[DeTomaso] Ignition truble

Thu Jul 17 12:40:54 EDT 2008

Hi Jorn,

I'm sorry too hear you have the problem, but glad you found it. I still have the 
problem as well since we replaced the bronze gear with another when I broke 
down on the way on the way to Vegas. I haven't driven the car since getting back.

I see ( a few emails further in ) that Jack D. has some info on a Ford/SVO gear
that looks to be a solution to our problem. I also found this gear from Crane Cams
that looks like it may work as well.

    http://www.cranecams.com/pdf/Page536.pdf

  Jack, could you take a look at the above when you have a moment and let us
  know what you think. Both Jorn and I have MSD billet distributors. Will any gear 
  designed for a 351W dist. fit the MSD versions? I assume (with my limited
  knowledge) that any 351W dist would have the same shaft dimensions. Yes, No?
  Also, one line in the Crane Cams document worries me... The one about "use of
  these gears on camshafts previously run with other types of materials...being
  detrimental" What do you think that's about and do Jorn and I need to replace
  our camshafts as well as our dist gears?

--mike v

73 L #5473

----- Original Message ----
From: Jørn C. Olsen <joernco at online.no>
To: Mike Vallee <mike.vallee at yahoo.com>; detomaso at realbig.com
Sent: Wednesday, July 16, 2008 3:10:14 PM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso]  Ignition truble

Hi!
Pulled the distributor today and my problem was the 
same as yours Mike!
The distributor gear was totaly 
worn down!

J.C. 
----- Original Message ----- 
From: Mike  Vallee 
To: Jørn C. Olsen 
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2008 2:19 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Ignition  truble

I am  curious. Please let me know what you find.

Cheers,

--mike  v

-----  Original Message ----
From: Jørn C. Olsen <joernco at online.no>
To: Mike Vallee  <mike.vallee at yahoo.com>
Cc: detomaso at realbig.com
Sent: Thursday,  June 12, 2008 4:42:38 AM
Subject: Re: [DeTomaso] Ignition  truble

This makes sence to me!
I changes the camshaft at the same  time I installed the new distributor.  I 
will take out the  distributor and check!

Thanks!

J.C
----- Original Message  ----- 
From: "Mike Vallee" <mike.vallee at yahoo.com>
To:  <detomaso at realbig.com>; <joernco at online.no>
Sent:  Thursday, June 12, 2008 1:31 AM
Subject: [DeTomaso] Ignition  truble

> Hi,
>
> I had the exact same symptoms while  diving to Las Vegas for this year's 
> Fun Rally. I also have an MSD  billet
> distributor and 6AL box for the ignition. Four hundred miles  into my trip 
> it started running very poorly and
> backfiring  like crazy. This left me stranded at the side of the road in a 
> small  town where I knew no one.
>
> A bunch of the NorCal Pantera Club  (PCNC) guys came to my aid and spent 
> the day troubleshooting my  car.
> They found a number of things that looked like they could have  caused the 
> problem, but none of them fixed
> the backfiring and  poor running. This very knowledgeable group included 
> Mike Drew, Larry  Finch  and  Marcus
> Smith among others. After spending *all  day* and half the evening working 
> on my car (incredibly good folks)  it
> was clear that it was not going to Vegas that day. I pretty much  had to 
> force them to go on without me as it went
> against the  "Leave no man behind" credo of PCNC, POCA and it seems, 
> Pantera  owners everywhere.
>
> Even after dropping me back at the local  hotel Marcus kept working on my 
> car, stranded now in his garage. It  was
> after midnight when he called me up and said "I found the  problem". It 
> turned out to be a *very* badly worn
> distributor  gear. The MSD billet distributor comes with a bronze gear that 
> can  wear down very quickly when mating
> up with a new cam gear. According  to MSD (and other sources), the first 
> such bronze gear can wear out  in the first
> 1000-2000 miles. The second one will last nearly forever  (their words, not 
> mine). Check yours out. The gear teeth
> are  normally about 3mm wide. Mine had worn down to knife edges.
>
>  Anyway, the following morning Marcus drove me the 60 miles back in to 
>  Sacramento to get a new gear and spent
> the rest of the day installing  it, timing the car etc. With the gear 
> replaced the car ran perfectly  once more. After all
> the time spent by others to get me there I  couldn't not continue on to Las 
> Vegas and so set out the following  morning
> and made it down only a day late.
>
> I can't  thank the PCNC folks enough for getting me past my Ignition 
> Trouble,  and down to Vegas.
>
> Cheers,
>
> --mike v         #5473
>
> ----
>
> Hi!
> On  my first drive this summer with my Pantera it started to misfire and 
>  lost power.
> Tried to change the spark plugs and the cables but same  result.  On friday 
> we checked
> the ignition timing and it  showed 0 degrees.  I don`t understand that 
> because the
>  distributor was not loose and we timed it to 30 degrees when we had it in 
> the dyno last year.
> We timed it back to 30 degrees and it  became better but I can feel it is 
> something wrong
> when I  drive it.  It has not full power and has a small klicking sound in 
> the left exhaust.
> I run it with an MSD Billett distributor  and a MSD 6AL
> ignition box.
> Can it be the distributor pin who  is giving up slowly?
> Anybody??
>
> J.C
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