1957 spark plug wire routing

[Ward 57]

No, the timing is on the right cycle and the wires are not crossed, double checked when I did the ohms check. . I just took another look at my balancer and the dot I painted when I replaced the water pump is pretty big and I may have assumed it was TDC But was actually 2deg advanced to start with so I'm Probably at 8-10Deg. advanced at idle. The hotter spark may have made the difference in firing too soon while the valve is still open.

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[Critterpainer]

That little advance should not cause the carb issue unless you have a tight valve. Initial timing was 4-6 depending on transmission. A common issue is the rubber fails on the vibration damper allowing the damper to move, causing the timing marks to be in error

 

[Ward 57]

That little advance should not cause the carb issue unless you have a tight valve. Initial timing was 4-6 depending on transmission. A common issue is the rubber fails on the vibration damper allowing the damper to move, causing the timing marks to be in error

I think I may have been running 8-10 BTC I'll retard it and see what happens. Never had any problems before. The old wires may have masked a problem with too much advance. My favorite shop guy told me just before I replaced them that he could hear it had too much advance.

 

[Critterpainer]

Good luck. Wish I was a few states closer to try to figure this out with you. If anything leave the points 1 or two thousands wide to compensate for rub block wear.

 

[paul5456]

Actually, it doesn';t make a difference where #1 wire is in the cap as long as the wires are in the proper firing order and the rotor is pointing where the #1 wire is when the piston is at top dead center on the comprssion stroke. So it does not make a difference if the #1 wire is to the left or the right of the clip as long as the wires in are the proper sequence and the rotor is on #1 per above.

 

[Ward 57]

Good luck. Wish I was a few states closer to try to figure this out with you. If anything leave the points 1 or two thousands wide to compensate for rub block wear.

I need a new feeler gage. Mine goes from .009-.015 then to .019. and larger. I had another one that had .001 leaves and must have misplaced it. OMG when I replaced my points a few weeks ago they were worn at least 1/3 down. Over the years I just filed then and adjusted but it ran well.

 

[Critterpainer]

Ok now the advanced timing makes sense. As points wear the timing retards. New points will advance the timing by restoring the gap to original.

 

[Ward 57]

Ok now the advanced timing makes sense. As points wear the timing retards. New points will advance the timing by restoring the gap to original.

No harm in reduced timing.

 

[jimntempe]

No, the timing is on the right cycle and the wires are not crossed, double checked when I did the ohms check. . I just took another look at my balancer and the dot I painted when I replaced the water pump is pretty big and I may have assumed it was TDC But was actually 2deg advanced to start with so I'm Probably at 8-10Deg. advanced at idle. The hotter spark may have made the difference in firing too soon while the valve is still open.

If you think it's all pretty close what I would do is loosen the distributor hold down bolt, use a remote start button (or a second person at the key) so I could crank it while turning the distributor clockwise and counter clockwise while cranking and see if you hit a spot where it starts and runs. Just mark the distributor base before you start so you know where you started from.

 

[paul5456]

That little advance should not cause the carb issue unless you have a tight valve. Initial timing was 4-6 depending on transmission. A common issue is the rubber fails on the vibration damper allowing the damper to move, causing the timing marks to be in error

Can't happen on a TBird damper. The timing marks are on the pulley itself, not the damper. The marks are on the damper in a sedan as the sedan uses a completely different balancer.

 

[Ward 57]

Mystery solved. Had it delivered to my favorite shop. As a favor he worked on it overnight.
He did the positive TDC wit a feeler on the piston and found the distributor was miss-clocked and had been that way since the engine was rebuilt almost 40+ years ago but it ran well so I never thought about it. When I installed the new wires as they should be it was off. As good a shade tree mechanic this is something I was willing to pay for a REAL expert.

 

[Ward 57]

Well now I'm perplexed. Finally got the new wires on and that was a chore. No room in that engine compartment. Now it wont start. I've got spark, double checked the proper orientation of the wires in the cap I.E. firing order and placement I'm sure the wirers on on the plugs right ( Did find two loose ones ) I may have forgotten to torque them when I installed them this spring, get gas when I pump the throttle, but nothing. ARRGHH!

I was not paying attention to the true TDC< no marks on the dist cap and installed the wires 180 deg off at the top of the exhaust cycle and not the compression cycle. I forgot the crank turns twice for one rotation of the dist.

 

[Critterpainer]

Your not the first one to do that.....

 

[SoloBird]

This is a great thread and I had to throw in here as I am putting in a new electronic distributor, coil, plugs and wire set in my 57'.
The new distributor doesn't seem to have any mark on the cap or anything I can find for the #1 plug marking, and there are NO marks on my pulley for TDC. Good times.

Going by the shop manual of the distributor wire placements and plug wires maybe the new distributor is not on correct? It does not have the snap clips for the cap like old distributors do, but a push in screw and twist bracket (you can see the two screws on the top cap). So, is #1 still just to the left of the clip? Maybe I need to rotate the distributor?




I am going to go through the usual tricks to find TDC since I have no marks on my pulley, ... a whistle tool, take the valve covers off and watch the lifters on #1, etc.

What's the best way to turn the crank by hand? disconnect the fan belt so the fan blade is not moving? Right now, I use a remote starter to just slowly turn my crank over by bumping it slowly around, but you cannot go in the reverse direction with that. If you take all the plugs out, obviously you can turn the crank much easier.

 

[Ward 57]

This is a great thread and I had to throw in here as I am putting in a new electronic distributor, coil, plugs and wire set in my 57'.
The new distributor doesn't seem to have any mark on the cap or anything I can find for the #1 plug marking, and there are NO marks on my pulley for TDC. Good times.

Going by the shop manual of the distributor wire placements and plug wires maybe the new distributor is not on correct? It does not have the snap clips for the cap like old distributors do, but a push in screw and twist bracket (you can see the two screws on the top cap). So, is #1 still just to the left of the clip? Maybe I need to rotate the distributor?

View attachment 25064


I am going to go through the usual tricks to find TDC since I have no marks on my pulley, ... a whistle tool, take the valve covers off and watch the lifters on #1, etc.

What's the best way to turn the crank by hand? disconnect the fan belt so the fan blade is not moving? Right now, I use a remote starter to just slowly turn my crank over by bumping it slowly around, but you cannot go in the reverse direction with that. If you take all the plugs out, obviously you can turn the crank much easier.

The marks are probably still on the pulley but filled in with paint. I'm just going to assume that #1 is still in that location next to the cap screw.

 

[SoloBird]

The marks are probably still on the pulley but filled in with paint. I'm just going to assume that #1 is still in that location next to the cap screw.

No paint on the crank pulley, just rust. I sprayed it down with rust remover and a wire brush and cleaned it up... nothing to be found on it 🙁

 

[doug7740]

With the crank pulley bolt removed, the keyway for the crank pulley will be in the 7:00 position when the engine is set to top dead center on a compresson stroke.

doug7740
1955 Thunderbird Blue

 

[CSPIDY]

With the plugs removed it is fairly easy to turn the engine over using a 1/2 inch ratchet and a socket.using the crank pulley bolt

 

[SoloBird]

With the plugs removed it is fairly easy to turn the engine over using a 1/2 inch ratchet and a socket.using the crank pulley bolt

I removed all the plugs out and man the crank pulley is tough to turn! Of course I am doing it by hand by pulling on the belt, got a good work out, as I could not seem to figure out how to get a socket on the crank pulley bolt. The front of the crank pulley has a wide deep area before you can even feel a bolt or nut down there. I can't even see it. I removed the fan just to make it easier to get a hand down there. It's a 1/2" socket to take off the crank pulley? I would have figured that it would be bigger since it's on the crank.

 

[CSPIDY]

I used a 1/2 drive ratchet with a short extension
Yes the bolt is larger than a 1/2 inch
can’t remember the precise size 15/16 maybe
Sorry for the confusion