Or have your current distributor reconditioned by Advanced Distributors

//www.advanceddistributors.com/

or spend less than 100 bucks and buy a proper timing light off ebay

*UPDATE*

The problem is possbily solved.

I went ahead a retarded the dizzy a little and it ran horribly with no power and tried to overheat within a block of my house.

So I went the other way with it.  Advanced it a little past where I had it originally. I took it out, and for the first time was able to drive 65pm for 10 miles with no misfire (actually passing up folks on the higway).  Then I got a little mis at 70-75.  So I advanced it just a tiny bit more and was able to cruise at 70-75 no problem.

So i believe it was just a timing thing dizzy or my light was out of calibration. (dial type) 

I have a 23d dizzy with a 10dgree advance.  

I'm considering getting a new dizzy in case this one is wearing out.

I'm looking at the petronix flamethower one on the MM site.  rice seems good.  I'd rather not spend $500+ for the 123 (although it looks great!) unless it's that much better.

this is just a weekend car.  Not racing it anytime soon.

as far as the dizzy goes Its a 23d and has a 10degree cam.

It looks pretty rust/gunk free down there but i'm not exactly sure what kind of movement to be looking for.  it does move but not much.

I'll do some research.

I swear it was 30degrees two weeks ago. but can't be sure. and it isnt now.

Ill do it tomorrow or this weekend at the latest.

I thought these thing we supposed t be simple.

Hopefully I'll find it in poor shape.

Good luck Jemal!

I'll let ya know what i find.

Yes I went back to a 23D (Cooper S type, no vacuum) on the Moke and it's back to 29 degrees total.  If you really are only getting about 10 degrees mechanical advance, that will definitely explain poor running!  You can just clean the weights and springs with WD40  (make sure the little counterweight springs are in fact in place!).  Most centrifugal advance units allow 20 -25 degrees total advance, so you may be able to free it up!

I still intend to try a known good coil in place of the nearly 50 year old one on the Moke!

Okay I really need to istall a tach!

rechecking the timing.  if I adjust the carb to run the lowest RPMS i can, I time it at 8degrees. 21degrees pretty much wide open.

I'll pull the dizzy apart tomorrow and see how it looks in there.

The weights under the baseplate are maybe rusted and thus preventing it from advancing correctly. Take out the baseplate and see if the weights are free moving if not use some penetrating oil to free them up, this is best done with the dizzy out of the car. Don't just throw another dizzy at it from a diiferent car it needs to have the correct advance or you may end up with a lot more than a dizzy to sort out.

Set the timing at 16degrees at 1500rpm and have another test run

Ok Jemal. Thanks.

I have one of those timing lights.  

I know I really need to get a tach hooked up but if i'm just guessing at idle I have it set around 12.

and at high rpms it gets to right around 30.

I'll double check for exact numbers.

It's a 23d4 distributor. no vacuum advance

 EDIT** UPDATE

Ok this is strange.  at low RPM I read the timing at 12

at HIGH RPMS it was only 21.

please advise on should I try to rebuild the dizzy?  or get a new one?  Or i might have an old MG Midget dizzy with vacuum advance laying around.

I tried a cheapo pump under the hood inline with my old su and it made to difference.

maybe it was getting bogged down in the old pump back there?

I have a pump on the way from minimania that I was going to send back, but I Might go ahead and keep it and try it.

OK, now be VERY careful!  It's sounding like you might be getting too much advance....  The "clicking" could be detonation under load, and that WILL lead to complete destruction if allowed to continue!  Check your timing at higher RPM when the distributor has done it's thing and all your advance is in.... You may need a special timing light that you can "take out" the advance by dialing the timing light up to a number.  In the case of the 1275, that number is 29 degrees BTDC of TOTAL advance.  I myself have seen on a dyno that you LOOSE power with any more advance, and more than that, under load you will break the tops of your pistons and ring lands.

Of particular concern are some of the "cheapie" electronic distributors... The Chinese know how to get reproductions to "look right" but keeping the mechanical advance in spec is harder.  The Moke had a distributor that was allowing 42 degrees of advance!  That meant I had to set timing at idle of 14 degrees AFTER TDC (!!) to keep from going past 29 degrees at full advance!!   NO WAY would it run like that!  The engine barely runs at the proper 5 or so degrees of advance at idle, much preferring to be at 12 or 14.  Here it "Runs great" at lower loads -  as in lower gears, but under load in top gear, the stroke is too long and it tries to fire with the piston too low in the bore and really fights itself. 

If you can check your timing at idle, and tell me what kind of distributor you have, I should be able to tell you how to adjust to confirm my diagnosis!

sounds like fueling man... replace the pump with a spare one and do the run again

I feel like it would run all day like this if I kept my foot on the pedal. (which I don't) Just noise and seems like about half the horsepower.

do you feel like you're losing power like starvation and the car feels like coming down to its "knees" or is it more like sudden death and choke?

Yep.  I  might have jumped the gun.  It did run better for a longer distance. But finally after being at speed for a short while the miss came back.

It feels like i lose 2 cylinders. Its not backfiring or jerking around. Just clack clack kind of sound until I back off then all back to normal.

I see a plugged line coming out of the manifold but I don't think there's anything to eliminate on the HIF44 carb. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Anyway, I'm going to re adjust the valves again to .015.  I have no idea what cam is in there but it does have dual springs so I think they may still be a bit tight.

how can a valve lash get out of adjustment too tight if it was set right originally? (other than valve seat wear)

head gasket crushing down over time??? warped head???   loosening I can understand. Someone help me understand .

you mentioned dual valve springs. Binding/interfering? either at initial installation/lash setting, or somehow over time ???????

Jem i had a flat spot around 2500rpm on my HIF38 that had a lean device (a vacuum line from the manifold to the carb piston) was driving me nuts till i canceled it out..

I'll add to h_lankford's "hmmmmm"....  The only way the valve were out of adjustment to be the ONLY cause of the high speed miss is if they were just barely too tight and ran out of clearance at operating temperature....  AND that would have resulted in backfiring and popping back through the carb and would have still been present when returning to lower speeds. Probably would not idle....

I still suspect a fuel or ignition issue, and it can be intermittent depending on things like the weather!  Sometimes the Moke will blast up to 85+ (where I chicken out!!) and sometimes it won't accept 60 without bucking and complaining!

Oh man dont keep us on our toes do the test run just kiddin