Oh, ok! Thanks Pete! Didn't know that's what it's called

 

You have a single vacuum advance. The dual vacuum, has two hoses going to it. One advances the timing, the other retards it.

 

Correct. The dual advance unit looks like this:

 

Thanks for the info!

 

So I took off the distributor cap and noticed the gum on the points plates right away. Took everything off to get to the plates and saw all the gum on the plates, top & bottom on both plates. Unfortunately the nylon buttons fell off except for one. So I will need to track down 3 new nylon buttons. Will check O'reilly, CarQuest, Autozone and hopefully they carry them.

Anyways, cleaned the plates with carb cleaner to get the gum off. Then cleaned the gears below with carb cleaner on a rag. Found a lock washer underneath. Then I squirt a little 10-40 on the gears. The small spring I boxed had a lot of play. Not sure if that's normal or if I should get a smaller one without play.

Thanks!

 

Now we are getting somewhere. yes you need to fix all that you mentioned. But you are not going to find the little buttons. However, you will be able to get a new points plate. The springs . . one should be softer than the other. But this is a place for tuning. I suggest leaving those for now and revisit once you get the problems fixed and the engine is running correctly.

 

Is your gas line close to the block, head or exhaust? This last thing sounds like vapor lock. On the electrical, check your brake light switch. Then disconnect the battery a use an ohm meter to check continuity. Manipulate the wires you're checking to see if you have an intermittent break or short. Pull the kick plate the wires are under going to the rear of the car; you might find an intermittent short to ground (bare wire).

 

Is your gas line close to the block, head or exhaust? This last thing sounds like vapor lock.

Only gas line by the block is the one between the pump and carb. Will do more investigating if cleaning/lubing the distributor doesn't make an improvement.
Thanks

 

Oh, and recheck all the new stuff. So much of what we get for our cars is Chinese now and new doesn't necessarily mean good anymore. Hmm, I'd also forgo Kragen type places for checking gear like battery, alt, starter, etc. NAPA has a decent reputation out here; maybe there's one in your area?

 

Thanks Pete! Will check all the local parts stores to see if they carry the points plates. If they don't, I'll look online.

 

Tried to look online to see if the points plates are available. Did searches for points plates, distributor plates but very few came up. Even on eBay, I didn't see any that looked like mine. Do I have a Cardone distributor? Any ideas where I can find this plate?

Thanks!

 

So all the breaker plates I found online were different and will not work with ignitors. Went to the shop that worked on my Mustang couple months ago to see if they have the parts since the GM is knowledgeable and they carry a lot of parts. He was able to find me a new breaker plate that is like mine but only 2 nylon buttons. He has a used plate in a distributor that he will remove the button from and put into the new one. He said the breaker plate I have is discontinued a long time ago and the new ones will work but I will need to go back to points. I may go back to points but want the option to use ignitor also.

 

The Pertronix mounts to the original points plate. Nothing special.

 

Cleaned inside the distributor with a q-tip and rag last night. Then I squirted a little more 10-40 oil on the gears. Put the points plates back on, lubed between the 2 plates with a little oil also. Put the Pertronix back on, checked gap, buttoned it back up. Then started her up. Let her warm up and then checked timing. When I last checked, she was at 15 and then jumped up to over 30 after a long drive. This time, she was 20 when warmed up so I lowered the timing to 12. Was raining out so I did not test drive.

Today after work, started her up and let her warm up. When she was warmed up, started to take her out and each time I stopped, it felt like she was slipping on ice. Pulled back into my parking space to check under the hood. Popped the hood, check inside the distributor and everything looked OK. Then I looked below the distributor and noticed I did not plug the vacuum hose into the mechanical vacuum advance. Plugged it in and took her for a test drive. After a few miles, I started to open her up more to stretched her legs. She ran pretty good, no hesitation. Hopefully I get a chance to drive her over the weekend. Suppose to rain tomorrow and partly cloudy on Sunday.

Thanks!

 

Now you are getting somewhere, congrats!! The hose is for the vacuum advance, not mechanical. You are mixing two different terms. The mechanical are the pieces you saw below the points plate.

 

Thanks again Pete!