[ramair455ca]

Road tripping with my family in my all original 1970 LeMans wagon, factory 400 4 barrel. The car is having some part throttle detonation, could probably solve by disconnecting the vac advance, but prefer to get it dialed in correctly before making the long trip back home to Victoria BC. Can anyone recommend a distributor guy that could sort it out for me in the Oceanside/ Escondido/ North County area?

Thanks for any help or suggestions. We arrive in Oceanside Saturday.

Cheered!

[HWYSTR455]

If it was as you drive through higher elevation, could very well be just going lean. Disconnect the vacuum while at higher elevations, and plug it back in when you get to lower elevations.

You could try dialing back the timing 2-4 degrees too.

.

[wbnapier]

I'm in Encinitas, which is near O'side. I know of no specialists around here.

I found this guy on the internet in Anaheim (by Disneyland), so about 1 hour north of O'side. From the website, it looks legitimate

Good luck!.

http://ignitionengineering.com/

[tom s]

Be advised Ignition engineering does great work but he can be extremely slow.Have known him for years.Tom

[wbnapier]

Tom, can you recommend anyone comparable in San Diego County?

[tom s]

I can't,my last guy down there retired.I use Suntuned on this site now.That won't help you now.Tom

[OG68]

There's JBA in San Diego. They have a chassis dyno that can get you dialed in.
I've never used them but they've been around for over 30 years.

https://jbaspeedshop.com/p-30874-cus...no-tuning.html

[Cliff R]

I would simply loosen the distributor and move it back (retard the timing a few degrees) until it quits pinging. Leave the VA hooked up. Probably just a combination of crappy CA gas and a warmer climate. It will probably all be fine when you get back home and you'll be able to put the timing back where it was.......Cliff

[ramair455ca]

Thanks to all that chimes in!

It wasn’t quite right when I left, but yes lower octane CA fuel, and elevation have not helped. Where I live we do not have anyone local doing distributor re curve work, so that part of the reason I’d like to sort out here.

I had seen Ignition engineering, but prefer to avoid the drive back to LA if I can help it.

Cliff, I will knock it back a few degrees as suggested. I don’t like to run without VA , especially in the heat.

Will update with progress.

If it worked there should be a pic of us cooling brakes on the drive down to the coast from Leggett.

[77 TRASHCAN]

Nice car there, ram!!!

I hope Jim Hand sees the picture!!!

Chevy Chase would be jealous!!!

[ta man]

Awesome car! I looked at some of your old posts..is that engine stock or has Dave's hands been on it?

[Cliff R]

Pinging at light throttle woln't really hurt anything so leave the VA hooked up. Pinging under load is a completely different deal. I still like to have things tuned so easy hot restarts and no pinging anyplace but excellent performance and fuel economy.

Good distributor builders/tuners are few and far between these days since for the most part those parts became extinct in the later 1980's.......Cliff

[ramair455ca]

Originally Posted by ta man

Awesome car! I looked at some of your old posts..is that engine stock or has Dave's hands been on it?

Actually, Dave was the one that brought the car back to life for me. It had been parked in a garage for 20 years without being driven. We flushed every fluid, did all the brakes, re cored the original radiator, replaced all hoses etc. Dave and I have been friends more than 30 years, he and his wife Lisa are responsible for my Pontiac addiction!

The car is completely stock, no plans to change that or open up the engine. It’s a fantastic driver with the 330 Horse 400/TH400/3:08 combo.

It does need a little help in the suspension department, but want to make the right choices there so taking my time figuring out that plan.

Found out yesterday that we may also need Vintage air!!

[ramair455ca]

Originally Posted by Cliff R

Pinging at light throttle woln't really hurt anything so leave the VA hooked up. Pinging under load is a completely different deal. I still like to have things tuned so easy hot restarts and no pinging anyplace but excellent performance and fuel economy.

Good distributor builders/tuners are few and far between these days since for the most part those parts became extinct in the later 1980's.......Cliff

Thanks for that info Cliff, no ping under load. I have been attacking the hills and avoiding ping by opening the throttle and losing some vacuum.

Distributor rebuilding is a dying art your correct, nobody in my area even has a machine anymore. I know it can be done the old fashioned way, but I always try to deal with pros and dial things on perfectly.

[Sun Tuned]

Parts aren't an issue. They were available well into 2006-2007. I still have 4 out of the 5 vac advance units we have always used. And 2 for the point distributors which were really the only 2 we ever used anyway..

Time is the biggest issue here. The op is looking for a fix in California now.

Those who had foresight to think ahead have more than enough parts for distributors. But that's gonna likely entail a specialist,and there are a few of those still walking the planet.

To avoid any damage I'd just back things down on the initial say 2-4degreesand get back to remove it and have it fixed properly and live to fight another day.