Belt Change / Valve Adjustment / Electromotive Install

Jim thank you for your post and great pictures.

Why do you have to lock the cam pulleys in place?

Are there any tdc marks for the cam pulleys to be aligned to? Thxs

 

Jim, I mounted my xdi control box in the engine bay in the very back of the left rear corner. Never had any problems so I doubt you'll have any issues with heat in the trunk. Looks great by the way. Good work.

 

This was a part of the job I was really dreading...threading a power wire from the battery to the rear of the car. It turned out to be pretty easy. I went to a local auto/tractor/hardware parts store and bought snake like cable that I think is called a "fish" or something. It is a stiff wire that acts sort of like a sewer snake only it has a hook on the end. I removed the lower valence under the radiator and fished this snake thing through the existing tubular conduit which runs above the panels on the underside of the car from back to front of course. Then I attached the wire to the fish at the front by bending it back on itself and duct taping the wire ends together then pulled the snake thing backwards and it came through really well. All in all, except for buying this tool, it may have taken an hour or so. Hope this helpsGood luck

 

Jim,
Looking good and you are almost there! Take your time making the plug wires....that's where I screwed up. I was in the home stretch and I rushed that job and had a bad wire which caused week of annoyance. Heat the ends in hot water to make them more pliable...that will ease getting the wire into them without breaking the conductor.

Birdman

 

I truly hope all that ignition stuff works out better for you guys than it did on either of my cars. I went back to points.

 

One the 2V carb cars you can just cap off the distributor housing, right? I am trying to remember but I thought I recall the end of my cam being closed.

Or, am I off here and there is additional fabrication to be done to remove the distributor permanently?

Seamus

 

Yes I am lazy. I think? I found the answer:

Going back to post #7, I would like to review and correct something I said that is not quite accurate. The end of the cam where the distributor plugs in is not actually the end of the cam. In looking at the exploded diagrams, this piece is actually pinned into the end of the cam. If you were to pull the cam covers, you could unpin this piece, and then actually plug the cam end. Kermits's plugs would probably fit there, and that's where it must be designed to go. The only thing this would gain you is that the distributor end of the cam would no longer protrude through the cam seal and you could eliminate one more piece of stuff (the plate that holds the cam seal which is between the distributor and the head). But you would still need to block off the hole where the distributor went because, cam-end sealed or not, oil would get in that area from the head. So it seems easier to leave the end that drives the distributor pinned in place, leave the cam seal, and put the plate on the end. In this case, if the cam seal has integrity, the plate on the end is only a dust cover. It doesn't need to keep oil in, because it can't get past the cam seal. (I still used a gasket anyway).

If the cam seal were to leak, it can't get out anyway.

(from the Birdman electromotive install thread)

Again, I am having trouble recalling from my time "in there" but I think with the "distributor to cam" seal and bracket in place all I have to do is gasket and cover where the distributor would go (again '78 2V carb 308).

Seamus

 

Jim,

The yellow one, that you had mentioned, was the power right?

What's this "other power" line that you will be connecting to the starter for?

 

Excellent news Jim!

 

Its just a lifetime of dealing with cars that quit and leave you stranded far from home, or run like crap and make it difficult to diagnose. I've never been stranded with a points car due to an ignition problem, and I would trust my life to a points ignition system over anything else short of a magneto. When a friends 308 stranded us nearly 300 miles from home on a sunday afternoon after one of the the Dioplex failed, I started rethinking what I really want out of my car. And I really just want it to make it back home under its own power, thats gotta be about the most important aspect for me. If it cant do that, if i cant have any confidence in it, I dont want it. It took him several trips back and forth to get his car going, and a LOT of money in parts. I decided I would rather accept the increased maintainance with the belief the car would not strand me due to an ignition failure. All the promises of faster starts, more power or better fuel economy are rather moot when you sitting by the side of the road waiting for a wrecker. Besides, I never seen a set of points I couldnt get working again with only a screwdriver.

I believe Ferrari was quoted as once saying something to the effect, that you have to be able to finish the race before you can think about winning.

 

Whoa Paul....that's dreaming big!!

 

I dont believe so. Having exposed myself to the brass antique cars which are all 1915 and older, all completely original, and having witnessed these vehicles, some over 100 years old make cross country and round the world journeys over 1000's of miles without major failure, I am convinced the same is more than possible with any old carbed Ferrari. I recall some years ago a vintage V-12 Ferrari that was driven cross country to California and sat on the lawn at Pebble Beach with bugs all over it. Some years back there was an around the world event that drew many cars from different eras. One gentleman from Germany brought a 1926 Bentley and it went around the world without any major failure. Of the more than 5000 victories Enzo Ferrari's cars won in motor sports, the vast majority of those cars took the checkered flag running Magnetti Marelli ignition virtually identical to those in use in the 308. If you take a hard honest look at these cars and analyse what componenets and systems of them are prone to failure, the answer is primarily the ignition. The mechanical parts of the 308 are very robust. Once again, anything thats going to fail will normally warn you far in advance. A leaky water pump, issues with overheating, a nasty oil leak, or some odd noise thats been getting louder, those are all signals of an impending failure. Unless your dumb enough to intentionally leave home with an unresolved issue, these cars will hang together for a good long while. And I am convinced the 308 not only has better equipment than any 100 year old antique, is also just as well built as any 50's racing Ferrari. And if you take the time to sort it out well before rolling away from home you will have very good reliability.

Points ignition rarely fails suddenly, and can always be forced back into operation with usually nothing more than a screwdriver. Why would I want to rip that out and put in an ignition system that is 100% proven to fail without warning? Why would I want to install ignition components that cannot be repaired in any way, or install componenets that can not be found anywhere on a Sunday afternoon? Between Crane, MSD and all the other electronic systems, I also note these systems put a great and unnecessary load on the electrical system. For example, an MSD 6A draws about 8 amps continuous, and in a dual system as required on the 308, is drawing nearly a 16 amp load continuously. The standard points system barely draws 2 amps. Why should I endevour to tax the charging system so hard for some percieved small increase in performance or to minimally reduce maintainance? Sure, if I were going out onto a track and banging door handles with the car, the extra 1 or 2% (at best) performance increase might be justified. But I wont be doing any of that, just out jaunting around the countryside on occasion, just me and my lil Ferrari. Points will serve me just fine.

 

*golf clap*

But I am also delighted to hear of Jim's success!

But Paul has hit it on the head. I limped two known, wounded cars across Texas ahead of Gustav, and both of them arrived safely after only stopping for cold beer and beef jerky......

It would have been NICE to have brakes, in the one case, but ....you know.....downshifting works.....

 

Absolutely, and I sincerly meant in no way to belittle your work, Jim. I sure hope I didnt come across that way. Keeping these old cars running and being able to get them out and drive them is so rewarding. And I believe it is the single most important part of owning them, and that anything that makes that possible to do should be recognised and encouraged. Its really all about our individual level of enjoyment, and whats enjoyable for one may be totally painful for another.


[/QUOTE]It would have been NICE to have brakes, in the one case, but ....you know.....downshifting works..... [/QUOTE]

What kind of POS cars are you driving? LOL. Thankfully you got them away from harm, thats what really counts.