MGB & GT Forum

ok so, when i did some work on my engine i noticed that the distributor was able to spin a little to easily. i noticed that the clamp to tighten it wasnt actually grabbing so i tried to loosen it and push the distibutor in. the weird thing is that i drove it not even an hour prior and it started just fine. the reason i wanted to fix the little movement in the distributor is that when im driving it will move and run worse. wh i put a little spacer on the clamp so then it would grab the distributor and it wouldnt move. but when i put the distrutor back in approximately the same place the car wouldnt start. didnt even sound like it was trying. i replaced the ignition wires because they looked green and actually had broken in one spot. after i put the new ones on the car sounds like its trying at some point but will have white smoke from the carb and when i adjust the distributor in any place it wont start. its a 76 mgb 1.8L ill add some pictures of what im talking about.

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my guess is you're 180 degrees off when you reinstalled the dizzy

edit/added bring the engine to TDC and your dizzy rotor should point at cyl.1



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-12 02:18 PM by Rubber Bumper.

Well I never fully removed it. Just pulled it out maybe half an inch.

Double check the wires that you had to fix.
Pictures?

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1978 MGB
When diagnosing issues related to running and stalling, always check to see if you have gas in the tank first.

I have double check them and when I did so I found some places that weren't fully on so I check all of them thoroughly to make sure they were completely connected.

Hard to be sure from the photo but the firing order looks wrong. Should be 1342 with #1 typically in the one o’clock position.

Let me try this real quick I thought I took them off one by one and put them on correctly
Edit: it wouldn't explain why it didn't start even before I replaced the wires



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-12 05:49 PM by Adrian Martinez.

the wires look wrong?

Is it clockwise or counterclockwise

Anti clockwise

This did not work as the car cranks it just pops really loud

I feel your pain Adrian. I went down a big rabbit hole with my distributor to the point where my car then wouldn’t start with loud backfiring trying to fix a problem that in the end was nothing to do with the distributor. Sounds like your timing is badly out so I think you need to go back to basics and find your TDC on the compression stroke on #1. Take off the cap and the rotar should point to #1. Look up John Twist on youtube if you’re not familiar with him. He’s a genius and has videos for everything.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2024-04-13 02:35 AM by Rustytimber.

Can you turn the engine by hand so that the timing is set to top dead center (tdc)? Which manual do you have? The manual has caused some confusion with the drawings. The result is the distributor drive spindle is inserted in a different position that what the factory intended. Yours looks like that might be the issue based on where your vacuum advance is pointing. However the car will still run. You just have to rotate the wires. Use the manual to set static timing and that should allow you to start the engine.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/y9qx6ixyk0h99of/MGB_Workshop_Manual.pdf?dl=0

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Ben
1966 MGB Tourer
1973 MGB Tourer

Adrian,

From your images, the distributor is not installed/wired in the typical manner.

See "Distributor Drive Position" that informs Spindle alignment when engine is at TDC on Compression stroke.

See "Distributor Clamp" that informs flat face goes to engine block >>> proud/raised face goes to outside (so it rides on distributor collar properly)

Typically, Vacuum unit nipple (where hose attaches) points to 11:00 position. yours points to 1:00 = loosen clamp & rotate distributor.
This places the #1 plug tower of distributor cap at the 1:00 position

Rotation is CCW >>> Firing Order is 1 3 4 2

When engine at Correct TDC, timing mark should be in vicinity of 10 degrees before top dead center (TDC) = car Should Start.


Based on your provided info, I would connect distributor/wires as recommended & then check that every spark plug produced a nice BLUE Spark while engine is cranking.

JohnD