A couple of weeks ago, Hubby asked a friend he works with to come out and take a look at Dixie.  Despite the fact that she runs, and does not fill the air with black smoke, we wanted someone with mechanical know-how to take a look and listen.

Hubby’s friend Young Steve was raised on his family’s farm.  He is a great electrician and very mechanically knowledgeable.  He and Hubby have had many conversations about Dixie, and he was more than happy to come out to help.

We went to the barn, lifted the hood, and started the truck.  Dixie did not disappoint, and started right up. 

Hurray!

Young Steve stared intently at the workings under the hood.  As he stared, I asked him to start thinking “out loud” so I could take full advantage of the opportunity to learn.  He said he thought the timing was just fine. 

Given I had done my homework, I knew that “timing” referred to the ignition and process in which the spark plugs fire, and create the spark in the combustion chamber to make energy.  If the timing is not correct, the efficiency of the engine is affected.  Many mechanics can listen to the engine run and determine whether or not the spark plugs are firing “in time”.  There is also a tool called a timing gun to perform the check.

He turned to the carburetor next.  I did get kudos for having done a great job on the rebuild.  I performed a small celebration dance in my head.  We checked the newly installed spark plugs and found they had some carbon build-up.  This indicated that despite the carburator improvement, it was still running too rich.  He made an adjustment to one small screw on the side of the carburetor. We also took the opportunity to check the spark plug gaps.  Auto supply store workers will tell you the gap on new spark plugs is already set.  That is true... for newer vehicles.  Our old Dixie required a special gap setting.  We started Dixie up again and she sounded even better!

Hurray!

Next, we discussed the points.

In old vehicles, the ignition system generates the electrical pulse necessary to create the ignition spark.  I will not bore you with the details of the entire process, but if you are inclined to read more, I found the video from The Auto Parts Shop.com (on YouTube) to be very informative. 

In order for the electrical pulse process to work properly, the ignition “points” found inside the distributor have to be set to open and close properly.  I researched how to set the points, but was unable to complete the process myself.  The drive shaft in the distributor has corners on it, like a stop sign.  One of the corners of the shaft has to be against the points holding them closest together in the cycle.  Although I am one tough woman, I did not have the strength to manually get them into position.

Young Steve recommended Hubby give the truck a quick “start” to see if the distributor shaft would “jump” to the necessary position.  After a few tries, the shaft ending up turning too far or not far enough to get the points into position.  Given I am very new to all of this, I am a bit shy about making a suggestion…but thought, why not?

I recommended we try pushing Dixie while in gear to see if we could nudge the shaft to the right position.  I was thrilled when Young Steve agreed!  Hubby was still in the cab of the truck, put her in gear, and Young Steve and I pushed until the distributor shaft moved into just the right position.  Yes!

I told the men that upon checking the service manual, I knew the space between the points (otherwise referred to as “the gap”) had to be set at 0.019 inches.  I had the tool for this job (called a “feeler gauge”) with the correct blade ready for action.  When I attempted to hand it to Young Steve, he said, “You should do it”.  I felt so happy being included!  

I got up on the stool, reached over to the distributer cap, and slowly started to slide the metal feeler gauge into the point’s gap. 

ZAP!

A blue flash and jolt of electricity jumped from the distributor, up the feeler gauge to my hand. 

“HEY! That shocked me!” I exclaimed to my mechanical team. 

Hubby had a sheepish grin on his face and said, “Oh! I must have forgotten to turn off the ignition!”

Note to self… make sure the ignition is turned off before placing metal objects near the electrical system of the vehicle.

Once the ignition was off, I again moved the feeler gauge into place.  Given I could move the metal blade between the points, I knew they were set too far apart.  An tiny twist was made with the small adjustment screw near the points. After a couple of tries, the points were set to a satisfactory 0.019 inches, and the distributor cap reinstalled. 

It was time to fire Dixie up again.

She sounded GREAT!

We all got in and rolled her out of the barn for a test drive.  In the 3-mile loop, she ran without an issue.  We did discover that the speedometer does not function.

Added to the list.

Hubby would like proper turn signals (right now, we have to use our hands out the window… fine for daytime, but a bit dangerous when the sun goes down).

Added to the list.

Dixie continues to be a puzzle and a great educational project.  I will be back to the computer for more research.   Before I get started, I think I will take her out for one more run around the block.

Just for fun!