MTFCA Forum

I’ve noticed of late that my timing lever won’t stay put when I drive. It continuously slips upward, costing me power - unless I hold it in place. But I need my hands for the steering wheel and throttle, so holding that timing lever isn’t very convenient. Any tips or ideas on how best to keep that lever put? Thanks in advance.

You can try taking off the timer mounting strap (not sure what it's called) and bending it to hold more pressure on the timer.

There are also wood blocks you can add to the gas and spark levers rods on the outside of the firewall to hold them in place, the vendors sell them. you can probably google about the blocks, simply add mtfca to your google search. there are many folks that show how to make your own..

Cut a rubber band out of an inner tube and tie it abound the column and rods.

Are the notches on you quadrant worn out? Is there still spring pressure on you spark and throttle levers?

You can also try bending up the quadrant a bit to increase the friction between the back of the timing lever and the quadrant. Didn't take much, and it worked great for me.

Before you start doing anything else you might want to make sure there is nothing that the timer rod is hitting against like perhaps the lower radiator hose and clamp. That rod should travel UNDER the steel radiator tube on its way to the timer. Often that timer rod instead is passing UNDER the lower radiator hose and also sometimes the clamp is also in the way above it. The lower hose is typically too long by about 3/4" and thus the timer rod passes under that hose and clamp and that is just enough lack of clearance to cause your issue. The timer rod must ONLY pass under the steel tube link from the lower radiator hose to the upper radiator hose. It should NOT pass under the clamp and hose end at the lower end of that radiator tube. There is a ton of adjustment range in the location of that steel tube between the radiator end and the engine water inlet but if you don't trim the length of the lower hose the timer rod will be interfered with and usually the lower clamp will be in the way too.

Hope this helps.

There are springs that provide the required friction, the quadrant notches only offer the position not the friction. It requires about 3 lbs of pull to move the levers. Perhaps your spring is missing or the pin has come out and the spring has slid down the shaft. The cotter pins are very small and can wear out after 100 years

Some times the photos are delayed and I clicked twice.