CameronT

Well I am out in clackamas, it is boggling my mind and has me completely looking for other options as you can see, I used to go to the Beaverton meets here and there and have seen and talked to you, I have a yellow 620 and it has changed too since you last saw it, but let me know if you wanna come out we can do food and beer or something

TENDRIL, I have put in two stock dizzies, and am now running a '80 matchbox. I was thinking the crank trigger ignition would get me past this frustration and have a steadier idle as well

The plugs have been replaced , and I always check the gap before they go in. When I say there's nothing on number 1 I mean it's absolutely nothing, or very sporadic and no, there is no rhythm to it at all. My dad has been working on cars for years and hasn't ever seen anything like this before, he has been trying to figure it out as well. In fact he suggested looking at what actually drives the dizzy, instead of concentrating up top because nothing there worked at all. No, I didn't know you could time it using number four, I have always used number 1 because that's what I was taught. The plug is a little damp but by no means soaked. I only turn the key long enough to verify if I have spark there and shut it down. I've been dealing with this problem for a few months, once I get to that point where I'm frustrated I leave it alone for awhile before I go back to it. Why would replacing the oil pump solve the problem temporarily ?

I'm not assuming, number 1 cylinder definitely isn't firing or fires seldom. By seldom I mean the light will flash then a second and a half later fire again

I have put the timing light on the other wires and they were firing fine, I haven't tried since this last round though

I have confirmed all wires are tight and in place. I originally had a set that I had to put the end on and clamp it, but replaced it with a pre-done set when I bought all the other parts and plugs. there was a pretty good sized flame that shot out of the tailpipe and a huge bang.

Alright let me catch up with all of you; Wayno, the spark isn't going into the wire at all, nothing on number 1. Charlie69, I have replaced (more then once) the dizzy, plugs, cap, rotor, and wires, also checked the resistance of the wires. Datzenmike, read reply to charlie69. I had nothing from number 1 no matter what I replaced or did, so on the advice of my dad started considering what is below the dizzy. The rod seems fine on a visual inspection and nothing looks abby normal there, so I thought I would replace the oil pump, which actually solved the problem temporarily, now it's back to doing the same thing. Does the rod spin in a bushing or just in the aluminum that the cover is made of ? I don't really want to take that cover off as I think it will be nearly impossible to get it back together without a leak unless the head is pulled at the same time. That's why I have been wondering about the crank trigger ignition, thinking I could throw this on and not have to pull the front of my motor off

Spindle ? I probably have enough room to move the dizzy over one place between the regular adjustment and the screw on the bottom plate under the dizzy. Someone suggested flipping the cap around, but they weren't farmiliar with imports at all... What's this going to tell me anyway, other then I have a problem with number 1 ?

I just installed a 1980 matchbox dizzy in hopes it would solve the issue, but number 1 still doesn't fire constant enough or at all sometimes. My issue is below the dizzy, something is loose enough that it misses it's mark between the rotor and the cap I think. I replaced the oil pump and it worked fine temporarily, then back to running like crap and backfiring. It's a good light show though !

Trust me Datzenmike, I have been scratching my head in wonder for awhile now and getting nowhere. This is why I have turned my attention to what's below the dizzy. I think Doctor510 may have something there with the bushings getting out of round, I didn't replace those and the truck has approximately 290,000 miles on it short of the rebuild and other work I did about 30,000 miles ago.

ggzilla, you showed a pic of your rig that I've seen before but it isn't an L20. In that blog you mentioned it was a direct bolt on for you and I saw a motorcraft box by the coil pack, but what it came off of wasn't mentioned. That's the info I'm looking for as well as the wiring, which I suppose can be used from the old (key activated) wires from the old coil to run it.

We had issues with the spark long before we replaced the oil pump, after replacing the oil pump we actually had spark for a short time. I don't think the gasket is the issue but it was very close to the same thickness, hard to tell after they get squished. Timing light; I understand you can check for spark with the plug out, connected and grounded. However, if there isn't any spark you still have to determine if it's the grounding that's bad, the plug itself, or the wire. I don't know of ANY faster way to determine if the spark is actually coming down the wire then using either a timing light or a inline ignition spark testing tool. Regarding rod movement up and down I can't say until I get home and check it. I then turn to your question about the thickness of the gasket again and reiterate that we had spark for a short time after the oil pump was installed. Now we are back to the beginning again... Since replacing the oil pump fixed the issue temporarily I tend to think it's from slop or movement from the rod. Which is why I was interested in the crank trigger ignition in the first place. Is there a place to purchase a new rod, because I haven't found any ?

I have not tried pulling up and down but the gasket is what was supplied with the pump and appeared to be the same as the old one. We have tried back and forth from the rotor which has a little movement is normal. I cannot tell you exactly where the alignment of the rod is as compared to your pic, but we have dialed it in to TDC multiple times and are getting quite good at it. when we do TDC we turn the motor til the piston is at the top of its stroke, than we go about doing the dizzy, we made a mark on the side of the dizzy where the center of number 1 will send the firing signal to the compression stoke, than drop the oil pump and we turn the rod until it lines up with the mark and bolt it all back up and begin timing the motor to 12degrees where it likes to run the best. and tune the carb to perfect and retime and so on until it runs primo. I understand the oil pump runs off the same rod but was trying to eliminate the possibility that the lack of spark was from slop down there and causing it to miss it's mark on the dizzy cap. It did work temporarily after doing so, wouldn't this tell me that it is indeed from slop or something that has become loose ? The timing light is a quick reference to determine if a signal is even going down the wire, without it there are still many variables to consider aren't there ?

After exhausting all other ideas is why I turned my search deeper and bought the oil pump to begin with. It would seem to me that something down there is just loose enough that the rod slips just enough to miss the point where it needs to actually ignite number one from the rotor to the dizzy cap. That's why I thought it would be a good idea to try the crank trigger ignition and scrap this system as it is failing anyway. Though if I do that and never find out why it's doing what it's doing may very well drive me crazy too !!!!

All that doesn't explain why after changing the oil pump fixed it temporarily ?