feint2021

Hey guys,

So I think I'm having issues with my ignition/distributor. About a month ago, after my engine was rebuilt, I started having an issue where my car will suddenly lose power (the rpm gauge drops), the gas pedal wont respond, and then will jerk back from having power to none and occasionally will just turn off. After the 1st time this started happening, my rpm gauge started to jump. This issue would happen mostly when I've been driving on the highway for about 30-60 minutes and start driving on surface streets. However, this started out only happening 1 out of every 4-5 trips.

At first I thought it was the fuel pump so I changed that. After a couple days the car seemed to just jerk occasionally rather than just losing power. The fuel filter had been changed about 6months ago prior to all this. I don't believe this is a fuel issue and I'll get to that (I haven't changed the main relay).

I moved onto the components on/in the distributor. I've changed the plugs (gapped properly), spark plug wires, cap, rotor, igniter unit (a used one from the yard) and ignition coil (one from the yard and a new).

What makes me think my car has an ignition issue is because of the following. When I changed the coil and igniter with yard swaps, the rpm gauge started acting very strange. The gauge needle started jumping everywhere but the car seemed to drive fine. Then a couple days ago my car started losing power, turn off and I couldn't get the car started, only after about an hour or two of sitting. This is when I changed the rotor and cap.

The car would turn on but the rpm gauge started jumping like crazy, like it would dance around. This is when I changed the coil back to the original one. I was able to drive the car from my mom's house (that's where it was towed)to my home without issue but noticed the rpm gauge jumping occasionally ( usually happens on 3rd or 4th gear from 2k rpms to 3k).

Thinking it was the coil i bought a new one the next day and drove about 30 minutes before i noticed the gauge to slightly jump and another issue, similar but not the same as the ones described. When idling after driving it for about 20 minutes, the car will seem like it's going to die but regains power instantly. The car doesn't hesitate much when hitting the gas. The car isn't idling ruff if that makes sense (not like if it had a bad ivac or if the timing were off).

One thing i havent checked if the ignition timing is off but from what i understand, the distributor only goes on one way. Looking at the diagrams online, it seems to can slightly budge it clockwise or counter-clockwise but I don't quite get that as it only fits one way. The timing on the car itself is correct.

A friend suggested this being a grounding issue but all grounds are there form my knowledge and this only started occasionally happening after the engine was rebuilt.

Let me know what you guys think and sorry for the story.