> 
> I have what I hope is a quick little question.  I have a 009 dist on 
> my otherwise stock 71 bus.  I hope I am right here:  there are two 
> tubes coming out of the carb that I assume were for the stock dist.  
> The PO 'plugged' these by putting a small section of rubber hose over 
> each and then plugging the end of that hose with a screw.  In my 
> never ending search to my idleing problems I was going to replace 
> these and hope that it fixes what acts like an air leak.  Any ideas on
> the best way to do this?  Thanks, Jim
> -- 
> James A. Brill Jr.         \\  //     If my thought dreams could
> jbrill@unlinfo.unl.edu   \\ \\// //   be seen, they'd probably put
> University of Nebraska    \\//\\//    my head in a guillotine.
> free-lance homo sapien     \/  \/                   --Bob Dylan--
> 

 An effective way of making "plugs" is to put a bearing ball which is slightly
 larger than the inside diameter of the hose in the hose and re-attach it. This
 is really effective when you want to disable something (like EGR) and have it
 look like it is still connected.

 I don't think this is going to solve your idling problem however. If you have
 the stock carb, it is jetted to idle well with the timing set at 5 degrees
 AFTER top dead center. The 009 distributor should be set in the vicinity of
 5 degrees BEFORE top dead center. You could try setting the 009 back 10
 degrees and see if the idle improves but don't drive it that way. If the idle
 is still lousy, look for an intake leak elsewhere. Those rubber joints on the
 intake manifold can crack and raise havoc. I chased a small intake leak on 
 my '72 for YEARS before I found it - The brake power booster. Here's how I 
 found out and no, I didn't do the simple thing and just plug the inlet like
 I should have. I was heavily engaged in the 19th Avenue Grand Prix up in 
 San Francisco and was forced at one point to VERY quickly change from full
  throttle in third gear to FULL application of the brakes. Guess what? No
  boost. This told me that there had to be a leak in the booster or one of
  it's connecting lines since there is a check valve (and it was good)that   
  would have held vacuum in the booster despite the lack of it in the intake 
  manifold. I've only wasted your time telling you this so that you won't find
  yourself in the same situation - It's a LOT harder to stop the bus without
  the booster. Detach the hose from the manifold and put a rubber plug in it's
  place. If your idle cleans up, the problem is in the booster circuit        
  somewhere.

  Hope this helps,

  Dave Kautz
  it could have been a bad check valve, but I tested that first.