Owners manual

INSTALLATION INSTRUCTIONS 5
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OPTIONAL VACUUM ADVANCE LOCKOUT
If you do not want to use the vacuum advance canister
of the MSD Distributor, MSD has supplied the distributor
with a lockout mechanism. The Lockout bolts in the
position of the vacuum canister and will hold the pickup
assembly firmly in place. The installation is easiest with
the distributor out of the engine.
1. Remove the two Allen head screws that hold the
advance canister (Figure 10).
2. Remove the snap ring that holds the magnetic
pickup assembly in place. This is easy to do with
a set of snap ring pliers by straddling one of the
reluctor paddles.
3. Gently lift up on the mag pickup plate and slide the
vacuum canister out.
4. Install the Lockout Plate in place of the canister.
Install the two retaining screws.
5. Install the supplied screw and washer through the
Lockout and tighten. It is important to make sure
the pickup plate is parallel with the housing of the
distributor (Figure 11). If it is cocked or slanted,
the paddles of the reluctor may contact the pickup.
Check the clearance by rotating the distributor shaft.
If necessary, use the supplied shims under the
Lockout hold-down to correctly position the pickup
plate.
Note: If no shims were required, use one beneath
the washer of the Lock-Out Hold Down Screw.
6. After checking the reluctor to pickup clearance,
tighten the Lockout retaining screws and install the
snap ring.
Figure 11 Checking Installation of the Lockout Plate.
Figure 10 Removing the Vacuum Canister.
RELUCTOR
PADDLES
CANISTER
SCREWS
MAG PICK-UP
PLATE
SNAP
RING
VACUUM ADVANCE
Your distributor is equipped with an optional
vacuum advance canister. Vacuum advance
is generally used to improve cruising
economy and driveability, depending on the
application.
The chart in Figure 9 shows the relationship
between engine vacuum and the amount of
ignition timing advance.
To connect the vacuum advance, connect a
vacuum hose from the canister to a ported
vacuum source on the carburetor or throttle
body. Ported vaccum sources are located
above the throttle plates so there will not be
an excessive amount of timing advance at
idle and lower engine speeds.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
12345678910111213141516
Inches of Vacuum
Degrees of Advance
OE Non Adjustable Vac. Adv. 1808
Figure 9 Vacuum Advance and Timing Chart.
7. Install the distributor, rotor and cap. Check the timing when complete.
Note: Do not forget to plug the original vacuum advance hose.