Install a lever next to the choke and wire it to the vacuum advance connection inside the distributor (remove the vacuum advance canister).

The next step is to adjust the cable so that it swings the full excursion of the advance. The final step is to set the nominal advance with the lever in the middle.

In theory this will allow you to set the timing in the middle then push it to dial up more advance for cruising on a highway and pull it to reduce advance for starting the car.

I was trying to come up with a way to increase fuel efficiency then this eureka moment fell upon me .

I think I hear Lazeum smiling

You could also make the lever into an ejection seat activator.

I hope the eureka moment didn't hurt too bad!

 

Didn't the old Model T's and others have a lever on the steering column for this purpose?

Advance is something that gets applied/removed with varying load conditions.  I'd like to play with it too to see what I could achieve, but in general, I'll let the vacuum do the advancing.

Well the problem for nice triple set ups comes with disabling the vac advance however 20 degrees at cold start is tough on the motor... pulling the choke lever and "retard" lever will make for better starting.

Could you use one of the dual point distributors and use the retarded contact set during starting? You could wire a relay coil in parallel with the CHOKE lamp that shorts the retarded points around the normal ones? You wouldn't have graduated control, but you could switch to retarded with a cold motor that needed choke. Just thinking out loud... I don't even have a choke slot.

 

Although if I DID have one, I'd use it for a lever on 5K pot in series with my CTS and use that as an electronic "choke". I'd even light up the bulb and everything.

great idea but .....I want to use the zx distributor... newer........ I wonder if the extra connection on the early turbo distributor retards? I'll have to look in an fsm.

I haven't looked at the ZX stuff, but the later Z's used dual pickup distributors in the auto-trans versions. Maybe they did the same thing with the ZX's? That would be an easy way out.

Certain ZX modules have the retard option. Basically two sets of connection tabs. I believe it pulls 8-10 degrees from timing! It might be the 12-92 module. Other than that it is the same advance numbers .

Great team work..thanks guys!

Solved for interoperating with vac advance: the lever would activate an electrical switch to power or gnd (what ever is required) the 1`2-92 contact to retard the timing at start... no more empty lever slot and easier starting

You are just bound to use that lever for something. How about a slow release to an NO2 bottle😵

that works too!

cable it to an exhaust diverter valve so you can go from whisper quiet to full-breathing fury at will.