil wire. If your seeing a good spark at the points then you might have a weak(bad)condenser. You don't want to see sparking across the points.

Agreed! There should be no sparking at the points or they won't last long...

ok, im on it ill report back later, after work.

Just my two cents, but there is a "lock nut" that holds the square "cam" in place on the top of the distributor shaft. If this lock nut is loose the shaft will spin inside the cam causing the same issues as a broken gear on the bottom end of the shaft.

Also, make sure the "driving pin" - small pin sticking up on the square "cam" - is in place and seated in the small hole of the rotor button (distributor arm). This assures everything stays aligned for proper timing.

Mike

first off thanks for the help. i verified spark from the coil wire, and i verified spark from wire # 1 to block. but that battery is really low, i get a few cranks out of it then dead. i have to keep charging it. i filled the vacum tank with fuel, there is gas in the carb, but with a weak battery it would not fire, so im asking uncle to but new battery, besides this one has slight bulging at the positive post anyway, ill update you.

If you have spark & fuel then I would bring the #1 cylinder to TDC on the compression stroke; remove the distributor cap to see if the rotor is pointing to the #1 plug wire on the cap. Sounds like a timing problem.

I AGREE, its a first so im not sure if it should fire right away, i see why not. thanks.

Fresh battery. Brought #1 to tdc and both pushrods had no tension. Made where the rotor was pointing my #1. It won't stay up. What am I missing? Thanks again.

Also noticed a huge groove in the points block.

1924 Chevrolet "Superior" Instructions

This is a link to a manual that has all the procedures you need to set up and check your timing, firing order, coil, condenser, ignition and all the systems involved. Go through the index and pick the system you want to look at then click on the page number to the right of it. I would start with the section on "Igniter - Timing of", Page 72. Everything else, I believe, depends on this being done correctly first. Good luck.

I realize this says 1924 Instructions but they are the same for your '23.

Where and how does the condenser connect into this system? Is it connected to the distributor in some way or perhaps to the coil in some way? Looking at mine I can't tell and the wiring schematics I have seen don't show it in the circuit at all.

Mike

i could not find any info on location either, so i ran the wire through a hole in the body, attached to the post that is wired to yellow from coil, remote mounted the condenser to a screw attached to the coil bracket. i get strong blue spark, but the points look so worn im sure the timing is off, so my uncle ordered a new set of points, ill get back with results in a day or so when they arrive.

If the coil is an original REMY one,the condenser is placed in the coil when it is assembled then filled with tar or pitch.

The condenser on my 24 is mounted on the replacement coil, neg. terminal.

Dave

its not originAL. I just wired it like common set ups, like vw where its remote on the body, i verified a strong spark, just waiting on points. i biuld high performance chevy stuff, and some vw stuff, just funny this is taking a while. lol. good info , thanks. maybe ill set it up as such, any pics?

so no luck, i watched #1 intake open, turned until tdc. set the rotor to #1, set the points so they were just beginning to open. no luck, the starter turns very, very slow, so my next step is to clean the contacts of the battery cables. if that doesnt create a change i will remove and clean the starter per manual. points are gaped at .025.