Thread: 283 Timing Gears/Chain

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Hold on. What you've been describing in your original thread is an intermittent problem, not a constant one that would be bad all the time like a timing chain problem, although the timing set is probably worn out and the motor may have jumped a cog or two. That could explain the damper timing marks being off with number one cylinder on TDC firing. First things first. The car sat 2 years through all kinds of weather and could have rusted up the ground connections. Toddle on down to autozone and purchase 2 ground straps.....
http://www.autozone.com/R,1065027/st...ductDetail.htm
You'll want to run one of them from the body (firewall) to the motor and the other from the firewall to the frame. The key here is to get down to bare metal where you attach the ground straps. Use sandpaper or emery cloth to remove all paint and residue from your attachment points. There is usually a suitable attachment point on the intake manifold. On the frame, you may have to drill a small hole in the frame and use a sheet metal screw to attach the strap after sanding down an area larger than the strap lug. On the firewall, if you can't locate a suitable place, use a center punch to punch a hole in the sheet metal (after looking to see if there is anything on the other side of the firewall at that point that may be injured and after sanding down to bare metal) and attach the strap lug with a sheet metal screw. Punching a hole in sheet metal works better than drilling a hole because some of the material will be displaced inward and will provide a better bite for the sheet metal screw. This whole operation should cost less than 15 bucks and it probably needs it anyway. The original grounds have been in place for over 40 years. Once the ground straps are in place, gob the front and back sides with RTV to prevent moisture from getting to the connections.

Whether the car has a resistance wire or a ballast resistor between the switch and the coil, either one serves the same purpose. That is to prevent burning up the coil with a constant 12v. When cold, you should be able to measure a full 12v at the + side of the coil with the key on. After the motor is fired and begins to warm up, the resistor wire or ballast resistor will begin to decrease voltage down to 6v to prevent coil damage. Just so you know.