Depends a LOT on the motor. Some engines like the 318 Dakota will really pick up some power! Older engines get some boost but not so much. Some engines can’t handle the increase at all, just won’t run (thinking of the V6 Dakota).
You’ll have to play around and see what you can get. Any timing you can get will help a lot, especially with CO rich charcoal gas.
Kristijan, before you start fiddeling, find a timing light and turn the dist a little bit (when on gasoline) to see if timing changes at all.
In most newer engines the spark is trigged by cam position sensor and/or crank position sensor. Only if spark is trigged in the dist itself it will change the timing turning it. If not there´s no easy way doing it.
Anyone, please correct me if I´m wrong.
my 97 gmc has a crank sensor for timing and turning the dist does advance the spark the Dakotas are setup the same way it works for them also.
Yeah, the Dakotas technically shouldn’t work like that. The manual says rotating it won’t advance the time.
It not only works, but it works much better than advancing a fully mechanical distributor. I don’t claim to understand why. I also don’t know if yours will produce the same effect.
But yours are 8 cyl. From what I understand you only trick the spark to jump one peg (advancing 45*). Your computers then probably retard from there. Not possible when only 4 cyl. Advancing 90* would be to much.
with a timing light and a couple of minutes you will know for sure. it looked like your picture showed slotted ears hard to tell from the angle but if so your good to go.
The slotted hold down shows this sytm was designed to be adjusted in.
All of the calculating ones I’ve seen had distributors only able to bolt down in one fixed position.
So . . . maybe, yes.
A timing light would tell the truth of it like PaulS said.
Regards
Steve Unruh
Took the distributor apart today. Looks like it is the simplest thing on the world just two bolts holding it. It can be easily adjusted. Tryed to rotate it while it was idleing on gasoline and the rpm fall when rotated to each dyrection. Looks like l will be able to get that 20* advance. I have a question thugh; The distributor has a o ring on it and it is quite tough to rotate it. My concern is that when l pull the cable and rotate the distributor it will not want to go back when the cable will be released. Do you spring load yours?
Yep If the distributor is stiff
Yes, it’s spring-loaded. The cable itself is also stiff, which helps to push it back in place.
I just dont get one thing… As l understand there is a rotor and 4 pins in the distributor. The rotor rotates at half the engines rpm and each time the rotor comes close to the pin the spark jumps from the rotor to the pin and then to the spark plug. I know some rotors are made much like a clutch on a chainsaw. As the rpm rize the centrifugal force sets the timing. I alsow know some of the older distributors had a vacuum regulator to set the timing but on mine it is just a fixed rotor and fixed pins. How does the timing set on this sort of distributors when the rpm rise?
For what its worth, I looked at a Seat Arosa forum and found the following in a thread on how to set the initial timing:
You need a special tool VAG1551 which connects to the vehicle and locks out the ecu from automatically advancing and retarding the timing.
Once it is locked out you can then set the timing using a strobe light.
But since my distributor is already set for gasoline culd l not just rotate it aditional 10* (giveing me aditional 20* of advance on the engine due to the distributor being half the engines rpm)? I do not have a strobe light…
Am I correct in guessing that the distributor only turns at half the RPMs of the engine because the distributor only needs to send a spark every other revolution of the engine (only on compression strokes, but not on exhaust strokes)?
Hi, Brian!
12.2.2016
Correct guessing ratio per one single cylinder!
Crankshaft 2:1 camshaft. Camshaft 1:1 distributor.
In a 4-cycle 4-cylinder motor, the two (parallel) center cranks are 180 degrees to the two (parallel) end cranks.
That means that for every 180 degree of crankshaft turn two pistons are near the top center, and
one of them is near ending its compression stroke.
The other one is finishing its exhaust stroke.
During the 180 degree compression stroke on the crankshaft, the camshaft and consequently the distributor has turned 90 degrees.
That is just the 90 degrees from one peg to the next peg on the distributor cap!
Max
Kristijan; I finally figured out what kind of a car you are working with. I love it and think it would be a good woodgas / charcoal gas vehicle.
Back to the distributor. We DID have vacuum advances on older cars— when you opened the throttle the vacuum in the intake manifold dropped and that vacuum drop changed the timing.
We DID have centrifugal force advance where as the speed of the distributor shaft sped up, the weights would swing out and change the timing.
NOW you have a computer that READS vacuum, and ENGINE RPM and it slows down or increases the spark. There is NO actual moving advance mechanisms in the distributor, The computer fires the spark at just the right time based on temperature, vacuum RPM and others… Having said that, I would just go ahead and build your charcoal gasifier and wait and see what the computer does to correct for charcoal gas. You might have to do something with the MASS AIR FLOW sensor if it has one. ( not on all cars )TomC
PS Looking back at your distributor, I don’t see any slotted holes that could be used to adjust the timing. I’m sort of thinking you drop that distributor in at the proper point and the computer takes it from there. Haven’t ever had on like that, but that is what I think I see in the picture.
I would go ahead hook up a cable. You’ve already notice a difference when turning the dist, so I think you’re good to go. The degrees of advance your are aiming for are 20* on the dist though (40* on the crank). With a cable you can adjust it on the fly to where ever you get the most power.
But since you already reached speeds near 100 km/h you can probably only expect just a tiny bit extra from that little 1 L, 37 kW (50 hp) engine.
Watch out for red hot exhaust pipes without timing advance. You might risk damaging your exhaust valves.
Anyone, please! I’m starting to doubt my own statement.
We usually talk about timing advance in “dist-degrees”, don’t we???
Good morning JO.
I am usually thinking of the crank angles when I mention degrees of timing advance or retard.
Hope all is well and you are warm on your side of the pond this morning .
Thank you Wayne, for clarefying. One never stops learning.
And thank you, we’re all warm and well. It’s snowing outside, but the coals are glowing inside 
When ever I get depressed of dark and cold weather I watch some sunny Alabama wood pile pictures. They cheer me up 