Tuning from scratch: How to get your newly-built Mopar running razor sharp. This installment covers ignition timing and advance.
By Richard Ehrenberg, SAE
Building your Mopar to pure, dead, OEM-stock? All the tuning info you need is in the FSM, right at your fingertips. But! If you have a different carb (even the same basic type, but different P/N), different distributor, intake manifold, heads, exhaust (incl. heat control valve), etc., all those thousands of hours spent by Chrysler Engineers tuning a particular combo for flawless performance, economy, drivability, etc., are out the window. You are starting with a clean sheet of paper. Basic timing, spark advance curves and limits, vacuum advance limits and “quickness”, carburetor primary and secondary jetting, enrichment (power valve or metering rods), have to be tuned and tweaked by – yeah – you!
The following collection of articles from the annals of MA won’t necessarily hold your hand as you work your way through the process, but they will surely guide you down the straight and narrow, saving you time and money, as well as dramatically increasing the drive-time smile factor. Driving a razor-sharp tune job is some of the most fun you can have above the waistline. – R. E.Â
