Help identifying this part

[Zirus01]

Recently had my 383 refreshed in my 70 cuda. Can’t for the life of me figure out what this part is and what’s it’s for. Runs fine without it. Was plugged in the wiring harness but just flipping around by the air cleaner and distributor. It’s a california built car so wasn’t sure if it had something to do with emissions?

 

[cuda joe]

I got that hooked to the electric choke on mine

 

[marks ebody]

That looks like the box that hooks to the vacuum Advance on the Distributor or what’s left of it. And your car didn’t need it, it was for emission to control timing. My two cents

 

[Zirus01]

That looks like the box that hooks to the vacuum Advance on the Distributor or what’s left of it. And your car didn’t need it, it was for emission to control timing. My two cents

Good to know. I was hoping it wasn’t needed because I don’t think it had been connected to anything since I’ve had the car.

 

[gs73rallye]

It's been a lot of years, and of course I can't remember all of it, but as a retired Chrysler mechanic in the seventies, it's electric choke. There is nothing electric on any vacuum advance. I never cared what the box was for, I always assumed it was just some sort of resistor to slow the electric choke from opening too early. Some cars had them and some didn't.

 

[coyduster]

There was electric timing retard on many of the early emissions cars, I still have a couple of those distributors.

 

[Zirus01]

There was electric timing retard on many of the early emissions cars, I still have a couple of those distributors.

So should be fine to run without?

 

[Chryco Psycho]

Yes especialy as most of these cars are not driven in very cold weather anymore .

 

[Zirus01]

Thanks to all of your for the wealth of knowledge. Helps me out a lot.

 

[Charlie71rt]

Definitely vacuum advance, 1 wire goes to the idle screw on the carb

 

[halifaxhop]

It is what is left of the E advance on the vacuum advance. It triggers a solenoid built into the distributor, and also passes the voltage to the solenoid on the carb to trigger it. POS 3 year system. You dont need it unless your doing a 100 point restoration. I know they came on some cars that were not wired for it and wired for it and no solenoid on the carb.

 

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

To be clear, it is the remnants of the retard solenoid built into the ’70 vacuum advance/retard units. When operationally intact, it retarded the timing about 5 degrees while at curb idle. The wire to the carb ran to an insulated curb idle adjustment screw, provided the ground to complete the circuit when the throttle lever stop came into contact with the adjustment screw. No relation to any carb mounted idle speed solenoids other than some idle speed solenoids came with an insulated contact pad for this same described distributor idle retard purpose. There were no solenoids built into the distributor.

 

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

It's been a lot of years, and of course I can't remember all of it, but as a retired Chrysler mechanic in the seventies, it's electric choke. There is nothing electric on any vacuum advance. I never cared what the box was for, I always assumed it was just some sort of resistor to slow the electric choke from opening too early. Some cars had them and some didn't.

Are you describing the ’73 and up electrically assisted choke control? Not what that is, wouldn’t be on a ’70 anyway. “Nothing electric in the vacuum advance” units? There were several variations of electrical solenoids built into vacuum advance units used on quite a few Chrysler engines from about that time. Some electrically retarded and some advanced at the trigger of an electrical circuit.

 

[gs73rallye]

I can't believe working years as a mechanic in a Chrysler dealership, I never saw a distributor with an electric advance control. Are these California cars or something?

 

[72RoadRunnerGTX]

Early emissions control device. Most all ’70 & 71 HP big blocks, federal and California production received the solenoid retard/vacuum advance units. By ’72 there was a solenoid advance/vacuum variation unit used, look identical. It was activated while cranking to electrically advance a few degrees for starting. Short lived, they disappeared pretty much by ’73. They are covered in more detail in the FSM of those years.