Pinging

[Guest]

My 430 in my 60 pings harshly when I apply the gas steadly, if I punch it it does not. What type gas are you guys running. The gentleman I purchased it from said he ran regular ever since it was rebuit. What range of timing are you guys running.

[JohnG]

RE: Pinging

I rebuilt my 352 this winter. I have the stock timing (6 BTDC) and have only been using regular with no problems.

Is your cooling system in good shape? Does your temp gauge read accurately?

going to a colder range spark plug can be a fairly easy way to cut down on the chance of pre-ignition.

An overly lean mixture can also be a cause of hotter cylinders.

If it runs ok when you punch it then one suspects the accelarator pump is providing enough gas to make for a reasonable mix but without that perhaps its' too lean?

How do your plugs look?

john
'58 Hardtop

[KULTULZ]

RE: Pinging

I would check initial timing, that the breaker plates in the distributor move freely, that the vacuum advance cannister holds vacuum and finally the mechanical/vacuum advance curves.

The 430 has a higher CR than the 352. With this new formulated gas (methanol mix), it may be necessary to go to premium fuel.

[byersmtrco]

RE: Pinging

DEFINENTLY run premium gas in it. Maybe even octane booster. Those motors were under rated at 10-1 Comp. Those "wedge" chambers were not the most efficient thing (It's why Ford did away with em.)
I would also recommend finding a way to juice up the voltage at the plugs. The easiest (cheapest) fix is the Pertronix (spl/chk) ign conversion. It does way with the points using the stock dist. They also recommend the "Flame thrower" coil. It's available in black, so if you're going for the stock look, it's hardly noticeable.
Both my TBirds have that setup and (so far) no problems, pinging or any other drive ability issue. It will also improve gas mileage.

John
No Replacement for Displacement
I'll find a 430 Bird (someday)
Hopefully, it'll have a hole in the
roof (1 of 377)

[JohnG]

RE: Pinging

getting the best possible spark is always a good move!

If you make those kinds of substantial improvements in the ignition system, consider also widdening the plug gap as well as indexing the plugs (this amounts to rotating them so that the gap points towards the intake valve. Just mark the plug with some ink before installing).

[KULTULZ]

RE: Pinging

PERTRONIX II is a very good idea. I just had another thought that the combustion chambers may be heavily carbonized, increasing the static CR.

[Guest]

RE: Pinging

Something else you might wanna consider is changing to a Ford Durospark II electronic ignition. This was written for a Mustang conversion but I'm sure doing a Thunderbird isn't out of the question.

From: http://www.mustangsteve.com/conversion.html

http://www.mustangsteve.com/durasparkfinal.jpg

The white wire connection is not absolutely necessary, but it's function is to energize the "retard while starting" function of the Duraspark II module. When cranking the engine, the module actually retards the spark so the engine can crank easier. This allows you to run additional initial advance

[Guest]

RE: Pinging

>PERTRONIX II is a very good idea. I just had another thought
>that the combustion chambers may be heavily carbonized,
>increasing the static CR.

K,

Could you tell us how difficult the PERTRONIX II conversion was? Did you go with the flamethrower coil? Even better how about a picture?

Thanks!

Strange Square

[KULTULZ]

PERTRONIX II

http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/73738/

(Cut And Paste Into Browser)

[Guest]

RE: PERTRONIX II

>http://www.rodandcustommagazine.com/techarticles/73738/
>
>(Cut And Paste Into Browser)

KULTULZ

Thanks! It looks somewhat easy. How long have you been running it? I just recall all the problems I had with the electronic ignition in my '76 Cutlass. **** modulator would heat up and fail. The '76 had an overheat problem a little akin to what people say the squarebirds can have. I almost considered converting back to points. I should have looked at the pertronix system instead if it resists heat better.

Cheers,
Strange Square

[Guest]

RE: PERTRONIX II

I put in a tank full of premium gas and the pinging stopped. I have had a bad experience with Pertronix. Installed a set on my 56 Bird Y-block and was cruising along at 60 MPH when the pertronix unit failed. The resulting build-up of raw gas in the hot muffler exploded and cost me a very expensive stainless steel exhaust replacement. I switched back to points and carry a spare set in the car. I think if you do the pertronix you have to do the alternator conversion as the generator does not put out the constant juice. Sent the unit back and thats what Pertronix told me to switch to an alternator!

[KULTULZ]

RE: PERTRONIX II

>I think if you do the pertronix you have to do the alternator >conversion as the generator does not put out the constant juice. >Sent the unit back and thats what Pertronix told me to switch to an
>alternator!

I personally have never used PERTRONIX. I prefer DURASPARK II but the problem (to me) is the DURASPARK conversion shows whereas the PERTRONIX is hidden and doesn't alter the appearance of the origional engine. It appears to work very well and if fails, one can substitute the origional points to get it going again.

Above is a very good point about an GEN not being able to put out enough AMPS to keep up with modernizing a car. But then if you do the ALT conversion, it detracts from the origional appearance of the car (engine compartment).

This is the reason (IMO) that if one does an ALT upgrade on one of these cars and wants to maintain the OEM appearance, to use an early FE ALT and harness to make it appear an OEM installation.

The use of a GM one-wire is taboo...

Another thought is to use a dual point conversion kit with a hotter coil as the points will allow a longer coil saturation time if one does not want to do the ALT upgrade.

[Guest]

RE: PERTRONIX II

In my 430 the battery hides most of the generator from view. Installing an alternator could be done without drawing too much attention to it. Would like it to put brighter lights on car for those late night cruises. What mounts are availabe to install an alternator-did the 430 ever have an alternator.