So I pulled the distributor today and I couldn't find anything wrong with the springs or weights. They have no slack, consistent tension between the two and they move smoothly. Just for the sake of it I lubricated them with some white lithium. Put it back together and started the car. After warming up I set up a timing light and without touching anything I could watch the timing move anywehr3 from 20 degrees to 32 degrees. So I pulled it again and looked move closely and there were some markings on the shaft on the distributor where it goes into the drive gear. (See photos) they are on opposite sides as if it was slapping in the slot of the drive gear. So I pulled the gear and took some measurements. With the gear fully engaged 3/8ths or .375 inches of the distributor shaft engage with the gear. I took measurements and being generous I found the MOST the gear is engaging is actually .226 inches. Which leads to some play in the and most likely caused the marking in the picture. I think this explains my inconsistent mechanical advance. My question is do I get a different gear or do I need to bite the bullet and get a different distributor. Obviously if I get a gear with a longer shaft it may not engage on the cam as much since it will be sitting .149 inches higher supposedly...
View attachment 1715728080
View attachment 1715728081