What should my gap be?

[jego]

I'm replacing ignition components and upgrading a few of them. Eventually I want to end up with the upgrade setup that's in the FAQ, but I'm halfway there right now and wondering how much I should gap my spark plugs. Here's what I'm running:

Bosch Red Coil
pre 9/79 dist cap and rotor
pre 9/79 plug wires from Bavauto, just the regular replacements, not the upgrade
Bosch Super Plus spark plugs (with resistor), they're the pre 9/79 plugs on Bavauto

I don't necessarily want to max out the gap, just wondering where to start or what a good range would be. Thanks.

[epmedia]

The bigger the gap, the harder the ignition system has to work...
Stock is .024" - .028".
I'd probably try out .030".
Some say .035", but it's up to you I suppose.

[Layne]

Robert! Don't tell me you don't know about this glaring flaw of the Hayne's manual? The cars run like ass with the .024 to .028 gap. Stock should be .035. It's good for about 10hp, seriously. With jego's setup I would use .045.

[epmedia]

Robert! Don't tell me you don't know about this glaring flaw of the Hayne's manual? The cars run like ass with the .024 to .028 gap. Stock should be .035. It's good for about 10hp, seriously. With jego's setup I would use .045.

Gotcha, p. 204 updated.
Max .030" for points ignition, only

[jego]

Max .030" for points ignition, only

The transistor ignition seems to be one of the few advantages of a post facelift model.

Thanks for the guidance fellas.

[epmedia]

The transistor ignition seems to be one of the few advantages of a post facelift model.

Thanks for the guidance fellas.

Yep, and it was stupid for them to change the rotation direction of the dist

[gusm325]

Gents I'm confused the 0.35" spark plug gap is for the 83 with the electronic CCW distributor?

I'm a at loss regarding the "misprint on Haynes. I still have the manual in the glovebox that comes with the car and it reads 0.24 to 0.28...

[Layne]

It's not a misprint, just bad information. Possibly the factory recommend the small gap for emissions or some other silly reason, I don't know.

[Tom D]

…..The transistor ignition seems to be one of the few advantages of a post facelift model.

….Yep,

i'm surprised that epmedia agreed with you, he's a points man as am I. don't get me wrong, electronic ignition is great and i have several, but i also have several points generated ignitions and i wouldn't change a thing.

[epmedia]

i'm surprised that epmedia agreed with you, he's a points man as am I. don't get me wrong, electronic ignition is great and i have several, but i also have several points generated ignitions and i wouldn't change a thing.

Yes Tom, I'm still a fan of points ignition, but I'd like to try bigger sparks someday too

I use to experiment with adding power transistors to points ignition. It made the points last much longer, no super spark though
I even considered marketing it at swap meets (when points were still common)

[jego]

What do you guys like about points? I'm not challenging you, just trying to educate myself.

[gsumzzz]

nostalgia

[midlifebmw]

HA! We are what we are comfortable with. Me, I'm a jelly doughnut.

[e21Terry]

Still have a dwell meter in the toolbox

[Tom D]

for one thing i can fine tune the ignition timing without ever turning the key to on, let alone start the engine.

i do it with a 'buzz box' that i made using a speaker, 2 AA batteries, a morse code oscillator, and a couple of wire leads.

i built this 'buzz box' for setting the timing on my dual points triumph bonnieville motorcycle. the distributor is on one side of the bike and the timing marks are on the opposite side. plus the timing marks are spinning in oil so you needed 2 people and it made a mess. with the buzz box i don't have to run the engine, don't have to actually see the timing marks, and can set the timing as well as my big dollar Snap-on timing light.

points will never leave you stranded on the side of the road, unlike a pulse generator.

[gsumzzz]

don't tell me you also get all the sports channels you want for free from a home made beer can/aluminum foil antenna.

[jego]

gsumzzz, that wouldn't surprise me.

Thanks for the explanation, Tom.

[epmedia]

don't tell me you also get all the sports channels you want for free from a home made beer can/aluminum foil antenna.

[Tom D]

….don't tell me you also get all the sports channels you want for free from a home made beer can/aluminum foil antenna.

great retort! i love it.

my 'buzz box' is nothing more then a continuity tester. here's how it works, but first an explanation of how a coil/points ignition works.

the coil is charged by putting battery voltage to the positive post. the voltage runs through the coil and out through the negative post. it then travels to the insulated side of the points, through the contacts, and to the grounded half of the points. as long as the points are closed the path from the battery to the ground is complete and the coil will produce a magnetic field. when the points open the ground is lost and the magnetic field collapses. this is when the spark plug fires.

so therefore the timing is controlled by the opening of the points, or the lost of continuity. like i said above, the buzz box is a self-powered morse code oscillator and can be found for cheap at radio shack.

if your timing a chevy V8 engine that calls for 8°s of static advance at idle and no mechanical advance, you would align the #1 piston mark on the harmonic balance to the 8° mark on the engine's indicator. then with the buzz box connected to each side of the points you rotate the distributor until the points start to open. you can hear the tone of the box change as soon as the points start to open, and when fully open of course, there would be no tone at all.

if your timing is done at full mechanical advance, then you set the engine on the marks, lock the advance mechanism in full advance and rotate the distributor until you hear the points start to open.

pretty simple and it's all done with the key off, the engine not running and for a cost of $10-15 worth of parts.

[gsumzzz]

See why I only spent 1 year in an engineering major at the University of Arizona. Engineers are special people for sure. Pretty cool stuff Tom but I still want my free sports channels. Now finish that beer and liberate my antenna.

[lightsmith]

I love this forum.

[HenryHide1886]

Hey Tom, we should have a meet and have you teach us how to build and use these "buzz boxes". Willing to trade bbq for knowledge any time.

[Tom D]

can do.

[e21Terry]

Jeez... a Triumph Bonneville? You might just be older than I am.

Back on topic - both '83 1.8's I've owned have exhibited a miss at part throttle under load, but otherwise ran just fine. I'm embarrased to admit, but I didn't know about the plug gap issue & have always gapped per Haynes. Might that be a contributor?

[Layne]

Back on topic - both '83 1.8's I've owned have exhibited a miss at part throttle under load, but otherwise ran just fine. I'm embarrased to admit, but I didn't know about the plug gap issue & have always gapped per Haynes. Might that be a contributor?

There's only one way to find out.