Ok so I was having a problem with my engine sputtering and losing power at higher rpms and mainly at WOT today I pulled the vacuum hose off of the distributer and in park and neutral the problem is 99% better! When driving it is still a tad bit sluggish and when at full throttle seems to kind of give up at around 3k rpm. Anyone with insight on this topic? This is my first time dealing with vacuum advance timing so I'm reading my eyes out as we notionally speak! Thanks in "advance"

 

A couple of things. Tis a timing issue at least inpart. You'll need a strobe light to assist in checking out the performance of the distributor and it's relation to the position of the pistons.

1. The outter part of the dampener on the end of the crankshaft may have slipped giving a false reading of whre TDC is. Verify by getting number one at TDC and see if the pointer to the dampener agrees. If it doesn't, the rest is tough to figure out!!

2. Initial timing is off, so removing the vacum advance makes it closer to correct, hence a tad better engine running.

3. The diaphram has a leak. So, the engine does best when the hose is removed and plugged!! Check by mouth or pump to see if it will hold vacum.

4. The centrfugal advance is stuck in the advance or retard mode or somewhere between. It may have springs with no tension and the advance has gone wild. One check is to twist the rotor and see if it moves freely snd springs back as released.

5. And, if the dampener and pointer are in agreement with the piston position, you can see what the distributor is doing as tospark timing changes with the strobe.

 

my bet is a worn out diaphragm.