Land Rover Series I 1.6 / 2.0 petrol: points, plugs & ignition timing
Ignition · Series I (1948–58) · 1948–1958
How often: every 6,000 mi or year, whichever comes first. Points wear and close up, retarding the timing. The engine gets harder to start and uses more fuel.
Work safely: support the vehicle on axle stands, never a jack alone; let it cool first. Check figures against your workshop manual. You do this work at your own risk.
Parts
Contact set (points, Lucas or Ducellier to suit distributor)
Condenser
4 × Spark plugs (gap 0.032 in (0.80 mm); Champion RN11YC or NGK BP5ES (BP6ES on 1985-on engines))
Rotor arm & distributor cap (if worn or tracking)
Tools
Feeler gauges
Plug spanner
Timing light or 12 V test lamp
Dwell meter (optional)
Step by step
Remove the distributor cap. Check inside for cracks and black tracking lines, and check the rotor arm.
Turn the engine until the heel of the points sits on the peak of a cam lobe. Check the gap: 0.014–0.016 in (0.35–0.40 mm). Replace the points and condenser if they are pitted or burnt.
Put one drop of oil on the felt pad under the rotor and a smear of grease on the cam. Keep oil off the contact faces.
Remove the plugs. Tan-coloured tips are good; black and sooty means rich mixture or weak spark; white means lean. Gap to 0.032 in (0.80 mm); Champion RN11YC or NGK BP5ES (BP6ES on 1985-on engines) or renew.
Check and set the ignition timing to the figure for your engine's compression ratio, statically with a test lamp or with a strobe. Check the HT leads for cracks.
More Land Rover Series I 1.6 / 2.0 petrol servicing
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