TOPIC: Imbecile from Ontario potentially ruins antique

Good evening, one and all. Thank you very much for your kind input with regards to the 1964 650 merc running like a bag of poo. I'm a stupid,stupid man. After checking for all the things you kindly suggested might be the culprits, I found that my newer points had a mammoth gap of 0.0038, not the 0.008+0/-0.002 that the specs. call for. I guess I didn't tighten things down quite as snugly as I had thought. The points have goobed, the brass bits in the cap have arced quite badly, but at least the rotor is ok. I shall re-assemble and take my time with it, as the tender bits in the mag.are like hen's teeth here, pricey and almost non-existant. As I mentioned, I checked out all the other possibles, with particular attention given the flex plate on the flywheel, and I'm very happy to say that it's indeed solid and ringing nicely when tapped with a wrench (or my head). I haven't pulled the carbs yet, and may not as I feel I've found the culprit. I did pull the filters and after 46 years of use and sitting, they are as clean as the new ones on my bench. I just hope I haven't holed a piston with the pinging, but it didn't do it for long. I'm going to borrow a "see snake" from a chum and look inside.

Thanks again to all.....

John

Don't be so hard on yourself John, we have all made mistakes. The most important thing is to learn from them. Good luck and wish you much success.

John,
We all learn from sharing each others' experiences and we all have similar stories I'm sure. (might make a fun post someday)
I'm concerned with the brass you mentioned.
Are you saying that the brass contacts in the distributor cap have build up on them or are you saying they have been hitting the rotor and creating small bits of brass to be in the cap?
If there is just build up - I use a dremel to clean each electrode off. I hold the center carbon down in its hole to protect it while using the dremel and then use compressed air to clean the cap again while keeping the carbon secure.
If the electrodes are being 'nicked' by the rotor I would be real suspicious that the bearing on the rotor shaft is worn out.
Thom

Thanks for the support,Mark. I'll press on and try to keep the outlook a tad brighter.....

All the best...

john

Good evening, Dr.Thom...

Thanks for the reply regarding my dilemma. The "brass bits" I so errantly mentioned are indeed the contact points within the cap itself, and they are still sound, with no "nicks" from rotor misalignment. They are well arced and have quite a bit of build-up on them, with a bit of material burned off where the rotor's charge would arc past. I got out the Dremel and a small brass wire wheel and i've managed to smooth out the build-up somewhat. They're a hell of a lot better than they were. If I may ask, though, do you have any tips for alignment of the point faces when putting the new set in? I can't seem to get them perfectly face-to-face, and if they're not, won't they strike off centre and burn/pit and otherwise last, like a day?

Thank you once again, good sir. I wish I had some handy tidbits to share for your benefit, but unless your a gas fitter that specializes in liquid propane burner design and diagnostics, I'm not of much help.....

john

The closer to perfect alignment the better, but obtaining close to that is quite a feat sometimes.
Make sure the base piece is squarely seated and make sure that the spring steel is in alignment in the anchor point before tightening the 'stud'. Caution in these two areas will certainly help a new set of points to be aligned.
Be sure and tighten the points down all the way before assuming they are not aligned. If so - remove and align. (easier said than done)
If you are positive these two areas are properly positioned and the points still don't align very well it is time for some careful bending of the rigid half of the points. Done recklessly or without care to protect the contact point surface can result easily in permanently ruined points so be careful.
I've removed lots of points that have clearly been working for a very long time with only about 2/3rds alignment.
A smooth - mirror finish on the faces of the contacts is more important IMHO than complete & perfect alignment.
Have fun
Thom