Please help, any advice?

[Jim/GA]

If the distributor is using points and condenser, I recommend you check the point gap. New cam followers wear as they rub on the cam and burnish in, even with cam grease used. I go in and adjust new points back out to spec a few times in the first few hundred miles. Eventually the follower stops wearing down so fast.

Yes, as odd as it sounds, points that are not open enough can be compensated for with a richer mixture, to a point.

You might also try a new condenser. They are cheap and easy to swap out. Normally I don't support throwing new parts at a problem, but there is no easier way to test for a bad condenser than to put in a new one.

We have also had reports of bad connections inside the distributor where a "new and improved" breaker plate eliminates the little wire between the two plates. See if you are using one of them in there. The poor connection makes the ignition cut in and out.

I also know that screwing the pop-out cable into the distributor housing too far will cause intermittent ignition cut out conditions. Count the turns and don't go more than about 3 or 4. Don't screw it in tight.

Does your ammeter needle jump around when the engine starts acting up?

Good luck with this. I know how frustrating this sort of thing can be.